Mobilization in Russia for Sept. 20-22, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary
Authorities and Legislation
Andrey Kartapolov, Chairman of the Defense Committee of the State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia], stated that during the fall regular conscription campaign, which starts on Oct. 1, authorities will be serving draft notices the traditional way, delivering them personally or through registered mail. A pilot of the Unified Military Register—the register of Russians subject to military service [digital system to identify citizens subject to military service and serve draft notices]—was launched last week; however, according to Kartapolov, the system will not be fully operational until Jan. 1, 2025.
State Duma member Svetlana Bessarab spoke about the increase by 5.1% of pensions for military personnel. Vladimir Putin signed the corresponding law in July. At first, the government had approved a 4.5% indexation but later revised the rate due to an updated inflation forecast. Following the indexation, the average military pension will amount to around 42,000 rubles [$450], with an average increase ranging from 600 rubles [$6.49] to 650 rubles [$7.03].
According to Veniamin Kondratyev, Governor of the Krasnodar region, 1,200 civilians were evacuated from the Tikhoretsk district following a Ukrainian drone strike on an ammunition storage facility. While most evacuees sought shelter with friends and relatives, over 150 people are staying in four temporary accommodation centers. Authorities have also declared a local state of emergency in the district.
Authorities and Relatives of Mobilized Soldiers
On Sept. 21, a group of wives of mobilized soldiers gathered outside Russia’s Ministry of Defense in Moscow in a protest scheduled to mark the second anniversary of the mobilization. The protest, announced a few days earlier, was attended by two dozens of women who demanded that their loved ones be allowed to return home. The women, who wanted the Minister of Defense Andrey Belousov to come out and speak to them, spread the official letters they had received from the ministry out on the ground and staged one-person pickets (1, 2, 3). Police were visibly present at the scene, as well as a few pro-government activists who insulted the protestors in an attempt to provoke them. One counterprotester told the wife of a mobilized soldier to "go home and pray," while another demeaned the women’s husbands, claiming that fighting in the war was the only way they could be of service to their country.
The Mobilizatsia [Mobilization] Telegram channel managed to identify one of the state-sanctioned agents as 19-year-old Ilya Kulikov, a member of Volunteer Squad of Combat Brotherhood, a state-sponsored organization disseminating propaganda among young people. According to Volunteer Squad’s social media posts, Kulikov has been promoting his organization among Moscow schoolchildren through "Talking About Important Things," compulsory weekly classroom sessions emphasizing patriotism and "traditional values." Also noticed among the pro-government group was Aleksey Okopny, head of the Moscow division of the General Directorate for Countering Extremism of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, known as "Center E."
Before the protest began, reporters Maksim Seramush and Denis Panteleyev from SotaVision [a Russian independent news outlet] who planned to cover the rally, as well as one civil activist, were detained by the police near the MoD. Both journalists presented their press IDs, but that did not stop the police from taking them to the police station in Moscow's Khamovniki district. The reporters were threatened against covering the protest and harassed by police officers, who called them "foreign agents" and "traitors of the fatherland." However, all detainees were later released after receiving official warnings for "unacceptable anti-social behavior."
As evening approached, the relatives of mobilized soldiers announced that, since no military officials had come out to meet them, they intended to stay overnight outside the MoD building. The women said they hoped this would draw attention to their demonstration and demands. A total of seven women planned to remain overnight. Supporters provided them with sleeping bags and ordered groceries, food, and coffee through delivery services.
In the end, all those who stayed overnight were detained by the police. The participants were asked to board a police van, but before that, they managed to light candles at the ministry’s gates. According to the OVD-Info independent human rights project, a total of 10 women were detained. The reasons for their detention were not disclosed. The women were taken to the Yakimanka district police station, but later that night, all were released and ordered to return to the police station on Sept. 24 to face charges under the "rally" article.
The next day, one of the detained participants, Lidiya Yegorova, recorded a video explaining that the activists had initially reached an agreement with the MoD. The women were to gather the concerns of mobilized soldiers and prepare a list for a meeting with Belousov, which ministry representatives were supposed to organize. However, when the officials failed to keep their word, the women decided to proceed with the protest. According to Yegorova, before the demonstration, the women were threatened with having their children taken away. She also accused the authorities of turning a blind eye to the actions of provocateurs.
To mark the anniversary of Russia's mobilization declaration, a number of media outlets have prepared retrospective summaries on this topic. These include TV Rain [independent Russian television channel], the Sirena [Siren] Telegram channel, Dovod [independent Russian media outlet], the Bumaga [Paper] independent media outlet and the Ostorozhno, Moskva [Beware, Moscow] Telegram channel.
Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising
The Sverdlovsk regional authorities have increased the sign-up bonus for contracts with the MoD to 1.5 million rubles [$16,200]. This constitutes the fourth increase in payments since the beginning of summer. The previous increase, implemented on Sept. 2, raised the bonus from 500,000 rubles [$5,410] to 1 million rubles [$10,800].
An advertisement for contract military service was spotted on the entrance of the Nizhny Novgorod State Linguistic University. The leaflet promises an immediate payment of 1 million rubles [$10,800] and a monthly payment starting from 210,000 rubles [$2,270].
Out of those 26 individuals detained in connection with the shooting at the Wildberries [Russian online retailer] office, an unspecified number have requested to join the war effort, according to a source of Lenta.ru [pro-Russian news outlet].
Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers
The list of mobilized soldiers killed in the war has been updated to include Leonid Nokhoev from the Irkutsk region, Artyom Gvozdev from the Samara region, Viktor Shchelko from the Bryansk region and Aleksey Gvardeyev from the Orenburg region.
Cannibal Dmitry Malyshev, who was sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment 10 years ago for the murders of two people with extreme brutality as part of a criminal group, as well as for banditry, theft, illegal trafficking of weapons and ammunition, preparation for the murder of police officers, robbery and eating the heart of his last victim, has returned from the war in Ukraine, where he served in a Storm unit. According to the head of the Rakhinskoye rural settlement, Malyshev is currently on leave due to injury. After treatment, he plans to return to the frontline. It became known in May that Malyshev was released and deployed to the war in Ukraine as part of the Storm-V unit, having signed a contract in October 2023.
Servicemen of the Shtorm-V unit who suffered severe injuries have recorded another video address, requesting for equal rights with other military personnel. Due to their special legal status, ex-convicts are currently unable to receive full medical treatment and rehabilitation. They are also entitled to smaller compensation for their injuries compared to regular servicemen.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
Yevgeny Ch., a 39-year-old former participant in the war, has been sentenced to two and a half years in a penal colony for assaulting a man. He went to the war as a volunteer fighter and returned from the frontline a year and a half ago. In June 2023, the convict was holding a memorial for his mother when he met a group of people who invited him and his brother to their apartment. While drinking, the apartment’s female owner mentioned that her partner was beating her and behaving like a "fascist." This allegedly enraged the soldier, who then attacked and severely assaulted the man. In court, he claimed he did not remember what had happened.
In Saint Petersburg, a 29-year-old cadet from a military academy fatally beat a 41-year-old woman he met at a nightclub. He allegedly suspected her of "working for the Armed Forces of Ukraine" because she introduced herself as a foreigner. The detained cadet denies his guilt in the murder. The academy has described him "exclusively from the positive side."
A mobilized major from Tyumen has been stripped of his rank and sentenced to three years in a penal colony for theft. After mobilization was declared, he was appointed as deputy unit commander responsible for armaments, overseeing MoD property, including 443 pairs of boots valued at 2,236,000 rubles [$24,200]. The major stole the boots, transported them off the military base and sold them to a commercial organization. During the investigation, he reimbursed damages totaling 872,174 rubles [$9,440].
Children and Educational System
Saint Petersburg students will undergo military training from Sept. 23 to 27, where they will learn to shoot an AK-74 assault rifle. A total of three waves of training sessions are planned throughout the fall.
In Moscow, parents of students at School No. 1164 are being asked to collect supplies for soldiers participating in the invasion of Ukraine. The requested items include personal hygiene products, instant noodles, sweets, tea, coffee, underwear, clothing and "anything else that may be needed on the frontline."
Miscellaneous
Residents of Shebekino in the Belgorod region are complaining about difficulties in obtaining housing to replace homes destroyed by shelling. Authorities have promised all affected residents financial compensation to purchase new homes, but the funds can only be used to buy apartments in the same region, with the same or larger square footage and only in new buildings. However, the allocated funds are insufficient to cover the cost. Many of the homeowners are pensioners who are ineligible for mortgages or loans due to their age and lack the personal funds to make up the difference.
Longreads
Journalist Marfa Khvostova from The Novaya Vkladka [New Tab] media outlet spent a week volunteering in the psychiatric ward of a military hospital, where many soldiers recently returned from the war in Ukraine are being treated.
The Insider [independent Russian investigative media outlet]reported on the fate of pets owned by participants in the invasion of Ukraine. Dozens of ads signaling abandoned animals regularly appear on Avito [the largest Russian classified advertisements website], often with descriptions like "owner went to the special military operation."