Summary of mobilization in Russia for September 30–October 1
Putin has signed a decree on the [regular] autumn draft. The call up will start on November 1, a month later than usual. Putin’s Press Secretary Peskov blamed the shift on the draft offices being overloaded with the “partial” mobilization work. The lawyer Pavel Chikov points out that it would be unlawful to conduct medical certifications of potential draftees by draft offices before the date specified in the decree.
Deputy head of the Main Organizational Mobilization Directorate of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Rear Admiral Vladimir Tsimlyanskiy made a series of statements. In particular, according to his words: “All military conscripts whose term of service ends would be discharged and returned to their places of residence in a timely manner”, and those newly conscripted would not be called upon to participate in the so-called “special military operation”. He also stated that arsons at the draft offices amount to acts of terrorism and are punishable by up to 15 years of in prison. The Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stated that women and students of state-accredited private colleges will not be drafted. In our previous summaries, we mentioned cases of summons being served to both women and students.
The Ministry of Defense published new footage showing how the mobilized are being trained; the images are from the Volgograd Region.
In the meantime, the government defined the categories of the Defense Industrial Complex employees that would be granted a postponement from being drafted as part of the “partial” mobilization. Within five days, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce will define its own list of companies whose employees would be granted a postponement. The Russian State Duma delegates from the Novye Lyudi (New People) party introduced an amendment into the “mobilization preparedness and mobilization in RF” law. The draft defines “partial mobilization” as a separate type of mobilization and prescribes who qualifies for postponement.
The story with a mobilized man from Berezniki detained after complaining about the living conditions in the Elan’ training center continues. A video has appeared where he apologizes for his behavior and says that everything is fine now.
An independent Russian news outlet Mediazona published an account by a drafted Kaliningrad man about problems he saw during mobilization. Sever.Realii (North.Reality) published an account by a mobilized man from Vsevolozhsk, Leningrad Region.
In Belgorod Region, 147 men mobilized in error were allowed to go home (yesterday, the number was 111). In total, 160 such cases were discovered. Also in Belgorod, it was announced that a psychological support center for combat veterans would be opened. In Moscow, additional 20 reserve mobilization offices were opened where, according to the Mayor Sobyanin, “the draft boards would be able to work with the draftees calmly, under normal conditions. That includes considering complaints.”
Latest reports about conscripts who were not meant to be drafted. Back on the 21st of September, a conscription letter was issued to a 60-year-old head of the IT department from a bank in Samara, who had never served in the army before. Having received the letter, the man ended up in hospital. Another never-served-before IT industry worker, this time from the state-owned bus operator Mosgortrans, is gearing up to go to basic camp. But the most outrageous story of a wrongly conscripted person came from Khabarovsk. A local suffering from schizophrenia has already left for the military base, despite the fact that he has been registered at the psychiatric clinic since 2017.
New horrible logistics stories (related to the Russian mobilization) have come from Novosibirsk. Conscripts in the city are being sporadically cared for by the local volunteers. Meanwhile the governor of Novosibirsk, has signed a prohibition order, forbidding the sale of alcohol within the 1-kilometer radius of the local Army Officers College, where the conscripts are currently being lodged. Similar orders have been given by the authorities of the Chkalovski district in the city of Yekaterinburg. There have been several complaints about the draftees' conduct there. Head of the Russian constituent republic of Khakassia, Valentin Konovalov, has come to Omsk, to inspect the conditions under which his region's conscripts are kept over there. This is what the tent looks like on the inside in the Bidzhan basic army camp in the Jewish Autonomous Region’s capital Birobidzhan.
More videos have come of the departing conscripts. The goodbye ceremony in Ust-Kut (in the Irkutsk region) has nearly ended in a stampede. In Orenburg though, a good effort was made to make the ceremony somewhat special. There was an orchestra, the national anthem and a priest with holy water.
As per Flightradar24's data, some suspicious flights began leaving the airport of Yekaterinburg. Their destination is the closed (since the 24th of February, 2022) airport of Rostov-on-Don. Everything points to these flights carrying the newly conscripted army personnel. At the same time, citizens drafted from the Astrakhan region have been transferred to the village of Borzoi in Chechnya for training.
The local department of education has tasked schools and kindergartens in Kursk with collecting the most necessary items for conscripts. As part of the public mobilization effort, women of Anapa are knitting socks for their town's draftees. Recent conscripts can obtain first aid kits for free in one of the chemist stores in the town of Chernogolovka near Moscow.
In Yakutia, law enforcement agencies are preventatively detaining women, who were planning to perform the Osuokhay traditional dance. Overall, 23 women were detained, all of which were let go except one.
Since the 21st of September orders, in Saint Petersburg, without any legal grounds, before being charged, half of the detainees have been transferred from detention facilities to police stations.
A tragic story came from Krasnodar. Rap music performer Walkie (real name Ivan Petunin) committed suicide after receiving his conscription orders. Before he took his own life, he recorded his final video message where he said he has no moral right to kill.
Meduza news outlet, with references to the "Visible protest" project, published images of anti-war and ani-mobilization graffities from all over Russia.
More reports of border exit bans, this time coming from the Sheremetyevo International Airport. Although, after the introduction of border crossing restrictions at the Russia North Ossetia border, the queue at the Russia-Georgia border has now significantly shrunk.
Chief of Mongolia’s Immigration Agency, Nerguin Uuganbayar, announced his department's decision to issue temporary residency status to all Russian citizens who request it.