Mobilization in Russia for Nov. 21-22, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary

Authorities and Legislation

The Ministry of Defense has proposed reclaiming sign-up bonuses given to contract soldiers if they commit severe disciplinary offenses, "such as avoiding execution of military service or committing crimes." The bonuses, amounting to 400,000 rubles [$3,960], are paid from the federal budget to volunteers upon signing a contract with the MoD. Under the proposal, authorities would confiscate these funds "proportionally to the time remaining under the contract." While the initiative aims to curb desertion, legal experts interviewed by the Agentstvo [Agency] independent media outlet warn that it could become a tool to pressure all contract soldiers, as the proposed policy lacks a clear list of violations that would trigger the forfeiture of payments.

The Ministry of Labor has proposed increasing pensions for militia members from the self-proclaimed "DPR" and "LPR" who became disabled after 2014. The proposal seeks to equalize their social benefits with those received by Russian soldiers discharged due to injuries. The ministry has drafted a bill that would grant disabled militiamen the right to receive two pensions simultaneously: one for disability and another for either old age or years of service.

Lawmakers have introduced a bill into the State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia] to suspend the expiration of Unified State Exam results for individuals participating in the war. This examination, required for Russian students to apply to higher education institutions, is typically valid for four years from the date of issuance. The government has endorsed the proposal.

In 2024, federal authorities reduced funding for regions near the frontlines, with the Belgorod region facing the largest cut—nearly 37%. Interbudgetary transfers to the Bryansk region decreased by 23.5%, the Rostov region by 21.4%, the Voronezh region by 19.8% and Crimea by 13.8%. The only exception was the Kursk region, where funding increased by 67%. This sharp rise began in August, following an incursion by the Ukrainian Armed Forces into the region.

According to sources from the Vyorstka media outlet, the upcoming live Q&A session with Putin is expected to include announcements of new support measures for military personnel and families with children. Military personnel and their families are anticipated to ask questions about payments and benefits and express gratitude to Putin for the assistance already provided.

Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising

In the Suksunsky district of the Perm region [Russia’s federal subject], volunteer fighters signing contracts with the MoD will receive an additional payment of 100,000 rubles [$990] from the district. This payment is in addition to regional and federal payments.

In the town of Gatchina, Leningrad region, Russia's first Civil Recruitment Center has been opened within the regional social protection center. Its primary goal is to support the Leningrad region's draft office.

Stanislav Ionkin, a war participant convicted for a nightclub fire in Kostroma that claimed the lives of 13 people, has signed a contract with the MoD and will return to the frontline. Ionkin was sentenced in March, but notably, his lawyer announced in August that his client had already signed the contract.

According to the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel, a minor has been recruited for the war in Ukraine. Seventeen-year-old Arseny Gerasimov, arrested on robbery charges, has been enlisted. Gerasimov will be eligible to officially sign a contract in February 2025, when he turns 18. Meanwhile, as reported by the Baza Telegram channel, in the city of Sochi, a 77-year-old pensioner accused of theft for taking 15,000 rubles [$150] left at an ATM was offered the chance to avoid prosecution by signing a contract with the MoD.

According to the Idite Lesom! [Flee through the woods/Get lost you all] Telegram channel, a conscript from Moscow was detained at the Unified Military Recruitment Center after visiting for a "data check-up" prompted by an SMS notification. Three days later, he was transported to a military unit in the city of Arkhangelsk, where he is now awaiting his oath of service.

A Moscow resident with strabismus and a head injury is being conscripted for statutory military service and is now being pursued as a draft dodger. A few days ago, 22-year-old Vladimir responded to a draft notice and reported to the draft office, where he was assigned service fitness category "B-4" and given a draft notice for deployment on Nov. 13. Vladimir filed a complaint to appeal the draft office’s decision, but instead, he was ordered to report to the military collection point on Nov. 26, where he is presumed to undergo another military medical board evaluation.

Police in Moscow detained conscript Ilya Maryanov directly in his apartment, according to the Movement of Conscientious Objectors, a human rights organization supporting those who refuse to perform military service. Reportedly, law enforcement officers took away the apartment keys from Maryanov’s mother as she was returning home. Maryanov was presumably taken to a military collection point, despite having grounds for being assigned service fitness category "B," which exempts him from statutory military service.

A Moscow resident who obtained Russian citizenship several years ago and is not of conscription age went to the draft office to register. However, he was pressured to sign an agreement to undergo military training. When the man refused to sign the document, he was taken to a meeting with a draft office employee, who questioned his refusal to participate in the training and threatened him with a draft notice and charges of "desertion."

Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers

Based on open sources, Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] and BBC News Russian, together with volunteers, have verified the names of 79,819 Russian fighters killed in Ukraine, including 9,683 mobilized soldiers. Over the past week, the list has been supplemented with 1,490 soldiers, 63 of whom were mobilized.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

In Moscow, a soldier has robbed a woman at gunpoint. On Nov. 19, a man in military uniform got into a woman's car and, threatening to shoot her in the head, demanded 25,000 rubles [$250], allegedly to buy a ticket home. The perpetrator fled the scene after receiving the demanded sum. The victim contacted the police, after which the robber was detained. He was identified as a 29-year-old soldier from Omsk, who had been receiving medical treatment in a Moscow hospital. He was supposed to return to his military unit on Nov. 4 but never did. He was handed over to the military police.

