‘It Started Everywhere’ Russia is Recruiting Prisoners for War
08/18/2022 09:57
There are many indications that the Russian army is plagued by personnel problems. Authorities in many regions of the country are promoting a mission to Ukraine. According to human rights activists, Moscow is also stepping up its efforts to recruit people from prisons – and making promises to prisoners.
According to human rights activists in Russian prisons, volunteers are being sought specifically for Moscow’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Russian civil rights activist Olga Romanowa, who lives in Berlin, reported on Facebook that suspects and defendants were also recruited with the promise that, in return, criminal cases would be dropped. There are examples of detention centers in the Moscow region. “But I think it started everywhere,” wrote Romanova, who is considered a respected expert on prisoner rights in Russia.
There is no general mobilization in Russia for the war in Ukraine, which has been going on for almost half a year. That’s why the army and President Vladimir Putin depend on volunteers. A sign of understaffing at the front is that authorities in many regions have started using street advertising to promote a mission in Ukraine. Cities and regions assemble their own battalions.
war or prison
Since almost all prosecutions in Russia end in a guilty verdict, suspects and accused now apparently have a choice: war or prison. The founder of the Gulaga.net project created to combat violence in Russian prisons, Vladimir Osechkin, while in exile in France, confirmed recruitment practices in prisons. There is also information from St. Petersburg, Ryazan, Tver and Bryansk.
According to the internet portal Meduza, there were already reports in the Russian media in early July about the search for volunteers in various prison camps of the huge empire. Thus, the private mercenary organization “Wagner” is said to have recruited criminals for use in war.
Internet portal Mediazona reported that businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin wanted by the United States, considered a “Wagner” financier with the best contacts with Putin, had recruited volunteers in prison camps. In return, they were promised a monthly salary of 100,000 rubles (1,600 euros), bonuses, payments to families in the event of death and amnesty.