Mobilization in Russia for Sept. 15-16, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary
Authorities and Legislation
Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to expand the size of the Russian Armed Forces by 180,000 troops, bringing the authorized strength to 2,389,130, including 1,500,000 military personnel. The decree does not specify which categories of service members will be used to achieve this increase. The Voyennye Advokaty [Military Lawyers] Telegram channel writes that this could be realized by recruiting additional contract soldiers, conscripting more people for statutory military service and/or extending the duration of service. A new wave of mobilization is also a possibility. The last time Putin increased the size of the RuAF was in December 2023, when its headcount reached 2,209,130, including 1,320,000 military personnel. At that time, the Ministry of Defense described the increase as a response to "growing threats, including NATO expansion." In August 2022, Putin had also increased the size of the RuAF by 137,000 service members, bringing the total to 2,390,000, with 1,150,000 military personnel.
Furthermore, Putin signed a decree requiring Cossack societies to prepare their members for entry into the mobilization reserve. This follows the law he signed in March of this year, which established the Cossack mobilization reserve, and a proposal from the MoD in May to induct Cossack society members into the reserve. Currently, these societies comprise approximately 146,000 members across the country, with an estimated 20,000 members already participating in the invasion of Ukraine.
The State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia] Defense Committee has endorsed a bill that would allow the suspension of criminal cases against defendants who sign contracts with the MoD to participate in the war. The bill was introduced to the lower house in late August and is scheduled for consideration during the plenary session on Sept. 18.
Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising
In Krasnoyarsk, law enforcement officers conducted a large-scale raid on city markets. As a result, 520 people were detained. Among them were 92 individuals who had obtained Russian citizenship but had not completed military registration. All of them were summoned to a draft office.
The Azeri-Press Agency [Azerbaijan media agency group] has reported that three Azerbaijani citizens—Nihad Rzayev, Elkhan Shirinov and Vugar Magerramov—who were detained in Russia's constituent Republic of Chechnya, were forcibly sent to the war against Ukraine. Azerbaijani authorities have contacted the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to request clarification and demand that measures be taken to protect the rights of their citizens.
In the Krasnoyarsk region, a 63-year-old resident of the village of Kirikovo, locally known as an "honorary beekeeper," who is currently under investigation for the murder of his neighbor, has written an appeal expressing his willingness to join the war effort.
The Voyennye Advokaty [Military Lawyers] Telegram channel has issued a reminder that for legal consequences to result from failure to appear at a draft office, draft notices must be sent by registered mail with delivery confirmation, delivered in person by draft office employees or local authorities at the place of work or study and recorded in the Draft Registry. Russian authorities plan to launch the registry on Nov. 1 this year.
Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers
The list of mobilized soldiers killed in the war has been updated to include Nikolay Bogatov from the Vladimir region.
Additionally, Vladislav Yurasov, a 21-year-old conscript soldier from Russia's constituent Republic of Udmurtia, has been reported killed. Yurasov was conscripted in November 2023 and was killed on Aug. 21, 2024, during combat in the Kursk region.
Anatoly Chadov, the Ombudsman of the Orenburg region, reported that, as a result of a recent prisoner exchange, three out of four conscripts from the Orenburg region who had been captured by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk region have returned. Among those exchanged was also one conscript from the Kursk region.
The Kursk Now Telegram channel reports that 45 conscripts who signed contracts with the MoD are being moved from the Russian Aerospace Forces airfield in Levashovo. Initially promised rear positions, they were reportedly deceived and reassigned to infantry roles. According to the source, a total of 500 personnel from the 6th Air and Air Defense Forces Army are expected to be transferred to infantry duties in September for deployment to Kursk.
A mobilized man from Komi was forced to sign a report agreeing to continue his service after being exchanged. According to his wife, he was given a month of leave but was then required to return to the frontline for a contract extension. He is now being detained and coerced into signing a report for further service. The family is afraid to contact the Military Prosecutor's Office due to threats that he will be assigned to an assault mission if they do so.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
The Rostov Regional Court has upheld the sentence against Viktor Rakitin, a convict who was pardoned for participating in the war. Rakitin had previously been sentenced to four years in a penal colony for robbery after breaking into a store in the village of Dmitriadovka and stealing 23,000 rubles [$250] from the register. Additionally, the court is reviewing another theft case against him, with the verdict still pending. In 2017, Rakitin was sentenced to one year and two months in a penal colony for three robberies, and in 2018, he was found guilty of 43 thefts and sentenced to three and a half years. In the summer of 2022, he was sentenced again to five years for 11 thefts. However, instead of serving his term, Rakitin enlisted to fight in the war against Ukraine.