A military court in Orenburg has sentenced 53-year-old soldier Andrey Kuznetsov to 13 years in a maximum security penal colony for murder and inflicting minor bodily harm. According to prosecutors, on June 22, 2024, Kuznetsov was in the village of Bulgakovo in the Orenburg region, where, under the influence of alcohol, he attacked two women and struck them on the head with the back of an ax. Investigators assessed their injuries as minor bodily harm. Then, on June 25, in the village of Tatarsky Saratash, Kuznetsov strangled his female acquaintance during an argument. The soldier fully admitted his guilt.

A court in the city of Yekaterinburg has sentenced 37-year-old Russian soldier Yevgeny Sandulsky to 10 years in a penal colony on charges of desertion. According to Mediazona, this is the harshest penalty ever handed down in a desertion case to date, surpassing the previous maximum sentence of nine years. Sandulsky had been absent from service for a total of 18 months.

The investigation into a case involving going AWOL was dropped after a psychiatric diagnosis. In September 2023, 33-year-old contract soldier Yury G. abandoned his military unit and later surrendered to military investigators in December upon learning he was wanted. During the investigation, a military medical board declared him unfit for service, assigning him service fitness category "D." Consequently, authorities decided to close the criminal case against him.

A court in Bryansk has sentenced a 22-year-old local resident who participated in the war to 15 years of imprisonment on charges of setting fire to a relay cabinet on a railway. He was also accused of preparing to set fire to another relay cabinet and was convicted on charges of sabotage and involving a child in criminal activity. According to investigators, on Feb. 25, 2024, he set fire to equipment on the section between Chernets and Polpinskaya stations on the eastern outskirts of Bryansk, while a minor acquaintance filmed the act on camera. For this, they received 45,000 rubles [$450] to share between them. The 16-year-old accomplice was sentenced to six years in a penal colony. According to the Astra Telegram channel, the soldier’s name is Nikolay Yevseenko. In May 2023, he was recruited from a penal colony.

The Zelenodolsk City Court in Russia’s constituent Republic of Tatarstan has sentenced 61-year-old Andrey Bogdanov to four and a half years in a penal colony for attempting to set fire to a draft office and "discrediting the armed forces." It was previously reported that the Ministry of Internal Affairs had placed Bogdanov on a wanted list, and the trial was suspended as he stopped attending hearings. In a letter from a pre-trial detention center, Bogdanov stated that he had fled before one of the court sessions and spent four months at a forest base in Mari El [Russia's constituent republic]. According to him, the base’s guard and his "drinking companion" turned him over to law enforcement officers. According to investigators, in early September 2022, Bogdanov threw a Molotov cocktail at a draft office in Zelenodolsk. He did not plead guilty to the attempted arson and attributed the prosecution to his anti-war stance, which he openly expressed by participating in protests at the beginning of the war and publishing posts on the Odnoklassniki social media platform.

Andrey Olkhovskii, a resident of the Pskov region, has been accused of "confidential" cooperation with foreigners. The specific details of the accusations remain unclear.

Children

According to Elvira Aitkulova, a member of the State Duma’s Committee on Education, the Fundamentals of Russian Statehood, introduced into the university curriculum last year, will now be taught starting from preschool. This approach is intended to ensure that when students are introduced to the textbook "Fundamentals of Russian Statehood" in higher educational establishments, "no internal contradictions, including ideological ones, will arise."

In the Tambov region, second-graders from the Orliata Rossii [Eaglets of Russia”] movement gave toys to Russian soldiers. Orliata Rossii is the name of a new children's organization for elementary school students, created in 2021 on the initiative of Minister of Education Sergey Kravtsov.

Miscellaneous

Tatyana Moskalkova, Russia's Commissioner for Human Rights, reported that as a result of negotiations, 46 residents of the Kursk region, including 12 children, who had been taken to Ukraine after an offensive, were returned to Russia. According to her, the return of these Russian citizens was facilitated by special services and competent state authorities in Belarus, as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Longreads

TV Rain [independent Russian television channel] explored why women have become the face of the anti-war protests in Russia. The report highlights how the war has divided women into those who voluntarily send their husbands to participate in the "special military operation" and those who try to save their loved ones from the frontlines at any cost. Meanwhile, the Sibir.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet examined the challenges faced by the former wives of men fighting against Ukraine, who often struggle to receive alimony—or receive significantly less—compared to the amounts paid during civilian life.

The Kavkaz.Realii [Caucasus.Realities, part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] media outlet detailed the case of 34-year-old Yegor Semyonov, a native of Melitopol, who is accused of treason and an act of terror, despite no one being harmed by his alleged actions. According to investigators, Semyonov sent poisoned cake and alcohol to graduates of the Armavir Military Aviation School in exchange for a promised payment of 400,000 rubles [$3,960].