Putin's hard core recognizes abuses in recruitment

Viktor Kapitanov was detained by police on Saturday in the Moscow metro.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
25 September 2022 Sunday 17:30
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Putin's hard core recognizes abuses in recruitment

Viktor Kapitanov was detained by police on Saturday in the Moscow metro. The demonstrations against the mobilization had just ended and the city's security system worked perfectly, notifying the agents where the young man was. They took him to the police station and then to the recruitment center to join the ranks. But Kapitanov has a recognized high degree of disability, the NGO OVD-Info denounced yesterday, and the police have no right to hold him for 48 hours. They told the police at the military headquarters and they had to set him free.

In the Volgograd province (southern European Russia), the director of a rural school, Alexander Faltin, 58, was ordered to join the ranks even though he had never served in the army.

When last Wednesday the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, decreed the partial military mobilization, he said that it affected reservists who had "military experience" and some "specialty" of interest to the army. Then the Ministry of Defense explained that rank-and-file soldiers and non-commissioned officers up to 35 years of age would be recruited, lower-ranking officers up to 50, and senior officers up to 55.

In order for Faltin to be able to return home, it was necessary for his daughter to publish a video that was widely shared on social networks.

Volgograd authorities also acknowledged that a 63-year-old retired military man, suffering from severe diabetes and brain problems, had been sent to a training center. He was returned to his house.

These are just a few examples of the abuses that are being committed during the recruitment of 300,000 Russian reservists. Two members of the hard core of power, in Putin's inner circle, yesterday acknowledged the wave of complaints coming from various parts of the Russian geography and asked regional governments to avoid "arbitrariness."

The president of the Federation Council (Senate), Valentina Matviyenko, assured that these excesses are “absolutely inadmissible” and that she considers the negative reaction of society “completely fair”.

In a message on Telegram addressed to the regional governors, in charge of supervising the mobilization, he recalled that "the Ministry of Defense made public the criteria for the selection of people called up (...) There should be no room for interpretations or gaps for subjective application.

He recognized the appearance of "local information on cases of incorrect mobilization that obviously do not comply with the selection standards declared by the military command and that society and social networks actively debate."

Summons of sick people, parents of large families or others exempt for other reasons have had a lot of impact on social networks and cause concern in high places.

On Saturday, Valeri Fadéiev, president of the Human Rights Council, a consultative body attached to the Presidency, cited the case of 70 parents of large families summoned in Buryatia (Siberia), or that of nurses and midwives from Sverdlovsk (Urals) without experience who were threatened with "taking them to trial" if they refused. And he urged Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to "urgently resolve the problems" so as "not to undermine the confidence of the population."

“It gives the impression that in some places they believe that it is more important to present their reports quickly than to carry out an important State task well. These excesses are absolutely unacceptable. Make sure that the partial mobilization is carried out with full respect for the criteria. And without making a single mistake!” Matviyenko scolded.

The president of the Duma (Lower House), Viacheslav Volodin, also echoed the discomfort. "Complaints have been received," he admitted. "If a mistake is made, it needs to be corrected... The authorities at each level must understand their responsibilities."