On June 3, Đ° court in Volgograd sentenced Yulia Yashchenko, a 31-year-old employee of the committee of justice of the Volgograd region, to two years in a penal settlement for attempting to set fire to a draft office. She was charged with deliberate damage to property. On Aug. 7, the Volgograd regional court upheld this sentence but released Yashchenko in the courtroom, taking into account her time spent in pre-trial detention. In August 2023, Yashchenko was detained near a draft office with Molotov cocktails. Unknown individuals had convinced her that she needed to set fire to the draft office to help law enforcement officers catch scammers who had stolen her money.
In Novosibirsk, 29-year-old hairdresser Yevgeny Ryapolov has been sentenced to 13 years of imprisonment for attempting to blow up a draft office. Ryapolov was found guilty of illegally manufacturing and storing explosives and attempting an act of terror. In early December 2023, employees of the draft office in the Zheleznodorozhny district of the city found an explosive device inside a multicooker case left on the windowsill of the building during a night patrol. The bomb was successfully defused by sappers. A week later, Ryapolov was detained on suspicion of the attempted explosion and allegedly confessed during interrogation. In 2017, Ryapolov was involved with the Novosibirsk branch of the Restrukt far-right movement, which is banned in Russia, and was sentenced to four years in a penal colony for storing explosives. According to investigators, at that time, he had planned to use hexogen to blow up a mosque, but he did not plead guilty to those charges.
In Nizhny Novgorod, the Federal Security Service (FSB) has detained a local resident who is allegedly a member of the "Freedom of Russia Legion." According to law enforcement, they found money and other items indicating his involvement with the organization at his home. The man is accused of spreading "military fakes," calling for terrorism and participating in a terrorist organization.
The Butyrsky District Court of Moscow sentenced 20-year-old Alina Nevmyanova to one year in a penal settlement for spilling green dye into a ballot box. She was found guilty of obstructing the electoral process. The time she spent in pre-trial detention was credited towards her sentence, and she has been released in the courtroom.
Children and Educational System
In Balashikha, a town near Moscow, members of the Russian Community [Russkaya obshchina, nationalist organization] arranged a "patriotic" celebration. During the event, children were dressed in military uniforms, bulletproof vests and armor, and were given weapons.
Natalya Agre, Head of the Department for National Education Policy with the Russian Ministry of Education, has suggested that school students should be engaged in the construction of the "new Baikal-Amur Mainline" [a railway line in Siberia]. She believes that the project will offer young people the opportunity to "travel around the country, make new friends and perhaps find love while serving Russia." All Russian nationals aged 14 to 35 must take part in the construction, says Agre. In her opinion, this experience should be made compulsory for everyone.
Miscellaneous
Over the year 2023, Russian citizens lost more than 100 billion rubles [$1 billion] due to telephone-based scams allegedly traced to the AFU, according to Stanislav Kuznetsov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Sberbank, a Russian major state-owned banking and financial services company. Since the beginning of this year, Russians have been fleeced out of 250 billion rubles [$3 billion], falling prey to phone scammers. About 40% of this amount is used to sponsor the AFU, Kuznetsov claimed.
On Sept. 13, an episode of the popular TV game show "Polye Chudes" [Field of Wonders] featuring ex-Wagner Group mercenary Sergey Dyrmeyko aired on Channel One, a major Russian state-controlled television channel. The Vyorstka media outlet revealed that Dyrmeyko had two criminal convictions and had most probably been recruited into the Wagner Group while serving his term in a penal colony. He lost his leg during a combat mission in Ukraine.
Longreads
Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] released an article dedicated to Irina Izmaylova, a girlfriend of Russian Volunteer Corps fighter Aleksandr Kudashev. Izmaylova was accused of treason. According to Mediazona, the handlers involved in Izmaylova’s case are also linked to the case of Ruslan Sidiki, another Russian citizen accused of blowing up a freight train. Investigators allege that Sidiki, like Izmaylova, traveled to Istanbul and took a polygraph test. Sidiki has recently reported being tortured by law enforcement officers.