Mobilization in Russia for Sept. 13-15, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary

Authorities and Legislation

Following appeals by relatives of Kursk region residents, Dmitry Kuznetsov, member of the State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia], has called on the International Committee of the Red Cross to evacuate the remaining civilians through Ukraine’s Sumy region, and return them to Russia via third countries afterwards. According to Kuznetsov, at least 698 people remain in the combat zone in the Kursk region.

Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising

Authorities in the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous region [Russia's federal subject] have increased the sign-up bonus to 1.9 million rubles [$21,000]. They will pay this amount to anyone concluding a contract with the Ministry of Defense between Sept. 1 and Nov. 30 of this year. Afterwards, the bonus introduced in July, amounting to 1.1 million rubles [$12,200], will remain in effect.

Authorities in Moscow are stepping up their efforts to recruit contract soldiers. At the Kurskaya metro station, for instance, they have deployed three methods: a mobile recruitment center outside, an information booth inside the metro vestibule and advertisements displayed by ticket vending machines. Moscow residents say that the recruitment drive was not as active last week. Additionally, authorities have placed advertisements for contract-based military service on all benches near the Krasnye Vorota metro station.

In some regions, authorities are struggling to update advertising materials quickly enough to keep up with increasing payments. For example, in Russia's constituent Republic of Tatarstan, where authorities have raised the value of the regional sign-up bonus several times over the summer (1, 2, 3), they have had to paste the new amounts directly over the old ones on promotional posters. Authorities in the Smolensk region have had to do the same, after increasing the sign-up bonus to 1 million rubles [$11,000] as of July 31.

Governor Andrey Klychkov of the Oryol region has introduced a payment of 10,000 rubles [$110] for police officers who "assist" Russian citizens or migrants in signing contracts for military service. Previously, a number of regions had also introduced referral bonuses.

During a raid by law enforcement officers at a market in the city of Samara, 12 men who had obtained Russian citizenship were taken to the draft office. In addition, they were fined for failing to fulfill their military registration duties.

Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced a new stage in the exchange of prisoners of war: on Sept. 14, 103 Russian soldiers captured in the Kursk region were returned, while 103 Ukrainian prisoners were handed over in exchange. The Ukrainian Telegram channel Nash Vykhod [Our Way Out] published a list of the names of the exchanged Russians. Among those listed are at least three conscripts who had previously appeared in videos from captivity. It is also reported that the return of Russian soldiers from captivity on Sept. 14 was the second part of a two-day exchange. On Sept. 13, the sides completed a 49-for-49 POW exchange. The mother of one of the exchanged conscripts told the Vyorstka media outlet that they are being sent back to military units after the exchange. Conscripts who were exchanged back in August are still in military units, according to the mother of another conscript included in the exchange lists.

Akhmat special forces commander Apti Alaudinov has suggested that the Armed Forces of Ukraine keep the Chechens who voluntarily have surrendered, as Russia no longer needs them. Alaudinov stated that surrendering is a dishonorable act for a Chechen that can only be washed away with blood and proposed that the prisoners of war "end their journey as men" by getting themselves killed.

Russia’s Minister of Defense Andrey Belousov has ordered the relevant authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths of servicemen with the call signs "Ernest" and "Goodwin." It was previously reported that two servicemen of the 87th Rifle Regiment, Sergey Gritsay and Dmitry Lysakovsky, had a conflict with their commander. As a result, they were sent on a deadly mission from which they did not return. In their final videos, one of the soldiers advised against enlisting in the Russian Army.

Despite his health issues, Radik Garifullin, a 35-year-old mobilized soldier from Russia's constituent Republic of Bashkortostan, is being sent to the frontline. He is trying to be reassigned to an alternative civilian service, as military service contradicts his religious beliefs and he is unfit for the army due to health reasons. However, the command of the 91st Tank Regiment has denied him a medical evaluation and intends to deploy him to the frontline. Garifullin has left his unit and is now wanted.

Former soldier of Storm-Z unit Sergey Kulikov is struggling to obtain disability benefits promised by the Russian government. Following a severe injury, Kulikov was recognized as second-degree disabled, but the commission refused to acknowledge his disability as service-related as no certificate from the military medical board had been provided. Kulikov was told to submit his request through the draft office in order to prove that his impairments were service-related. However, his application was denied and his documents were returned.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

30-year-old resident of Shuya in Ivanovo region Mikhail K. who had expressed support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and posted the logo of the "Russian Volunteer Corps," was detained by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). In June 2023, K. announced on social media that he was "soon to become a different person," sharing a ticket to Saint Petersburg and photos of himself performing combat exercises in the woods. However, this was a trip he never made. Instead, he was detained on charges of justifying terrorism and later accused of treason. The case has already been submitted to a military court, while K. is awaiting conviction in a pre-trial detention center.

A criminal case was opened against 44-year-old resident of Zelenograd Aleksandr Razumov, accused of participation in a terrorist organization. According to investigators, back in July, Razumov had contacted the "Russian Volunteer Corps"” via an instant messenger and allegedly carried out assignments for the organization. He was detained. In 2015, Razumov had already been sentenced to seven years of imprisonment for extremism and mercenarism. Investigators believed that from March to May 2014, Razumov had participated in training sessions held by the Right Sector, a paramilitary confederation of several Ukrainian ultra nationalist organizations, and had later attempted to recruit two police officers into the organization.

Children and Educational System

War veteran honored with the Hero of Russia award Artur Orlov was appointed a new head of the Movement of the First, a Russian national state-sponsored organization for children and youth, while the previous organization’s leader Grigory Gurov was promoted to become the head of the National Agency for Youth Affairs. The main goal of the reshuffle is for the two organizations to join their efforts in the national project “Youth and Children” approved by Vladimir Putin. The total coverage of the two organizations currently amounts to over seven million participants.

Assistance

In the Arkhangelsk region, since the beginning of 2024, court bailiffs have suspended 16,000 enforcement actions against military personnel, totaling 865 million rubles [$9.55 million]. During their military service, all debts of war participants, except for alimony or compensation for harm due to the death of a breadwinner, are frozen.

In the Khabarovsk region, authorities have opened 19 collection points for smoothbore guns to support the "special military operation." Meanwhile, the authorities of the Irkutsk region sent 14 trucks to the combat zone, and the government of the Vladimir region announced the shipment of 80 cubic meters of construction timber to Russian soldiers.

In Omsk, volunteers helping Russian soldiers were not allowed to approach a medical train with wounded soldiers for "safety reasons." As a result, the volunteers had to throw boxes and packages over a fence to deliver their aid.

Longreads

Vazhnyye Istorii [IStories, independent Russian investigative media outlet] has published a report detailing how the authorities have been trying to influence the minds of young people since Putin's early years in office. The investigation explores who is behind the current efforts to turn teenagers into "universal soldiers," how it is funded, and why parents often support these programs.