Published on: 10/18/2022 – 21:16 Modified on 10/18/2022 – 21:30
The mayor of Moscow announced the end of partial mobilization in the Russian capital on Monday. An announcement that does not bode well for the future: The partial mobilization of hundreds of thousands of reservists for the fight in Ukraine is not complete “for the time being”, the Kremlin confirmed on Tuesday through the voice of its spokesman. The lack of prospects for tomorrow and the fear remain.
From our correspondent in Moscow,
These images from Moscow on Monday drew thousands of views: a military police station — that’s what mobilization centers are called in Russia — and closed faces waiting to be formally drafted. Then suddenly: “It’s over, you can go home,” announces an officer. Announcement followed by formalization by the mayor of the Russian capital: quota met, end of operations.
Except that in reality this announcement has no legal value. Warning from the Kremlin spokesman this Tuesday morning: The real end can only be announced by a presidential decree. In concrete terms, it is always possible to summon a Muscovite who meets the criteria. A recent example pointing in this direction: in Buryatia in the east of the country, on September 30, the regional head declared “the quotas have been met”; then, on October 12, the military official announced a “small additional recruitment.”
Vladimir Putin himself last Friday mentioned the end of October mobilization deadline. But everyone has it in their heads: the front line is not stabilized. This question arises in all private conversations: what if another wave of mobilization is announced in November or December? We also refrain from this advice from the few civil society organizations that are still registered on Russian soil and from specialized lawyers: that the refugees do not return, nobody is safe.
Closing of mobilization centers in Moscow announced two hours before: Today at 2 p.m., says the mayor of the Russian capital https://t.co/COLrGGJDEi
— Anissa El Jabri (@anissaeljabri) October 17, 2022
In this already difficult climate, another possibility also weighs: martial law (and its consequence, the closure of the borders). The possibility of using it was passed simultaneously with all the laws that increased the penalties for refusing to put on a uniform or deserting on the battlefield.
Difficult climate, uncertain future? In any case, since September 21 and the announcement of the mobilization in all polls, Russians say they are now mostly anxious and worried. Those on the frontline also sometimes resent those who refuse to join them or have the means to leave, “metrosexuals who fled on scooters,” according to a prominent blogger.
An architect from Moscow – he will not give his name – took a plane ticket to an airport in southern Russia before buying a bicycle. Hidden in the back of a cab, which he’d paid to avoid being seen, and then on two wheels, he crossed the border into Georgia.
After four days of poor sleep, he joined other young men in his situation, “lost, not knowing what to do, often changing countries, trying to find options,” but determined never to return to Russia.
This editor of an advertising agency in Kyrgyzstan describes him of the “terrible helplessness” that followed his “hellish horror” when the partial mobilization was announced. “What’s happening isn’t what normal life should be like,” he said. Bishkek is just a temporary haven for him as he works remotely at his Russian company and his employers, he says, “have a negative attitude towards those who have left”. He doesn’t know how long he can keep his job and thus his income. In addition, in a phone conversation sent via encrypted message, he explains: “I have a wife and a child and I cannot get them out of Russia. This is the main theme of my torment and suffering, I miss it. »
However, there is never any doubt about his choice. For him, taking up arms is only “justified in one case: if someone attacks you and you are defending your country and your homeland, otherwise it is outrageous and against nature”.
As a refugee in Uzbekistan, the 30-year-old Muscovite does not have a good relationship with his relatives.
This is a very big problem for me, they only realized that something terrible had happened when the mobilization was announced. Before that, they remained loyal to the country. Such moments are very difficult when you are arguing with your parents just because you are telling them that killing people is wrong. All this, just because their past is Soviet, they were brought up differently. I have many Ukrainian friends and I absolutely cannot understand how anyone can pretend to solve problems in this way. At least I’ve been spared all that so far. I went to protest demonstrations even though we saw it was pointless. But when the mobilization was announced, we all realized that although we absolutely condemn it, we could be forced to take part. The fear of dying is normal. But the decisive factor for me was that I could be forced to fight. I’m not that kind of person.
Those who left in late February/early March sometimes distance themselves from those who join them today. Not this engineer who dreamed of a career in Canada and now lives in Kyrgyzstan.
The first wave of emigration were people who had the means and a job to do remotely, people who could leave without losing their quality of life. Today these are men who literally go into overdrive. They run and flee for their lives.
He returned to Russia a few days before the mobilization to visit his relatives before leaving the country. In just a few months, the country has changed profoundly for him: “People are much more afraid, they talk as little as possible about everything that is happening. They also give the impression of having gotten used to all this, as if it were normal for Russia to be involved in an armed conflict. People really don’t react anymore. »
With no military experience and total distrust of the authorities, Danil is convinced that if he returns to Russia today, he can be mobilized at any time.
►For further reading: Russia: With the partial mobilization, military equipment is snapped up in Moscow