Governor of Russia’s Kemerovo region Sergey Tsivilyov has called on the newly drafted men to marry their girlfriends before going to war. He is quoted by state news agency RIA Novosti.
“When I was meeting with the guys, I told them: before you leave, you should complete an important objective. You should make your relationship official. If you have lived with a woman for many years and you have children, but you are still not married, it is wrong. You are going off to do a sacred deed. It needs to be done, like it should be in Rus’,” Tsyvilev said on the radio. Translator’s note: he is referring to Ancient, or Kyivan, Rus’, which appeared in the late 9th century and existed up until the mid-13th century.
He offered the soldiers currently stationed at the training centre in Omsk to make a list of those wishing to register a marriage. Tsivilyov added that they “are ready to put the wives on a comfortable bus and to send them to Omsk”. He also promised to send civil registry employees and a priest to the training grounds.
“They’ll come to Omsk, you will line up at the assembly grounds, and we’ll register your marriage there,” the governor said.
Earlier, Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin signed an order that introduced support measures for the families of the mobilised. The Moscow government will aid the draftees’ wives in the job search and offer them additional education opportunities.
