The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

No Escape for Conscripts: How Russia Organizes the Supply of Soldiers for the War

2023-04-24T14:50:24.426Z


Step by step, Russia is closing the loopholes through which the men were able to avoid military service and the war in Ukraine. Despite high losses, Moscow wants to keep fighting for a long time.


Step by step, Russia is closing the loopholes through which the men were able to avoid military service and the war in Ukraine.

Despite high losses, Moscow wants to keep fighting for a long time.

This text is available 

to IPPEN.MEDIA

 as part of a cooperation with the 

Security.Table Professional Briefing -

Security.Table

 first published it 

 on April 18, 2023.

Moscow/Munich – Shortly after his attack on Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the creation of a digital database of conscripts.

Then the target number of soldiers was increased.

Last week, the Duma passed several laws that massively expand state control over all men fit for war.

In concrete terms this means:

  • The number of soldiers in the Russian army is expected to increase to 1.5 million in the long term – around 500,000 more than at the beginning of the war

  • In the future, all conscripts will be recorded in a database, at the age of 17 all men will be summoned to the military registration office (

    wojenkomat

    )

  • Subpoenas are now also to be sent digitally via a government service portal and no longer have to be accepted in person

  • Leaving Russia after a summons is prohibited

  • In addition, a new database is being created with all conscripts and reservists

"The aim of this law is clear: the men should report to the military registration offices," says Elena Popova.

She coordinates the work of the organization "Movement of Objectors".

She advises conscripts or active soldiers who, for reasons of conscience, cannot serve or wish to retire.

Speaking to

Table.Media

, she reports that the phone hasn't stopped ringing since the new laws were passed.

"It's not quite as bad as the mobilization last fall, but it's several hundred calls a day."

Recommendation to Russian men: "If you can, leave immediately"

Putin's regime had used a lot of propaganda – as well as unofficial bans on media loyalists from reporting on mobilizations – to calm down the population after the large wave of emigration by hundreds of thousands of young people last year.

That's over now.

Table.Media newsletter

Get 30 days free access to further exclusive information from the

Table.Media Professional Briefings

- the decisive for the decisive in business, science, politics, administration and NGOs. 

The Russian writer Dmitry Glukhovsky sums up his concerns very clearly: “This is a law on the right of the state to sentence anyone to death with an e-mail, without the right of appeal.

(...) If you can, leave immediately.”

That is exactly what the new law is intended to prevent – ​​leaving the country.

It also provides penalties for those who ignore the subpoenas.

Russia needs human resources for its war.

The number of those killed or seriously wounded is unknown, but Western secret services assume a total of more than 220,000.

Neither the recruitment in the prisons nor the intensified advertising campaign for contract soldiers are sufficient.

Russia: Number of conscripts in spring is higher than 2022

How many members of the army Russia actually mobilized for the Ukraine war is unclear.

According to official figures, Russia had almost a million soldiers before the war, and this number is now expected to rise to more than 1.5 million.

Last fall, 120,000 conscripts were drafted.

From April 1st to mid-July, another 147,000 are to be drafted into regular military service

– more than last spring.

After the basic training in the first few months, the superiors try to recruit the young men as temporary soldiers.

Then they can go to the front.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu's proposal to increase the number of reservists to 350,000 is apparently off the table for the time being.

Total strength of Russian troops in Ukraine is unclear

The total strength of the Russian force in Ukraine is unknown.

Immediately before February 24, 2022, 190,000 soldiers are said to have been on the border with Ukraine, plus those in occupied Donbass, Crimea and Belarus.

Last fall, Russia mobilized around 300,000 for what was euphemistically called a “special military operation.”

The new laws are intended to ensure a steady flow of new soldiers without officially declaring a new mobilization on a large scale.

Not only did it drive hundreds of thousands abroad, it also drew criticism from business.

The Russian labor market had staffing problems even before the war.

Tougher conscription rules: No opposition expected from Russia's terrified populace

The current reform of the subpoenas is not a direct result of the war, but goes back to plans from 2018, says another expert from another critical NGO that advises conscripts.

The expert does not want to give her name and the name of the organization publicly.

"We're already being followed," she explains.

In her opinion, it is now important for those affected to find out about their rights.

The authorities often took advantage of people's ignorance.

An important way out, guaranteed by the constitution, is the right to an alternative service.

Small protests erupted when Putin announced “limited mobilization” last September.

Elena Popova does not expect any new public resistance from the "objectionist movement".

"No, there will be no protests," she said.

"People are scared."

The fact that the regime, at least officially, is not calling for a new mobilization probably shows the concern about a new large-scale emigration.

In addition, the new laws followed a simple calculation, explains the Russian journalist Dmitrij Kolesew: "It is very likely that the most servile will follow the summonses.

And even if only 30 percent come from those who get the summonses - that's enough for a new mobilization.

So you shouldn’t be part of that 30 percent.”

By Viktor Funk

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2023-04-24

You may like

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-28T06:04:53.137Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.