While the Ukrainian counter-offensive is looming, the Russian army continues its recruitment campaign begun this winter, and spring conscription is in full swing. However, and even if it is a silent phenomenon and difficult to assess, Russians always seek to avoid serving in the army.
From our correspondent in Moscow
With the spring of 2023 and the disappearance of the snow, these silent and anonymous cries of protest return: messages drawn in chalk on the sidewalks, in paint on the walls, roads or benches in public gardens. “ No to war », « this war is not ours these words are sometimes drawn in the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag. Passers-by cast a furtive glance at them or ostensibly look away. The messages are anyway systematically and quickly erased. Silent or almost, too, the opposition to join the ranks of the army. Military service, partial mobilization, we don’t know how many refuse them, but in Russia there are still activists to support them. No families or relatives, however, to discuss their situation: they now prefer not to take the risk of speaking publicly.
Some activists assume their militancy, but keep a low profile, like Elena Popova, coordinator of the conscientious objector movement. During the interview she gave to RFI, her phone did not stop ringing. How many have been asking for it for months? She herself says she doesn’t know exactly, but she still receives phone calls from this guy today: ” A woman calls to tell me that her husband has left his unit, that he has been hiding for seven months in Russia, and that she is looking for help. I have to explain to him that his case is difficult and complicated, because he has been on the run for a very long time. Whereas if they had consulted us immediately, at least within two days, we could have taken legal action “.
Possibilities of recourse
Paralyzed for some by the partial mobilization that no one expected, few ordinary Russians know their rights in such a situation. Tirelessly, Elena Popova recalls the rules and the possibilities of appeal: “ Within two days there is no opening of a criminal case for unauthorized abandonment of the unit. This man could, for example, have drawn up a power of attorney thanks to his wife, she would have made an appointment for him, and he would have gone to see a psychiatrist independently. He would have gotten a diagnosis that would have helped him, because in a case like his, they all suffer from traumatic disorders, depression, anxiety. And there, it would have been a good base to confront the doctors at the military hospital. Alternatively, if a person wants to avoid this, they can simply write a text saying that their beliefs and conscience do not allow them to shoot and kill people, and that they require the exercise of their constitutional right to civil service”.
Of these men who hide with relatives or in nature, we know almost nothing. No official communication is made. It is by word of mouth or in private conversations that we learn that these situations are not necessarily very isolated. Like this Muscovite who recounts in a tone of scathing humor the scene she has just experienced: “ I’ve been without a dentist for at least 3 years. When I called to make an appointment, his secretary told me that he was in prison for refusing mobilization. There would be several in his cell “.
The sentences, on the other hand, are known: 3 years behind bars in the event of refusal of partial mobilization, 5 years if ever a man already enlisted flees.
Since the end, at least according to official declarations, of the partial mobilization, the army in Russia has been recruiting. According to the latest figures provided by the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev, since the beginning of 2023, more than 117,400 people have signed a contract. The army today also manages spring conscription. It started on April 1 and will end on July 15.
“ More and more citizens no longer believe in legal means at all…”
With the fall conscription, this is one of the periods when Arseny Levinson has the most work. We meet this lawyer, himself a conscientious objector, like his father and his brother, in a public place in Moscow, far from potentially attentive ears. Half an hour of rare interview, so overwhelmed by his schedule: this thirty-year-old advises all those who want to escape military service. And since the start of the special operation, as the Kremlin always says, they would be more likely to want to escape it: “ My feeling is that last spring, just after the war started, there were more people asking to do civilian service instead of military service. But now, more and more citizens no longer believe at all in the legal means to defend what they believe in. Those who would otherwise seek alternative service simply flee the military enlistment office or even leave the country “. A step thatArseny Levinson understands: “ Ithe situation is getting worse. All rights have not disappeared in Russia, but the situation is becoming more and more complicated. There are already more and more cases where people are conscripted in one day in violation of any law. Even with regard to those who requested the alternative service. This is not a case that I deal with, but I heard of a case in the Volgograd region, where alternative service was refused to a young man. He had appealed to the court, but the military enlistment office deceived him and sent him to the army in 24 hours “.
Refusal of mobilization last fall or refusal of conscription this spring, it is impossible to know how the legal proceedings are taking place in practice. Hearings take place in military courts. All closed to the public.
>> To read also: Russia: A Digital Spring Conscription Campaign