Resisting Recruitment Raids

Residents in Penza Oblast have formed neighborhood patrols to protect men from what they describe as forced military recruitment, according to independent outlet Sibir.Realii.

In Bashmakovo, a district center of about 9,000 people, residents say plainclothes men have tried to detain locals and take them to government offices or military recruitment centers.

On July 23, witnesses said unknown men arrived at the home of security worker Sergei Teplyakov. One introduced himself as a new district police officer and demanded Teplyakov’s passport. When Teplyakov phoned an officer he knew, the men grabbed him and tried to force him into a car, a witness said. He was released after his son arrived and began filming.

The next day, another resident, Alexei Denisenko, was taken away after being threatened, locals said. His sister chased the car and managed to get him out before it reached Penza.

The incidents have prompted residents to organize through Russian social media site VKontakte. Galina, a Bashmakovo resident, said about 250 people had joined the patrols, taking shifts and watching for unfamiliar vehicles or people. She said patrol members had prevented at least five or six men from being taken away, though not every intervention has succeeded.

Residents say at least two vehicles linked to district authorities have been used in the raids. They accuse local officials of helping meet Defense Ministry recruitment targets and say complaints to police have produced little response.

Galina cited the case of Sergei Milkin, 58, from Podgornoye, about 16 kilometers from Bashmakovo. She said a local police officer invited Milkin, who had serious heart problems, to a village council office for a "conversation." The next day, Milkin called relatives from a distribution center in Rostov and said he was being sent to the war in Ukraine. He died 10 days later, she said.

Similar grassroots efforts have appeared elsewhere in the region. In early August, Penza blogger Stanislav Morozov created an online chat to help men who say they were detained and pressured to sign military contracts. More than 1,200 people joined within a week. Morozov said the group would alert residents to detentions and help find lawyers.

Reports of coercive recruitment have also emerged outside Penza. In Omsk, Valentina said her 31-year-old brother, Danil, was twice taken from outside his home on August 8. She said he escaped the first time without signing a contract but was seized again that evening, beaten and forced to sign before being released.

In Primorye, Ivan said military personnel detained his brother Mikhail, who has a severe disability. Ivan said officials continued processing Mikhail for deployment even after the family presented medical documents. The family filed a complaint with the military prosecutor’s office.

Rights advocates say contracts are extremely difficult to cancel once signed, even when recruits allege coercion. The reports come as Russian regions face pressure to meet quotas for recruiting contract soldiers.