Mobilization in Russia for Sept. 1-2, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary

Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising

Effective Sept. 1, the Sverdlovsk region increased the sign-up bonus for joining the military under a contract to 1 million rubles [$11,000]. This summer, regional authorities raised the amount twice: on June 17, the amount went up from 100,000 rubles [$1,100] to 400,000 rubles [$4,400], and in early August, another 100,000 rubles [$1,100] was added. In addition, on Aug. 8, the Yekaterinburg city administration introduced an additional bonus of 100,000 rubles [$1,100], which was raised to 200,000 rubles [$2,200] in recent days. Therefore, taking into account the federal payout, a person who signs a contract with the Ministry of Defence in the region’s capital starting Sept. 1, will receive a total of 1.6 million rubles [$17,600].

In Russia’s constituent Republic of Tatarstan, the one-time sign-up bonus has been raised to 1.3 million rubles [$14,480]. The previous payout increase in the republic happened in early July when the amount reached 1 million rubles [$11,140]. In total, when signing a contract in Tatarstan, one can now receive up to 2 million rubles [$22,500].

In Novosibirsk, flyers advertising contract-based military service were seen posted over ticket validators in municipal buses. In addition, bus rides now feature audio announcements calling upon passengers to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense.

The Ministry of Defense continues to release promotional videos encouraging people to sign up for military contracts to participate in the war. Previously, the ministry had already released a video promoting contract-based military service, in which men were mocked for having tattoos, enjoying smoothies, and being unwilling to die in the war.

Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers

Between Aug. 26 and Sept. 1, the Idel.Realii online media outlet [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] identified the names of 322 servicemen from 15 regions of the Volga Federal District who were killed in the war with Ukraine. As of Sept. 2, at least 18,557 people from these regions have been confirmed dead. The region with the highest number of casualties is Bashkortostan, with at least 2,782 soldiers killed. It is followed by Tatarstan, with 2,447 names, and the Perm region [Russia’s federal subject], with 2,085 names. The regions with the fewest reported losses are the Penza region (435) and the Republic of Mordovia (289). Meanwhile, journalists from the Krym.Realii media outlet [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] identified the names of 842 Crimean residents who were killed while serving in the Russian Army in the war against Ukraine, with 40 of those deaths reported in August alone.

Aleksey Abramov, a 39-year-old mobilized soldier from the Krasnodar region [Russia’s federal subject] who suffers from spinal injuries and uses crutches, has been trying to get discharged from the Russian Army for two years. According to his wife, he was injected with a powerful painkiller and sent into an assault mission under armed escort. He was deployed alongside other soldiers, including one who had lost an eye and another with an Ilizarov apparatus [orthopedic fixation device]. Before being sent into battle, they were held in a basement jail. Abramov was mobilized on Sept. 22, 2022, but his wife managed to bring him back from the combat zone in the winter. However, in September 2023, he was again issued travel authorization to the frontline. Despite being deemed temporarily unfit for military service in the winter of 2024, Abramov was forcibly sent to the forward positions in late summer, despite filing several reports requesting a discharge. BBC News Russian had previously detailed Abramov's story, which was also covered in our summaries.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

Artyom Buchin, a former convict who had been pardoned for participating in the war and was later arrested for the murder of his 27-year-old girlfriend and her daughter, has been placed in a pre-trial detention center until Oct. 29. The case has been transferred to the Military Investigation Department of the Perm Garrison because Buchin was still an active military serviceman at the time of the crime.

In the Leningrad region, law enforcement officers have detained Artur Kurshev, a 22-year-old veteran of the Storm unit, who murdered a young woman for calling him a fool on Aug. 28. In April 2023, Kurshev was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony for the murder of an acquaintance with an axe. A couple of weeks after the sentence, he signed up for contract military service with the Ministry of Defense and was deployed to the war, returning from the frontline six months later. On Sept. 2, Kurshev was sent to a pre-trial detention center on charges of murder.

In Astrakhan, Georgy Legenkov, a former Wagner Group mercenary who was detained on charges of hooliganism and assaulting a police officer, had his sentence of forced labor replaced with a penal settlement due to his consumption of alcohol, which rendered him unable to fulfill his labor obligations.

In the Primorsky region [Russia's federal subject], Nikita Nosov, a resident of Ussuriysk who lost an arm in the war, has attempted suicide after being extorted for money and facing inaction from law enforcement. He recorded a video in which he explained that upon returning from the frontline, he was subjected to extortionate demands for payments he had received. According to Nosov, he lost 250,000 rubles [$2,750], yet the Investigative Committee and police declined to initiate criminal proceedings against the perpetrators. The man asked that Alexander Bastrykin, the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, and higher authorities ensure that those responsible would be imprisoned after his death. Later, Nosov attempted suicide but survived and was found unconscious in a forest. He is currently hospitalized. After Nosov's video gained traction on social media, Bastrykin directed the opening of a criminal case and demanded a report on the progress of the investigation. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has reported the detention of a "previously convicted local resident born in 2002" in connection with the extortion case, who has already pleaded guilty to the charges against him. Additionally, case of incitement to suicide was initiated.

