Mobilization in Russia for Nov. 4-5, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary
Authorities and Legislation
Maria Kostyuk, an official with the Defenders of the Fatherland Fund, has been appointed as the new governor of Russia’s Jewish Autonomous Region. At the age of 47, she will be the only woman currently heading a Russian region. Kostyuk succeeds Rostislav Goldstein, who is moving on to lead Russia's constituent Republic of Komi. Kostyuk began her career in the administration of the Jewish Autonomous Region in 2019 as a deputy to the governor’s chief of staff and quickly advanced to First Deputy for Domestic Policy within a month. Her personal life intersected with national events when her son was killed in the invasion of Ukraine in August 2022, after which she attended a December meeting between Vladimir Putin and mothers of Russian soldiers. She later assumed the role of Head of Regional Affairs at the Defenders of the Fatherland Fund, an organization led by Anna Tsivilyova, Putin's relative and the State Secretary of the Ministry of Defense.
Russian authorities are reportedly considering changes to the compensation scheme for soldiers wounded in combat, potentially introducing a differentiated scale based on injury severity, with higher amounts paid in cases leading to disability. Citing unnamed sources, Aleksandr Kots, а pro-Russian Komsomolskaya Pravda correspondent, wrote that the revised policy could replace the current flat-rate payment of 3 million rubles [$30,500] given to all injured soldiers regardless of injury severity. The Russian media group RBC corroborated Kots's report, referencing a source "familiar with the deliberations" who confirmed that discussions on this policy change are indeed underway.
In the city of Tomsk, Sergey Sechenov, a participant in the war in Ukraine, has been elected speaker of the city council. Sechenov will begin his duties on Nov. 11 and plans to focus on "patriotic education" for young people. In Ukraine, he served with the 76th Air Assault Division, whose servicemen were involved in acts of torture and killings of civilians in the Kyiv region, particularly in the town of Bucha.
Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising
Gleb Nikitin, Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, announced that from Nov. 15 to Dec. 31, the sign-up bonus for a contract with the MoD will be raised to 3 million rubles [$30,500]. Previously, the region provided a payment of 1.205 million rubles [$12,200]. It is likely that this amount includes the federal component of 400,000 rubles [$4,060]. Part of this increased bonus will be funded by the recently established "Fund of National Unity" in the region. In addition to the payment, volunteer fighters from Nizhny Novgorod will receive certificates for land plots upon signing the contract, although these plots can only be redeemed two years after the start of their service.
According to the Memorial human rights group, residents of Chechnya [Russia's constituent republic] are being detained en masse for deployment to the frontline. Officers from Rosgvardia [the Russian National Guard] and the Ministry of Internal Affairs are visiting homes, checking residents' documents and identifying any unregistered individuals within households. Those deemed suspicious are detained and, at police stations, given a choice: deployment to the frontline or criminal charges. Human rights advocates report that over a hundred people have been detained, including a group of 20 held at the Staropromyslovsky police station in Grozny. Memorial also identified one of the victims, 42-year-old Rizvan Batyrov, a father of two minors with a disability. Batyrov was reportedly assaulted for refusing to go to the police and remains in detention.
According to 74.RU [Chelyabinsk city online media outlet], three conscripted soldiers from the Irkutsk region were deceived into signing contracts with the Ministry of Defense just two weeks after beginning their service. Upon enlistment, the young men were sent to the Chebarkul garrison, where they faced a choice: deployment to the Belgorod region, where they would likely be in fatal danger, or remaining in Chebarkul on the condition of signing certain documents. Under pressure from their commanders, the soldiers signed these papers. Their parents later discovered that these were standard contracts with the MoD. They turned to the Military Prosecutor’s Office, though officials reportedly indicated that the chances of canceling the signed contracts were slim. This incident follows reports of other conscripts in the Chebarkul division receiving contract payments for contracts that may have been signed on their behalf by their commanders.
In Saint Petersburg, a criminal case was dismissed for the first time due to the defendant's deployment to the war in Ukraine, according to Daria Lebedeva, head of the press service for the city’s courts. In September 2023, 31-year-old St. Petersburg resident Mikhail, while intoxicated, inflicted more than 30 blows on an acquaintance. Now, at the request of a military recruitment center, he has been released from custody and assigned as a rifleman-sapper in an assault unit.
On Nov. 5, police in the Chelyabinsk region reported interim results from raids launched after the murder of a female taxi driver in Korkino and subsequent attacks on Roma community homes. Officers issued over 450 misdemeanor citations and delivered 70 draft notices from the military commissariat [enlistment office].
In the Yaroslavl region, police have reported the revocation of a man's acquired Russian citizenship for failing to comply with mandatory military registration requirements. The man is now required to leave the country imminently, marking at least the 19th known instance of citizenship being revoked due to evasion of military registration.
Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers
Two mobilized soldiers from Nizhny Novgorod have been deployed to the combat zone despite serious health issues and lingering effects of prior injuries. One soldier, 43-year-old Pavel S., had sustained a severe lung injury and a head trauma that left him in a coma, and he also contracted hepatitis C while in the military unit. Pavel was supposed to be hospitalized but instead was denied a military medical examination and sent back to the frontline. Currently, Pavel is at forward positions and has expressed concerns about cardiac issues. The second mobilized soldier, 35-year-old Vasily Sh., has been diagnosed with dementia. Officially deemed fit only for limited military service, he was similarly denied a medical examination, with officials reportedly stating that "the war will treat him." Vasily is now under pressure to sign a contract with the MoD.
