Russia's covert recruitment: Prisoners enlisted for war effort
The Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia are compiling lists of convicts potentially eligible for signing a military service contract—even those who have not expressed such a desire—warns the "Committee Against Torture".
The organization refers to a ruling of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. The document cited an order marked with the clause "for official use only," which dictates the rules for recruiting prisoners to participate in military activities.
Two methods of mobilization
According to this order, two mechanisms are provided for recruiting convicts into the military. The first involves creating special lists of individuals that FSIN and the Ministry of Internal Affairs consider "most suitable" to be sent to the war in Ukraine. The selection criteria are determined by the institutions themselves, regardless of the personal applications of the convicts.
Individuals automatically excluded from the lists are those over 65 years old, serving life sentences, or those who have medical contraindications, including those classified in the incapacity category "D" or suffering from blood diseases.
The lists of convicts are forwarded monthly to local military recruitment offices, after which special groups from these offices conduct "informational-explanatory work" with the prisoners.
The second recruitment method allows for a convict to voluntarily apply to the prison administration or supervisory authorities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to request assignment to the army. In this case, there are no preliminary restrictions regarding the category of convicts. However, the final decision on signing a contract is made by the military command based on the results of "socio-psychological studies" and a medical board.
This information came to light in connection with proceedings before the Supreme Court initiated by a convict for murder, Aleksei Tsygankov. He wanted to sign a military service contract but was refused. He attempted to challenge the existing regulations in court, but his lawsuit was dismissed.
Tens of thousands of prisoners in the army
In 2023, amendments were made to the Military Service Obligation Act, which allowed contracts to be signed with convicted citizens under mobilization conditions. Exceptions are individuals convicted of crimes related to sexual violence against children, terrorism, disclosure of state secrets, and other serious crimes. However, the recruitment mechanism was not disclosed in the content of the law.
According to findings by "Significant Stories", which analyzed thousands of social media posts about the disappearances of Russian soldiers, from February to September 2023, over 30,000 people were recruited from Russian penal institutions into "Storm Z" units. To achieve this, recruiters from the Ministry of Defence visited at least 108 penal colonies across the country.
The authors of the investigation emphasize that "Storm Z" soldiers and their families do not receive insurance in case of injury or death, nor the right to veteran status for participation in military operations. Additionally, their remuneration often turns out to be significantly lower than the pay of mobilized or contract soldiers.