The Novocherkassk Garrison Military Court has sentenced Andrey Ch., a resident of the "DPR," to five and a half years in a penal colony for going AWOL. The man was detained in the fall of 2023 while obtaining Russian citizenship. He was taken to the military investigation department, where he was informed that he was a contract soldier in the Russian Army and was listed as having gone AWOL. Andrey insisted that he was not a serviceman of the Russian Armed Forces, as he had not had Russian citizenship, had never signed a contract and had never taken an oath. However, the court did not accept the defense's arguments and ruled that mobilized men in the "DPR" "continue to serve in the military by the legislation of the Russian Federation."

The former military commissar of the Sovetsky and Nizhegorodsky districts of Nizhny Novgorod, Anvyar Khusiyanov, was detained until Oct. 28. He is suspected of taking bribes. For a long period of time, the military commissar received bribes for exempting conscripts from military service.

A court in Ufa has placed Makar Nikolayev, the winner of the My Country—My Russia contest, who has been studying at a university in Frankfurt am Main for the past few years, in a pre-trial detention center for a month on charges of promoting terrorism. According to the Federal Security Service (FSB), while abroad, Nikolayev wrote several social media comments in support of Ukraine and allegedly called for joining the "Russian Volunteer Corps." This was reported by the Baza Telegram channel, and the information was also confirmed by an Idel.Realii’s source. In August 2024, Nikolayev came to Ufa on summer vacation and was detained. A criminal case, according to the court's arrest order, was initiated on Aug. 30.

A 27-year-old man named Dmitry Ch. has been arrested on suspicion of setting fire to a railway sectioning post on the Khimki–Skhodnya line in the Moscow region, an incident that occurred on the night of Aug. 23. He claimed that he was coerced into committing the crime by an unknown individual who identified himself as an FSB officer and promised to have his bank debts forgiven in exchange for the arson.

The FSB has detained a 23-year-old resident of Kerch who, according to law enforcement officers, voluntarily contacted Ukrainian intelligence agents and, at their request, gathered and transmitted information about the location of air defense systems in Crimea. A criminal case has been opened against him on charges of treason.

In honor of Knowledge Day on Sept. 1, the OVD-Info independent human rights project prepared and published a report on the persecution of teachers and educators for their anti-war stance. Some teachers have left the country or resigned from their positions, while many who remained faced difficulties in openly expressing their political views, along with pressure and denunciations. According to OVD-Info, at least 148 educators have encountered issues, including criminal cases, and in a third of these instances, the persecution was triggered by denunciations. Eighty-two people have been dismissed from educational institutions. Criminal cases have been initiated against 22 teachers, five of whom have emigrated.

Assistance

Authorities of the Samara region will spend over half a million rubles [$5,600] on publications about participants in the war with Ukraine. According to the request, the contractor must produce materials, half of which will be dedicated to "active participants of the special military operation, residing in the territory of the Samara region, "the other half — to "the fallen heroes from Samara."

Children and Educational System

In all schools of Russia on Sept. 2, ceremonial lines were held, dedicated to the Day of Knowledge and the beginning of the new school year. In some of them, participants of the war with Ukraine addressed the children. Idel.Realii writes about such cases in the Volga regions, while the Vyorstka media outlet made its selection all over Russia.

In Kemerovo, in one of the schools, a "Z" class may have appeared— the corresponding sign was noticed on the line in honor of Sept. 1 at school No. 45. The sign was made "by analogy with the changed name of the region in support of the participants of the special military operation," writes the NGS24 media outlet. However, the school director Olga Antropova denies the existence of a "Z" class in the educational institution.

The Defenders of the Fatherland Fund will print notebooks and school diaries for children featuring photographs of distinguished soldiers from the Zabaykalsky region [Russia's federal subject]. According to the fund's chairwoman, Tatyana Lonshakova, this initiative promotes "patriotic education" among children. The notebooks are expected to be distributed during "Talking About Important Things" lessons [a compulsory lesson held every Monday in schools across the country], as well as during "lessons of courage." Meanwhile, first-graders in the Belgorod region were given albums with instructions on how to behave during attacks.

Parents of children from a school in Izhevsk have been asked to sign consent forms for their children to study a new subject called "Basics of drill and firearms training."

In Ufa, Wagner Group mercenaries will teach tactical medicine skills to medical students at the new Tactical Medicine Center, based at the Bashkir State Medical University.

Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, leading Russian universities have increasingly introduced courses reflecting Russia’s so-called special path, with an emphasis on patriotism, traditional values, and glorification of war. BBC News Russian reported on some of these courses.

Longreads

The Tochka [Point] media outlet released a report on the conditions faced by conscripts held captive in Ukraine after being sent to the Kursk region.

The Ne Norma [Not a Norm] and the Serditaya Chuvashia [Angry Chuvashia] Telegram channels conducted a large-scale investigation into military propaganda in schools in Chuvashia [Russia’s constituent republic]. Educator and public speaker Dima Zitser also discussed how to speak honestly with children about difficult topics and the role of education in a society where war has permeated every aspect of life.