Lawyer Roman Petrov reported to Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] about a Brazilian citizen who successfully terminated his contract with the MoD at his own request and was dismissed from the 6th Motorized Rifle Brigade prematurely. Petrov said that the Brazilian had voluntarily signed up for contract military service but "had no idea" what awaited him. He sought assistance from the Brazilian Embassy in order to terminate the contract. Eventually, Petrov helped him to file a resignation report, resulting in his removal from the military unit's personnel list. Petrov said that he was unaware of any previous cases where foreign nationals had been dismissed from the army at their own request. He suggests that the Brazilian's dismissal might be connected to a court decision in a lawsuit involving Niklas Hoffgor, a Danish citizen, whose contract was previously declared invalid by a court. Petrov also mentioned assisting an Egyptian citizen who is currently awaiting dismissal after filing his resignation report.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
Pardoned war participant Anatoly Gurin burned three acquaintances while attempting to make drugs, for which a court in Blagoveshchensk has sentenced him to four and a half years in a penal colony. On March 22, Gurin visited his acquaintance who was drinking with two guests at his house. According to the Investigative Committee, the soldier decided to prepare drugs for himself. He lit a fire on the floor of a wooden gazebo attached to the house. When he noticed that the fire had spread to the house, Gurin left without warning the host or the guests. Investigators classified the crime as negligent homicide, resulting in the death of three people. The court recognized the defendant's participation in the war as a mitigating factor and initially sentenced him to one year and eight months in a penal colony. Since Gurin had already committed several thefts and violated administrative supervision after returning from the war, the sentence was increased to four and a half years of imprisonment. Before the war, Gurin had been convicted at least four times.
A court in Severodvinsk has sentenced mobilized soldier Andrey P. to seven years in a penal colony for going AWOL. The soldier left his unit three times. The court's verdict specifically noted that the case lacked a petition from the unit commander expressing willingness to reinstate the soldier for continued service.
A citizen of Uzbekistan has been sentenced to five years in a penal colony for participating in Russia’s war against Ukraine. According to investigators, in May 2023, the man traveled to Russia for work and, in November, he signed a one-year contract with the Russian MoD. In February 2024, he was sent to the frontline, where he sustained an injury. After receiving treatment, he returned to Uzbekistan in July, where he later faced criminal prosecution.
In Yekaterinburg, Uralvagonzavod engineer Danil Mukhametov has been sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security penal colony on charges of high treason. The prosecution had requested a 17-year sentence. According to the charges, from September 2022 to March 2023, Mukhametov allegedly provided Ukraine's intelligence services with "military information" that could potentially compromise "Russia's security." The verdict was issued by Judge Andrey Mineyev, who had previously presided over the trial of Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, accused of espionage and exchanged in August this year. Mukhametov partially pleaded guilty. In October, the court also sentenced Mukhametov's wife, Viktoria, to 12.5 years in a penal colony on related charges. During her interrogation, Viktoria, an operator at Uralvagonzavod, admitted that she had passed work-related blueprints to Ukrainians for 100,000 rubles [$1,020].
A resident of the Smolensk region has been sentenced to 12 years in prison on sabotage charges for setting fire to railroad equipment. According to the court, in October 2023, he transported an individual from Smolensk to the Yartsevo district for a payment of 5,000 rubles [$51]. This individual then set fire to two relay cabinets on the railroad and recorded the act on video. The arson caused a ten-minute delay for six passenger trains, with damages estimated at 128,000 rubles [$1,300].
In Moscow, three teenagers have reported being tortured to extract confessions in a case related to railroad arson. All three are currently detained on sabotage charges. Attorney Igor Volchkov, who informed Mediazona about the Investigative Committee’s inquiry, represents 19-year-old Yaroslav Kuligin. The other accused are Kuligin's acquaintances: 18-year-old Yevgeny Nazarenko and 17-year-old Nikita Alekseenko. According to investigators, about a year ago, the young men allegedly set fire to two conductor cabins in decommissioned electric locomotives. They are also accused of setting fire to a relay cabinet. The young men claim they received an online request to commit arson and were asked to record it on video in exchange for payment.
In the Russian-occupied part of the Kherson region, the Federal Security Service (FSB) detained a 22-year-old Ukrainian citizen on suspicion of espionage. Authorities allege that the young man monitored Russian soldiers in 2023.
Miscellaneous
Experts estimate that Russian companies are short about 600,000 engineers, with one in five companies actively seeking to hire them. Amid the labor shortage, employers are being forced to offer competitive salaries. According to reports, salaries in the engineering sector increased by 16 to 24 percent in the first half of 2024.
Visitors of the Arshan health resort in Buryatia [Russia's constituent republic] were invited to recite Buddhist mantras for Russian servicemen.
Longreads
The Vot Tak [Like This] media outlet released a report about underground hospitals in Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine, where injured Russian soldiers are being treated.
The 7x7—Gorizontalnaya Rossiya [Horizontal Russia] news outlet published a report on life in Russia's constituent Altai Republic, one of the poorest regions, where people can earn a living either through tourism or war.