Chaos, defaults and criticism in the Russian mobilization to go to the front in Ukraine

The same army, but with different payments.

The chaotic mobilization decreed by Vladimir Putin in order to swell the group of people ready to go to the front in Ukraine has further widened the social differences in Russia.

The Kremlin spokesman admits that some regions absolutely lack the means to support the families of new recruits, and new soldiers publicly address the authorities "distressed, so to speak", because they have not even had time to fix bank papers.

For his part, the Russian president tries to control the damage caused to his image by the mobilization, which has already recruited some 200,000 people, according to Kremlin data, and which has prompted thousands of Russians to leave the country. .

To try to ease that discomfort,

01:12

Putin signs a decree that includes "corrections" in the mobilization campaign

The leader of a group of more than fifty mobilized from Omsk, all of them already dressed in camouflage uniforms, declared on Tuesday before the cameras: “We leave our families at home.

Some have children, wives on maternity leave.

We ask ourselves the following question: Will they mobilize payments?

Will they pay us?

Our homes need them, the breadwinner is gone."

"We don't know what will happen there [in Ukraine], but we know that other Russian regions will pay their men constantly" through local or regional aid, denounces the recruit, a civilian until a few weeks ago.

Средств на выплаты мобилизованным не хватает, признались в Омской области.

Васти региона договорились с военкоматами, чтобы дать врея мобилизованнloyым на переоформение бизнеса (без

pic.twitter.com/w8HG1BE80n

– SOTA (@Sota_Vision) October 4, 2022

This situation and the payment of the mortgages cause them that anguish.

The Government announced a moratorium on loans for the mobilized, but reality has collided with the Russian bureaucracy because the banks demand that they present the papers or give their families a power of attorney.

"I did not have time.

The summons came to me in the afternoon and the next morning I had to be at the recruitment point”, he adds.

Once mobilized, employment contracts are suspended and citizens called up begin to receive, like professional soldiers participating in the war in Ukraine, 195,000 rubles per month (about 3,300 euros), almost three times the average Russian salary, according to the

state portal

.

A hefty salary, but at the cost of enormous risk, which is why each region has tried to offer more aid to reduce the anger of its citizens.

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“In Kemerovo they pay 200,000 rubles for support.

In Krasnoyarsk, 100,000.

In Novosibirsk, Altai and Omsk we have not decided anything because of certain budget problems.

It is clear that Moscow can pay a fighter 50,000 rubles more per month, but other regions do not have that opportunity, "admitted the governor of Omsk, Alexander Búrkov, in an interview with local media.

In the distant province of Sakhalin, bathed by the Sea of ​​​​Japan, the parents of those mobilized have received a box of fish, while the mayor of Moscow has signed a new order to provide jobs and nurseries to the children of these new soldiers.

Putin's spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, admitted on Wednesday that not all regions can afford to help their citizens.

“There are many programs with a great burden on regional budgets.

Now there is another additional weight.

Some have a [budgetary] margin of safety, while in others it is minimal or none at all.

Everything will be resolved with federal cooperation,” Peskov said.

In addition, many Muscovites found themselves on Wednesday with a surprise at their doors.

The recruiters left the recruitment summons glued to the entrances of the homes, even when their target did not reside there, but their tenant, as confirmed to this newspaper by one of those affected.

The Baza and Moskvá Live channels also reported more cases in the capital.

According to

, this practice is illegal and recruiters must be reported to the police.

The mobilization is not over yet.

Every day you hear a new anecdote from acquaintances, such as the letter that came home from the parents of a young man who has lived in France for more than a decade.

According to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, they have already recruited 200,000 of the 300,000 civilians who wanted to call up arms, and the recruitment centers have postponed the start of the military's autumn campaign until November

they are now busy with the mobilization.

Military service is compulsory in Russia until the age of 27 and by law it is forbidden to send cadets to the front, although the Kremlin has acknowledged that this has happened over these months "by mistake".

Hundreds of thousands of men have fled Russia in the last two weeks to avoid mobilization, although Vice President Dmitri Chernishenko has assured that more than 70,000 citizens have volunteered.

In any case, those who do not want to go to war face prison – up to 10 years – with little escape.

The Astra journalistic platform has revealed a dozen cases in which men were located by Moscow's smart camera system, including a policeman who was arrested by his colleagues.

In addition, the first criminal process against an objector has also been known.

Agora's lawyer and activist Pável Chikov told on his social networks that a 32-year-old man from Penza refused to sign his summons and was taken to the police station, where a complaint was filed against him.

Every union sweeps for home

When he announced his controversial mobilization, Putin specified that only reservists with previous military experience would be called up, something that has not happened and has not been supported by his own decree, devoid of any specification.

Unions and employers, silent for decades in the face of abuses by the authorities and the war, have now asked that their workers not be recruited.

The latest has been the Russian Book Union, which has written to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce to ask them not to call their graphic staff because the printing sector "has reached its peak" due to the lack of personnel. , the obsolete material and the lack of spare parts due to sanctions.

Previously, other sectors, such as the Association of Independent Pharmacies, also appealed for the exemption.

The Ministry of Defense issued an order at the beginning of the mobilization specifying some categories of citizens who would not be called up, such as telecommunications workers, state media employees or public university students.

However, the text was ambiguous and the recruiters continued to call people from these groups.

The Ministry of Digital Information published another list with 195 telecommunications positions that can prevent war, including journalists and designers of state media.

In a meeting with students held on Wednesday, Putin wanted to settle one of these controversies that have significantly damaged his popularity.

The president decreed that students from private universities with state accreditation, postgraduate students and students from religious institutions will not be called to the front either.

As a curiosity, the priests of the Orthodox Church, one of Putin's great pillars to defend his war against Ukraine, can be called to arms, according to the government information service.

The Patriarch of Moscow, Kirill, has recently affirmed that dying on the front "cleanses all sins" and has glorified "the true deed" of the Russian soldier who goes to this war "for love of his fatherland".

However, his press service has made it clear this week that the monks cannot fight for their votes.

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