Mobilization in Russia for Sept. 11-12, 2023 CIT Volunteer Summary

Authorities and Legislation

At the Eastern Economic Forum, President Putin was asked whether a new wave of mobilization was likely. He did not answer the question directly, but stated instead that 300,000 people were mobilized during the "partial" mobilization. He added that 270,000 volunteers enlisted in the last six or seven months and that 1,000-1,500 people sign contracts every day.

A group of members of the State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia] headed by Andrey Kartapolov, Chairman of the Defense Committee, introduced a bill to hold members of volunteer units liable for the loss or destruction of weapons, vehicles and military property. No such material liability existed until now.

Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising

Krasnoyarsk Mayor Vladislav Loginov directed organizations to report on the number of employees with either draft deferral certificates or mobilization orders until Oct. 30. Organizations must also inform their district administrations on their "staffing situation [shortage by type of employee] in case of mobilization and during wartime."

Employees of the Novikov restaurant holding company are required to submit their military IDs, conscription registration certificates, or copies thereof to the company’s HR department by Sept. 20. This requirement applies to all men and those women who are subject to military service obligations. The demand is related to the tightening of legislation in the field of military registration; under the new laws, legal entities can be fined up to 400,000 rubles [$4,224] for "failing to provide lists of citizens for initial registration with the military commissariat [enlistment office]."

Mobilized Soldiers and Volunteer Fighters

The list of mobilized soldiers killed in the war has been updated to include Yegor Myakin from the Novosibirsk region.

Roskomnadzor [Russia's internet censorship agency] has blocked the website of the Bezvozvratnye [Irreplacable] project created by an anti-war Pepel [Ash] media outlet from the Belgorod region, which contains a list of region’s residents who died as a result of the war in Ukraine. Eventually, the website is no longer accessible either in Russia or abroad. The website published a comprehensive study of the losses among soldiers and civilians who were residents of the Belgorod region, including infographics on ages, ranks, and branches of the military. As of Sept. 8, Pepel had gathered information on 443 killed residents of the Belgorod region. The website’s creator, Nikita Parmyonov, has promised to preserve the collected data and make it accessible to users once again.

The Idel.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet interviewed a soldier from Russia’s constituent republic of Tatarstan, who had been mobilized for the war against Ukraine and came home on leave. In the interview, he discussed the situation on the frontline, the inevitability of a new wave of mobilization, and the hardships of war. The man is convinced that if he returns to the war, he will be killed. However, he has not taken any active steps to avoid this fate.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

In the city of Simferopol, a mobilized soldier undergoing treatment in a hospital was detained for purchasing drugs. When the 35-year-old man was approached by the police on the street, he allegedly discarded a small package containing 2 grams of mephedrone. The question of initiating a criminal case is being considered.

In the Stavropol region, a local resident who had been charged with illegal arms trafficking was acquitted by the Petrovsky District Court due to his donations to the war effort. Yevgeniy Yemelin had purchased a defective Mosin rifle and PPSh parts at an online auction, which were later seized by police officers from his home. In court, the defendant requested the termination of the criminal case, as he had provided war participants with a protective cape to help evade thermal imaging along with a 20,000 rubles [$209] donation. The charges against Yemelin carried a potential sentence of three to five years in prison, but the court deemed the donations a mitigating factor and dismissed the criminal case with a fine of 10,000 rubles [$104].

In Yekaterinburg, police detained a 49-year-old drunken man wielding a firearm who made threats against a young man because of his "Jewish appearance." The victim suggested that the man did not like his curly hair. The press service of the Regional Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that the aggressor will be questioned once he has sobered up and his identity is being established.

In the city of Kazan, the capital of Russia's constituent Republic of Tatarstan, a court sentenced Parvinakhan Abuzarova to three years in a penal colony for publicly calling for actions against Russian Federation security. According to the investigation, she "actively urged the military to refuse to participate in the special military operation." Abuzarova was designing Muslim clothing for women and running a popular Instagram account. She has been recognized as a political prisoner by the Memorial Human Rights Center.

Sibir.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet tells the story of Vladimir Zolotarev, a 51-year-old. taxi driver from Komsomolsk-on-Amur, who in July 2023 was sentenced to 18 years in a maximum security penal colony for setting fire to the empty porch of a Rosgvardia [the National Guard of Russia] building closed for the night. The man was convicted on charges of preparing an act of terror and non-life-threatening violence against a representative of the authorities.

In the pre-trial detention center, the health of 17-year-old Yegor Balazeikin, accused of setting fire to two military commissariats, continues to deteriorate. The teenager suffers from autoimmune hepatitis, and since 2014, he has been experiencing associated liver fibrosis. Recently, it was discovered that the fibrosis has worsened. Balazeikin's support group believes that his detention in the pre-trial detention center is causing irreparable harm to his health, yet the court extended the teenager's detention until Oct. 1.

Assistance

49 regions of Russia, as well as the annexed Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, have plans to allocate free land to the participants of the invasion of Ukraine and their family members. According to the calculations by the Vyorstka media outlet, authorities have already prepared at least 4,228 plots. In some regions, soldiers find themselves in the same queue with benefit holders, such as multi-child families. In 11 regions, officials have promised that the "heroes" of the war in Ukraine will have priority.

Children

The Minister of Education of the Novosibirsk region officially introduced a new history textbook during an open lesson on modern history held at a school in the village of Koltsovo. The lesson commenced with a discussion about the information war and the "imposition of Western values on Russia." During the lesson, the teacher repeatedly emphasized to the students that history textbooks are being rewritten in the West and Ukraine. They were also taught how to distinguish accurate information from propaganda, with official sources being recommended for this purpose. Furthermore, during the lesson, the children were told about the "atrocities committed by followers of Bandera [Ukrainian nationalist leader (1909–1959)]" and that "the special military operation was launched with the aim of liberating the territory of Ukraine."

In Buryatia [Russia's constituent republic] schools, from Sept. 6 to 8, basic military training classes were held. They were led by instructors from the Voin [Warrior] center. The children learned about small arms and mines and how a quadcopter works.

A special place for weaving camouflage nets has been allocated in a high school in the village of Zarechnoye, Orenburg region. During every break and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., children engage in crafting mask nets. The mentor and teacher proudly reported that, over the course of six months, thanks to the schoolchildren, she has supplied the Russian Army with more than 200 nets. Meanwhile, ninth-graders from Korenevskaya School No. 2 in the Kursk region were forced to harvest potatoes for a mother of a military serviceman.

Miscellaneous

A memorial plaque has been installed in the Vladimir region, and the authorities intend to name a street in honor of Israil Khairulaev, a former prisoner who was killed in the war with Ukraine. He had a history of multiple convictions, including charges of kidnapping, assault, and car theft. In the Saratov region, participants of the war in Ukraine Sergey Dragunov and Aleksandr Belousov, both from the United Russia party [Putin's ruling party], have been elected as municipal deputies. Previously, we reported on another war participant, Oleg Petrovsky, a 55-year-old United Russia member, who became a deputy of the Duma [regional assembly] of the Stavropol region.