Russia breaks military mobilization rules

The command for mobilization applies only to experienced military reserveers, and both men were shocked by invitations.

Scuttin would have to be exempt from the order because of his status as a student. While Duachok believed that because of poor age and health, he would not be called into office. He has skin cancer at first stage and is blind in one eye.

When the two went to the local recruiting offices to report “malpractice”, authorities were confirmed that they would be sent to Ukraine and ordered to submit for training next day on the contrary, they were said to face prosecution for criminal work.

No competent medical examiner would approve my father for military service”, says Victor's daughter, Paulina Dialach, of Radio Time Channel Free Europe.

“After being sent to the exercise, there was only one military commander and no explanation was given to”, she says.

Eventually, both Scutkin and Duachok returned from training and were released from the obligation of military service. But that was after various campaigns by the daughter of Duachok and Skunin's girlfriend. They wrote letters, received civil support, met recruit officials and spoke to local media.

The cases of these two men are not isolated. They testify to a chaotic process of mobilization taking place in Russia. Once, they also urge speculation that the Kremlin is aimed at mobilizing many more than 300,000 soldiers as Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has originally declared.

Fear of recruiting caused hundreds of thousands of Russians to flee to Central Asian countries, such as Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as to other countries: Finland, Georgia, Mongolia, Turkey and Serbia.

“ [so far], many people lived in peace and thought that [the war in Ukraine] does not bother us at”, says the current Paulina Artamonova, Scutin's girlfriend.

But, now, things are very tense. Artyom is at home, but there is fear that he could be taken [by the army] at any moment”, she says.

chaotic Mobilization

Not all who believed to be excluded from the September 21st mobilization order returned home like Scuttin and Duachok.

Andrei Griskovs, 37, from a town outside St. Petersburg, was sent to the exercise after trying to resolve “the mistake of” at the invitation he had received.

Grikovis was released from compulsory military service when he was younger because of chronic health problems.

He did not expect to be recruited, but after appearing in a local recruiting office, he was confiscated from passports and ID and then sent to a military facility in Luga, south of St. Petersburg.

Griskoves' partner, Irina, tells Radio Free Europe that her efforts to free her have been unsuccessful so far and that Griskovs remains in the training camp.

According to her, he is facing health problems and may be sent to Ukraine soon.

Cases like that of Gritoves have raised fears across Russia, as hundreds of thousands of civilians fear being sent to military service, especially after the heavy defeats of the Russian Army on the battlefield.

According to OVD-Info, the human rights group monitoring police activity in Russia more than 2,000 anti-war protesters have been arrested since the announced mobilization on September 21st. According to the same source, several recruiting centers have been attacked.

Polls also show that Russians are increasingly concerned about the war.

The Levada Centre, which is considered reliable in Russia, said in a survey published on September 29th that the number of Russians who believe the so-called <x0) special military operation” Russia's Ukraine is “, according to plan”, has dropped from 73 percent in May to 53 percent in September.

More than 47 percent of respondents have said that they are concerned, scared, or terrified by the Government's decision to partial military mobilization, while 23 percent have said that they are shocked by the move.

Increased concerns have also caused ecstasy among Russian men of military age.

Authorities in Kazakhstan, which has a 7,644km limit with Russia, say more than 100,000 Russian citizens have entered the country since the mobilization was declared.

Minorities Targeted

Throughout Russia's 7-month war in Ukraine, the Russian Army has relied on units of soldiers from ethnic minority regions, including those in Siberia and the predominantly Muslim provinces in the Northern Caucasus. These regions have suffered a disproportionate number of war victims.

The same minority populations are said to be unprofessional even in the target of actual mobilization.

There have been several protests, especially from women, that oppose recruiting men or their sons.

The Kremlin has not published official data on scattered recruiting parties.

A Crimea Tatar, who sought to remain anonymous to protect his relatives in the Crimea from being attacked by Russian authorities, tells Radio Free Europe that he has been driven from Russia to Kazakhstan after his sister learned from an acquaintance that his name is on a list for mobilization. He says he doesn't know if he'll ever come back to Russia.

Authorities in Kiev addressed Russia's ethnic minorities directly. In a video statement on 29 September, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, called on minority groups throughout Russia to resist Kremlin efforts for mobilization.

You must not die in Ukraine. Your boys should not die in Ukraine”, Zelensky said, standing near the monument in Kiev of an imam from the Caucasus.