Russian mobilization news update by CIT volunteers, October 17-18

The Russian Parliament will approve conscripting convicted felons. To do that, the Duma dusted off a law proposal that had been shelved 4 years ago, originally raised by a large group of the United Russia party members. When the proposal's discussion began, all TV transmission from the chamber henceforth was heavily restricted. Human rights lawyer Pavel Chikov is saying that all together the State Duma is planning to discuss 11 new bills, all related to the mobilization.

Also, the Duma today, after three separate hearings, has approved another bill, allowing business owners who were conscripted (over the course of the "partial" mobilization), to continue overseeing their business's activities via trustees. As proposed, business owners, once drafted, would have 7 days to select their trustees and lodge all official paperwork. These proposals will also remove legislative limitations from the conscripted personnel, who now by law are not allowed to conduct business activities while serving in the armed forces. During the hearings, members of the United Russia party refused to uphold the notion to exempt from the mobilization fathers with 3 or more children, fathers with disabled children and men who are their parents' only male child. As a result of this refusal, the proposals were approved, after the third hearing, without these exemptions.

Press Secretary Peskov stated that "now there are no plans for Putin to officially announce or legislate the end of the ‘partial’ mobilization". He also said that the "partial" mobilization process in the (Russian) regions, which have met all their conscription quotas, has come to an end. "The number of conscripts in Russia," he said, "cannot exceed 300 000".

Internet Portal Ob'yasnyaem.RF confirmed that citizens could still be drafted even if the head of their region has "announced the end" of the mobilization process. "Only the president can make a decision to end mobilization," the portal explained.

Posters with a call to contact the local draft offices are being hanged up around Moscow at staircases after the announcement of the end of the mobilization. “The mobilization is over in Moscow, but at 04:30 pm new posters were hung up,” said a resident of the Perovo district of Moscow. Draft notices and orders of attendance on the doors of their flats at the staircase were replaced with invitation notices: “Draft office asks You to reach out”.

A follower of the “Serditaya Chuvashia” Telegram channel (Grumpy Chuvashia; Chuvashia Republic is the Chuvash people national region in Russia) told about the raids in Moscow couple of days prior to the announcement of the end of the “partial” mobilization by the Moscow Mayor. Police officers came to the hostel, where he had been living, confiscated passports of 6 Chuvashia residents and took them to a draft office. That man spent more than 10 hours at a draft office in Moscow, refusing to sign any papers. Finally, the officers gave up and drew up an act of refusal to receive a draft notice.

Saint Petersburg resident Yuriy Travkin and his colleagues had been forcibly retained at the draft gathering point in the Patriot park until October 18, regardless of the fact that the mobilization in Moscow was over. In previous summaries we`ve told that they had come to the capital city to build a highway, but ended up in a draft office. Also at that draft office, a resident of Mordovia (the Republic of Mordovia, the Mordva people national region in Russia) has been forcibly retained for four days already for the refusal to sign a mobilization order. According to Fontanka news outlet, the mobilized shift workers were released on October 18 and now they are to come to their local draft offices on October 21.

24 y.o. Sergei Malyanov, who had been recruited in the end of September actually, escaped from the draft gathering point in the Patriot park in Moscow on October 15. He had been hiding successfully for the next several days and got caught just the day the mobilization was over in Moscow and the Moscow region. His further fate is unclear, but the young man could theoretically face up to 5 years of imprisonment — the penalty for unauthorized leaving of military facilities during the mobilization period has been recently toughened in Russia.

Meduza news outlet found out why Moscow “ends the mobiliation”, while “extended recruitment” and “second wave” have been declared in other Russian regions. According to Meduza`s sources close to the Kremlin, “it was decided to stop the mobilization” in Moscow because the attitude of the locals towards it had severely deteriorated.

A new investigation of the killing of a mobilized man. The dead body of a mobilized conscript was found at the Novosibirsk Military Higher Command School  in the beginning of October. Criminal proceedings under the murder charges were initiated (p. 1 art. 105 of the Russian Criminal Code). The killed man is a resident of the Novosibirsk region. According to preliminary information, he had been stabbed.

The mobilized from Bataysk reported at least six fellow soldiers killed in action in the so-called DPR. The mobilized Bataysk residents were sent to a training center in the vicinity of Rostov on September 24, they were transferred to the so-called DPR on September 28, were they had combat training for 2-3 days, then they were divided in four groups and then they were sent to the frontline one after another. We have previously mentioned the complaints of that group in our summaries. At that time, it was known of two men killed in action.

