Summary of mobilization in Russia for October 1-2
Mobilization (or, at least, its first wave) is slowly coming to an end. (A reminder that there are three waves of mobilization planned in at least some regions: from September 26th to October 10th, from October 11th to 25th and from October 26th to November 10th.) The ethnic republics were the first to report that their quotas were met (mobilization in the larger cities proceeds at a slower pace). As of now, government officials in Crimea, Adygea, Tyva, Khakassia, Yakutia, Buryatia, Zabaykalsky, Perm, Arkhangelsk, Bryansk and Vladimir regions - 11 regions in total - claim that they have completed the mobilization. Meanwhile, the Main Organizational Mobilization Directorate of the Russian General Staff denies the fact that there were quotas put in place for the number of reservists to be called up. However, in the course of the mobilization it became apparent that such quotas do exist, with some being reduced in certain regions. For example, the plan for Tatarstan issued on the day that the mobilization was declared accounted for 10,000 men, but in a week the Ministry of Defense lowered the bar down to just 3000. It is possible to roughly estimate the amount of people mobilized via this video. The governor of the Belgorod region also said the plans were scaled down. A reminder: according to Russian-language independent publication Meduza, 1,2 million men in total are planned to be called up for service under the “partial” mobilization. Meanwhile, the Obyasnyaem.rf official government website reports that the “partial” mobilization can only be stopped by the President’s decision.
The number of draft evasion criminal cases brought before the courts since the beginning of the regular Spring 2022 draft through September 20th has reached a 10-year maximum. However, as the Moscow-based RBK media group has discovered, the number of new such cases dropped sharply since the announcement of the “partial” mobilization.
Over 700 people from North Ossetia were dispatched to military units as part of the mobilization including over 100 volunteers. The quota for the republic is upto 1,000 men.
Nearly 400 military summons issued in Moscow were deemed invalid and called off. However, the “122” hotline informed that monks with a military record are now subject to call up as part of the “partial” mobilization. Delegates of the State Duma would also be eligible as long as they so decide: the self-mobilized State Duma member Vitaliy Milonov [an outspoken nationalist and homophobe], a.k.a. Junior Sergeant and senior gunner (call sign “Gustav”), told of a pending legislation that would strip the State Duma delegates from their entitlement to postponement of military service during the “partial” mobilization. Worth noting that “Gustav” credits himself with the destruction of a Ukrainian Grad MLRS system, a trip back to the Kremlin (possibly) being his reward. The Junior Sergeant is in no hurry to return to the front since he still has to participate in the vote.
As in the previous days, numerous violations of the stated rules of the mobilization are reported. In particular, a Sakhalin Island man suffering from meningoencephalitis was called up. In Krasnoyarsk, a heart disease patient Igor Kuvaev is trying to appeal the summons he was served. An attempt was made to serve call up papers to the St. Petersburg Smolninsky District municipal delegate Dmitri Baltrukov. Given he is 43 and has no military experience, he is not subject to mobilization according to the criteria announced for the purposes of the “partial mobilization.”
People seek to avoid mobilization in different ways. So, neighbors in Mytishchi (Moscow region) warn each other about serving subpoenas. Various media publish explanations and instructions on how to hide from mobilization (we cannot vouch for the accuracy of non-professional instructions, better read this guide). The Helpdesk Media Telegram channel helped to figure out what is the maximum deferment from mobilization: “... the employer can extend the deferment. However, there is no clear legislative explanation on how to do this yet.”.
A disabled student with only one kidney was banned from flight to Yerevan, Armenia due to lack of permission paper from a military enlistment office. At the Yekaterinburg airport, a man who was going to fly to Dushanbe, Tajikistan was denied boarding the plane. Over 180 military summonses were served to men on the border with Georgia. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan plans to expand the busiest border checkpoints on the Russian border.
The Mozhem Obyasnit (We Can Explain) Telegram channel estimated that an incomplete and not the most expensive set of items needed in the war would cost 76,000 rubles. And just a first-aid kit without hemostatics and wound-healing drugs will cost at least 10 thousand rubles. Against the backdrop of these reports, a microloan advertisement for servicemen appeared in Kursk, promising approval within 1 hour.
Former commander of the 58th Army, and now a State Duma deputy General Lieutenant (Andrey) Gurulev revealed the disappearance of 1.5 million uniform sets from the warehouses of the Ministry of Defense. And in the town of Kolchugino, Vladimir Oblast, citizens themselves gather materials that the Ministry of Defense cannot for the mobilized, see the list attached;.
Former actor, and now member of Parliament Dmitry Pevtsov, in his speech to future soldiers, relies on icons and prayer books, saying they will have to fight with "satanic forces." In Kazan, entire prayer rooms have been created for the mobilized, where priests will also distribute prayer books and icons. In a Tyumen church, the priest will sanctify clothes specially sewn and knitted for Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine by a group of women from the sewing and knitting club. Volunteers in Berdsk (Novosibirsk Oblast) will also knit “socks of victory”. And this mobilized man has enough of everything, he only asks the authorities to provide his wife and three children with firewood so that they can heat their house. Meanwhile, the (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–) Ugra government decided to pay 100 thousand rubles to the children mobilized on their admission to universities.
Head of the Russian constituent Republic of Bashkortostan Radiy Khabirov visited his region's combined arms military training camp where Bashkortostan's new conscripts are being trained for war. He brought with him "humanitarian aid": food, personal hygiene products, everyday living supplies and clothing. "Later on, my aids will compile a more detailed list of things" he said. The Moscow region governor, Andrey Vorobyov, didn't come empty-handed either when he visited new draftees at the Tamanskaya divisional base in Naro-Fominsk.
New videos continue to surface of how the new conscripts are being trained. These videos have come from the Rostov, Voronezh and Kamchatka regions. This is training in Kostroma, where the newly mobilized conscripts from Vologda are being prepared for action. The so-called "DPR volunteer militia" also published videos of their training drills. Note the background tune taken from a Soviet rock band “Kino”, whose songs are widely seen as anti-war. This next training video was shot by the draftees themselves in the Volgograd region.
Our yesterday's published flight data has been indirectly confirmed. Newly conscripted personnel are in fact being shipped from Yekaterinburg to Rostov-on-Don on planes. This video shows Russian servicemen on board a military cargo plane.
More videos are released of drunken behavior and altercations between the new conscripts. Some even manage to bring alcohol to the parade grounds. This is what happens when they do. Russian State Duma member, Andrey Gurulyov, is saying he doesn't see anything terrible in any of that. A user from one of the Internet channels, described what exactly is happening at the bases where the new conscripts are being held. He's saying that the only career officer in his regiment is his CO, the rest are all draftees.
The mayor of Vorkuta, Yaroslav Shaposhnikov, revealed his views on what motivates volunteers who participate in the so-called "special military operation". In his opinion, 10% of them go to war because of their wives' nagging. It appears though that the wives too have their own way of dealing with their marital issues. A woman from the Moscow region reported her ex-husband to the authorities when she found out he tried to dodge the draft.
An anti-war protest took place today in Saint Petersburg. A theatrical performance of sorts depicted a woman, draped in the Russian flag, holding an infant doll in her bloodied hands and standing next to the Leningrad Hero City Obelisk. In Tuva, an enlistment office was set ablaze last night. The arson took place around 2 AM. Nobody was hurt and no arrests were made.