Russia: Putin's opponent is forcibly recruited into the army and sent to a remote base

Ruslan Shabdinov, Alexei Nabeleni's partner, was arrested in his Moscow apartment - and is seen again at a facility in a frozen archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, some 2,000 kilometers from the capital

Russia: Putin's opponent is forcibly recruited into the army and sent to a remote base

One of the opposition leader's associates in Russia was forcibly recruited into the army and sent to a remote base in the Arctic. Ruslan Shabdinov, project manager at Alexei Navlani's Anti-Corruption Fund, was arrested Monday in his Moscow apartment after the door to his house was broken into, the electricity in his apartment was cut off and the SIM card on his cellphone was remotely disconnected. Yesterday, he was once again seen at the base in Nubia Zemelia, a frozen archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, some 2,000 kilometers north of Moscow. Instead, a single slice for air defense.

Nabalani described the recruitment of his partner as an abduction and unlawful imprisonment. President Vladimir Putin's rival said that Dinov, who was trying to appeal his recruitment for medical reasons, was able to make one phone call today through someone else's phone. He said he was told he would not be allowed to hold a cellphone during his military service and that another soldier had been assigned to accompany him at all times. Navalani added that Shabdinov's lawyers would question his recruitment and claim he was kidnapped and jailed.

"Service in the military has simply become a way to imprison people," Nabalani wrote on social networks. Opposition activists have compared the way that Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union have sent political opponents to the most remote ends of the largest country in the world.

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Nabalani said he was "kidnapped." Ruslan, Dinov (center), 2017 (Photo: Reuters)

Ruslan Shabdinov, a prominent activist in the organization of opposition leader Alexei Navlani June 9, 2017 (Photo: Reuters)

Shadinov was part of the villain's unsuccessful campaign to run last year's presidential election. He has worked as a presenter on the Navlani online channel, and has been assisting with project management at his foundation, which specializes in publishing corruption investigations to government officials and administrators.

Valentina Melnikova, head of the Soldiers 'Mothers' Association, told Reuters she had serious doubts about how Shedinov was treated. "It's completely illegal," she said.

However, Colonel Maxim Lukatev, Moscow's military superintendent, told the news agency Tass that Badinov had avoided mandatory recruitment for a long time and that a court on Monday ruled that his recruitment was legal.

All men in Russia aged 18 to 27 are committed to one year military service, with only a few exceptions.