St. Petersburg military commissariats no longer allow employers to block mobilization of select employees. A notice to that effect appeared on October 17 at the Central District enlistment office. “For the period of mobilization, the ability to prevent individual mobilization [by employers] is temporarily suspended.” As the basis, they quote a directive issued by the Judicial Department RF Supreme Court on May 13, 2019 which says: “For the entire period of mobilization, exempting citizens from being mobilized is suspended, … unless the exemptions were requested in peacetime.” The Central District military commissariat explained that the suspension for the applications to prevent employee mobilization is due to the turmoil caused by the fact that employers in the city had not been keeping the records properly “during peacetime”.

The Ministry of Defense decided not to draft more than 30% of employees working at any single company. The president of the Russian Federal Trade Union of Air Traffic Controllers Sergei Kovalev commented on the rule’s effect on the aviation industry: “To take away 30% airline personnel—be it pilots or air traffic controllers—means half the airports would have to be closed”.

On October 8, prior to their dispatch to the Lyman area, the mobilized from the 15th motorized rifle regiment of the Taman Division recorded a video message. According to their words, they only got to shoot once during their entire training period and that the detachments are constantly being shuffled. Later, a recording appeared of a conversation of the mobilized with their superior officer who explained: “Guys, in 1914 they formed soldier councils that used to speak the same way as you do and these councils overthrew the tsar. Honestly, you wouldn’t be able to overthrow this tsar. It’s either the army or you won’t exist.” After a long argument, accusations of spreading panic, and much swearing, the officer promised to report the problems to his superiors.

Mobilized communications specialists from the 27th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade (part of the 1st Tank Army along with the Taman Division) stationed in the Mosrentgen settlement complained about the quality of the equipment they were handed (second part).

In the Perm Region, the powers that be failed to assign a group of mobilized Bereznyaki men to a unit and transported them back and forth. Some of them recorded a video message in Zakamsk threatening to refuse to leave the town until the issue of their unit assignment is decided. In the end, they sent the “rebels” out “to training.” Those who didn’t participate in the video message stayed behind, however.

The Perm Number 1 Telegram channel published a video by yet another group of mobilized reservists still awaiting their unit cohesion training. The author of the message says that they are going to stay at the grounds of the Perm Military Commissariat until taken to Ukraine.

Communication of the head of Perm region Dmitry Makhonin and mobilized Perm residents didn’t work out. During his visit to a training center in Elan, he was booed and cursed at by the mobilized, and when he met with other Perm mobilized in a Tyumen training center and talked about social payments, the head of the region used foul language himself.

The mobilized man from Tver, whom we wrote about in yesterday’s dispatch, apologized for his complaint about low-quality bulletproof vests and helmets given by authorities. The resident of Likhoslavl said on the 17th of October that he was given a small “airsoft” vest and a “helmet of unknown production”. And “Zakroy za mnoy Tver” Telegram channel published apologies of the man today. He allegedly “didn’t understand the situation a little bit”.

Soldiers were taken away from Ekaterinburg military commissariats today again. But this time they were mobilized officers. More mobilized were sent off from Kirov.

Tatarstan legislators will give away their one-day salary to support the mobilized.

A resident of Khabarovsk unfit for military service because of vision problems was given a draft notice for the third time. He was twice returned from military units earlier. 31-year-old Boris Bolshakov from Moscow brought an exemption note to a military commissariat and was mobilized.

Pskov authorities acknowledged the absence of medical commissions for the mobilized. They explained that the commissions are not for all. Men are mobilized according to health categories stated in their military cards. If a man is sick, he must show medical documents or “signs of the disease” when he is examined in a military commissariat. The second time he will be examined in a military unit.

The Court of Noyabrsk ruled the conscription for military service of 27-year-old Anton Naryzhnev to be legitimate. The man from Yamal has a spine injury, sore knees and eczema of the hands. But he was sent to a military training ground in Tyumen. The Court held a closed session and refused to question 2 witnesses or appoint a medical commission.

The Court refused a mobilized man from Saint Petersburg who pleaded to replace participation in the combat operations with an alternative civilian service. In the commissariat, they not only ignored his request and dependent grandmother, but didn’t let him pass a medical examination. The Court sided with the defendant, who assured that the constitutional right to alternative civilian service doesn’t exempt from mobilization and the medical commission is not required now. Details of the situation are in the material of the Bumaga media outlet.

The “Synergy” university gave 800 personal files of entrants to the prosecutor’s office for verifying. As a result, they found 6 fictitious personal files with fake certificates. The “students” tried to enroll in the university for the postponement from the mobilization.