June 10, 2024

Forced to Go Back to War


Forced to Go Back to War
Russian tanks abandoned by the Russian army in the retreat from Izyum. Ukrinform TV, Wikimedia Commons.

Mobilized soldiers who escaped from service are reportedly being held in military units throughout Russia and then being sent back to the front as punishment for desertion. These soldiers are transferred to assault detachments, Verstka reported.

By January 2024, at least 800 mobilized soldiers are reported having fled Russia's War on Ukraine. Those whom military police located were locked up for several months in military units, then they were offered the choice of returning to Ukraine or awaiting trial. None were convicted. 

Approximately 170 were sent from Yekaterinburg to Ukraine at gunpoint. “Forty men with batons come onto the floor, and if you don’t go, they knocked you out and loaded you up unconscious,” one soldier said.

Similar cases occurred in other locations, including Rostov-on-Don, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, and Moscow Oblast. Among the soldiers forcibly sent back to the front were those who should not be fighting, due to health problems or family situation, such as being a sole breadwinner. Relatives of the mobilized soldiers complained that the military deprived the soldiers of their right to a trial.

The ASTRA news outlet reported that a 48-year-old father of three was forcibly taken to the front, despite his willingness to serve a prison sentence to avoid deployment.

One reason for these actions, according to a lawyer who spoke to Verstka, is Russia's lack of soldiers for the siege of Kharkiv. The Russian army needs at least 300,000 men, sources told Verstka in March. Since the spring conscription, which began April 1, 2024, Ministry of Defense employees have been persuading conscripts, demobilized soldiers, draft dodgers, and reservists to enter into contracts.

Meanwhile, the number of soldiers leaving service without permission is, reportedly, growing. According to calculations by Mediazona, in March 2024 alon, Russian military courts adjudicated 684 cases of unauthorized abandonment of military units.

You Might Also Like

Make Fairy Tales, not War
  • June 05, 2024

Make Fairy Tales, not War

Russian authorities are spending more on the production of fantasy films than on war films, according to a recent study.
The Path to Foreign Agenthood
  • June 01, 2024

The Path to Foreign Agenthood

A grassroots organization fighting for the rights of mobilized soldiers has been declared a foreign agent.
Victory (Kinda) on Display
  • June 02, 2024

Victory (Kinda) on Display

Russian diplomats recently perused a display of captured Western equipment brought from Ukraine to Moscow.
Disability Numbers Soar
  • May 30, 2024

Disability Numbers Soar

Disability numbers have seen a drastic increase since the beginning of the war. 
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

Driving Down Russia's Spine
June 01, 2016

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

Woe From Wit (bilingual)
June 20, 2017

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.

Faith & Humor
December 01, 2011

Faith & Humor

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955