2023-08-07 01:53:49
Getty Images The maximum age to be recruited as a reservist in Russia will change from 27 to 30 years.
“Now I live in a state of constant fear. I can’t plan anything,” says 27-year-old Peter.
He is a salesman who lives in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg and in recent days has faced the possibility of be called to fight as part of the Russian forces in the Ukrainian war.
In late July, Moscow raised the maximum conscription age, expanding the pool of men who can be called up to join the army. Peter is one of the millions affected by this change.
Prior to this, all men in good standing between 18 and 27 years they had to comply one year of compulsory military service. The conscription was carried out twice a year.
Now all the men up to 30 years they can be summoned.
“I was going to get a mortgage this year and buy an apartment for our family,” Peter tells the BBC. “My wife and I were talking about plans for the future. Now everything is on hold.”
“Starting next January I can be called up and sent to Ukraine. I don’t want to join the army, I don’t want to participate in this war and die for someone else’s goals.”
The Russian parliament has also passed a bill that significantly increases fines for those who fail to report to a conscription office after receiving a draft notice.
They can be punished with fines of up to 30,000 rubles (about US$315) after the law goes into effect on October 1. That’s 10 times the current maximum fine.
BBC Peter, 27, says “everything is on pause” in his life due to changes in Russian recruitment rules.
Last fall, when the government announced a mobilization of 300,000 reservists, tens of thousands of men left Russia . Now, the authorities have imposed a new law that prohibits recruits from leaving the country once they receive their draft notice.
“I want to see my daughter grow up and live in peace”
Alex is 30 years old and works in a factory in Moscow. His position is considered essential, so he was promised a document that gives you immunity of being recruited, he says.
“Two weeks ago, I suddenly started receiving numerous calls and messages from the military enlistment office. They told me that I should go and register as exempt from conscription,” he told the BBC.
“I had doubts, but I finally decided to go,” he says.
To his surprise, the military enlistment officers began to tell him that “He must be a real man and not hide behind his papers”“.
Then, he says, one of the officers took his documents and stamped them, forcing Alex to join the army in case of mobilization. He tried to protest.
Getty Images Last year, Russia mobilized 300,000 reservists for the so-called “special operation” in Ukraine.
“The officer became sentimental and told me that ‘the country has given a lot and that men are born to be soldiers.’ So now I must be ready to fight and die for the country.”
“I said I don’t want to fight or die, I want to see my daughter grow up and live in peace. The officer reminded me that if I don’t show up, I can receive up to 15 years in prison,” explains Álex.
“If I go to the dentist, they can send me to war”
In April, Russian legislators adopted another law creating a system of digital recruitment notification.
It allows call-up papers to be delivered online instead of in person, greatly increasing the chance of finding those trying to avoid joining the military.
Alex says now youI feel that wherever you go, the government watches you: “I’m afraid that even if I go to the dentist, they can catch me and send me to war.
“My anxiety has reached its maximum levels. I try to appear calm so as not to stress my wife and daughter out, but they still see that I’m struggling.”
At the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised that the recruits would not engage in active combat. However, there is evidence that at least some have been deployed to fight in Ukraine on various occasions.
Getty Images Moscow points out that reservists guard the border, but some have died in fighting on the front lines.
Deployed without training
The BBC Russian Service has confirmed that at least 57 recruits have been killed during the last 17 months.
Currently, hundreds of conscripts are employed to guard the Russian-Ukrainian border.
“Our guys are deployed on the Ukrainian border. Some have already been killed, others are wounded,” says Valentina, whose 19-year-old son was called up by the army last fall and sent to the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine.
“Rockets are constantly flying around, Russian positions are constantly being attacked by drones. Is this really a suitable task for recruits? They have almost zero training. Where are the border guards and professional units?” he asks.
The woman has written numerous complaints to military officials and the prosecutor’s office, she says, without receiving a substantive response.
Russia is believed to have suffered heavy casualties in almost a year and a half of fighting, but the country’s defense ministry is reluctant to release the figures.
An independent investigation by the BBC Russian service, together with the independent Russian website Mediazona, has confirmed the names of more than 29,000 Russian fighters who have died since the invasion of February 2022.
Getty Images 57 recruits have been killed in the past 17 months, according to an investigation by the BBC Russian Service.
This includes both Russian military and individuals fighting for the mercenary group. Wagner. It is a minimum figure for Russia’s total war losses, but the actual number is likely to be at least twice this amount.
“My father supports Putin, so after the start of the invasion we barely spoke,” says Peter, the 27-year-old salesman from St. Petersburg.
He recently spoke with lawyers who said that, legally, you should have reservist statusbecause he turned 27 before the new law went into effect.
However, they immediately added that if you go to the military office to check your status, you can be recruited on the spot.
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