Russia Uses Violence and Bounties to Force Military Recruitment

The Federal Government of Russia is employing detentions, physical violence, and threats to force fighting-age men into military service following estimated monthly casualties of 30,000 to 40,000. Reports indicate that law-enforcement officials and recruiters are detaining men under the guise of document checks, beating them, or threatening to plant drugs to compel them to sign military contracts.

In regions such as Penza, the government has implemented bounty programs offering 100,000 rubles to individuals who bring others to recruitment offices. Similar forced recruitment campaigns have been reported in Tatarstan, Amur, Yaroslavl, Kaluga, Voronezh, and Arkhangelsk. The Federal Security Service has launched an investigation into blogger Stanislav Morozov for documenting these practices.

The Ministry of the Interior of Russia denies that raids are used for forced enlistment, asserting that video evidence of such actions is unrelated to military service. Meanwhile, U.S. officials suggest the Kremlin may implement another formal forced mobilization after the September 20 parliamentary elections to address ongoing manpower shortages.