When he said this, the defence minister obviously knew that practically all men aged 18 to 55 are considered reservists in Russia; and in some cases, people are discharged at 70. The reality turned out to be different from what Putin and Shoigu said on TV. Right after the “partial mobilisation” was announced, the draft offices started handing call-up papers to just about anyone, even people who never served in the army and have never held a weapon in their hands. What is more, on 30 September, the so-called “people’s militia” of the self-proclaimed Donetsk “people’s republic” (“DPR”), reported that the first batch of Russian draftees had arrived in the “DPR”, whose entire territory is considered a combat zone.

The Defence Ministry and the government website set up to explain the mobilisation process published a list of people who would not be eligible for the draft:

However, even they were not safe from the draft in reality. In Ulan-Ude, call-up papers were handed to Alexander Dorzhiyev, a father of five. In the Yekaterinburg region, they drafted Viktor Dyachek, a 59-year-old surgeon with stage 1 skin cancer. There were reports of students being drafted in Samara and St. Petersburg. Russian social media was full of messages by the relatives of the newly drafted men that essentially said: “Bring our men home, you promised not to take them.”

The Russian government and the pro-government media vowed to deal with the situation, with every propaganda pundit, including Vladimir Solovyov, accepting claims of “wrongful mobilisation” from their viewers. However, no one has been held responsible for these “mistakes”: even Yury Layko, the military commissar of the Khabarovsk region, who was fired on 3 October for numerous cases of “wrongful mobilisation”, got the same job in another region on the same day.

Meanwhile, the draftees themselves, who had no plans to kill or to die up until 21 September, are dying even before they are sent to the frontlines. By the morning of 5 October, there have been eight cases of conscripts dying on the training grounds:

Correspondents of Novaya Gazeta. Europe give an overview of what is going on in Russia, as well as Russia-controlled Crimea and Sevastopol, to get to the truth about the “wrongful mobilisation”.

Moscow and the Moscow region. No one is exempt

Fathers of many children and students are being drafted to Ukraine, while the “wrongfully drafted” employees of the “system-forming” enterprises are brought back home

On 28 September, Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin wrote on his blog that the Moscow officials had “conducted an additional review of the mobilisation data on the men eligible for the draft” and checked the already existing call-up papers for compliance with the orders of the president and the defence ministry. The mayor noted that following the review, the draft offices had sent out notifications on rescinding the call-up papers issued based on wrongful or imprecise data.

Nearly 400 “incorrect” draft papers handed to employees of strategically significant enterprises and vital city workers were rescinded following the claims filed by their employers.

On 30 September, President Putin ordered the officials to deal with the “mistakes” made during the “partial mobilisation”. There are practically no claims by Moscow residents published by local media, only comments by government officials assuring citizens that the problems are being solved or will be resolved in the near future.

Sergey Zabaturin, the prosecutor for the Moscow region (the Moscow region is a separate entity from the city of Moscow — translator’s note), reported nine claims regarding the mobilisation process. “So far, we have detected a small number of violations: nine in total. The rights of seven persons have been restored.”

Ekaterina Shvelidze, the minister for information and social communications of the Moscow region, stated the following: residents of the Moscow region that do not fit the criteria of the “partial mobilisation” but still received call-up papers can contact their conscription office to annul the draft notice if they have solid grounds for doing that. The minister mentioned the case of an Orekhovo-Zuyevo resident as an example: the man was called to his local draft office “to clarify his personal data”. “On his arrival, he provided the documents confirming that he has four children, and his wife is on maternity leave.” The man was told that he was not eligible for the “partial mobilisation”, but several days later, he received a draft notice nonetheless.

“We handed over this information to the head [of the district], and we found out that the draft paper came via his employer. It was later annulled as well,” Shvelidze said.

In Odintsovo, another city in the Moscow region, a college student was returned home from the training grounds. “We resolved this issue together with the district head. It took us several hours to find that the young man had not brought the required papers confirming that he is a full-time student. <…> There have also been many comments on social media by the parents of the students of the MIREA — Russian Technological University technological college. The guys are only given papers with an electronic signature at the college, while the draft offices only accept documents with a written signature and seal. We have worked hard to resolve this issue in cooperation with the university and the conscription office.”

Since 21 September, residents of the Moscow region have addressed the local government bodies 54,000 times regarding the mobilisation. They called the specially established hotline and the All-Russia People’s Front department. People also contacted the governor on social media 335 times. The most popular question addressed to Governor Andrey Vorobyev was the issue of equipment and ammunition for the mobilised. These concerns seem valid after the reports of a conflict between the new draftees and the contract servicemen at the Alabino military unit in the Moscow region: the contract soldiers tried to take the draftees’ equipment and mobile phones.

In the Ruza district, Nikolay Mishchenko, a father of five underage children, was wrongfully drafted within the “partial mobilisation”. Head of the district Nikolay Parkhomenko stated that the man would be returned home. “Unfortunately, when he came to the conscription office, he didn’t say that he had five children from different wives, this information is of a declaratory nature. Nikolay does in fact have five children from two wives, they are all dependant on him,” Parkhomenko said.

People are also contacting former presidential candidate Ksenia Sobchak for help.

“Alexander Davydov, an entrepreneur from Moscow, is being drafted despite his spondylarthrosis diagnosis (aching pains in the spine and mobility problems) and him having a disabled son. He previously completed mandatory conscript service. His sister contacted us,” Sobchak wrote.

Davydov’s sister said the following in her message: “During the medical examination, the surgeon told my brother that he can manage with painkillers during his stay at the training grounds and in the special military operation zone. I understand that the doctors conducting the medical examination do not have the goal of making a diagnosis. It’s not about health. The draft office did not take into account that my brother is raising a disabled child with his wife who is an unemployed student and who cannot take care of the child alone. I am asking you to make sure such cases do not happen.”

Kristina Kondrashkova, exclusively for Novaya Gazeta. Europe

St. Peterburg. ‘When do you prefer to leave: today or tomorrow?’

There is no system to handing out call-up papers. The officials are in no rush to bring back the men drafted ‘by mistake’ either.

The draft papers in Saint Petersburg are handed out to local residents in an atmosphere of complete chaos: a 31-year-old man with Kazakhstan citizenship was told to come to the draft office in one of the city districts. He never served in the army, and has nothing to do with the Russian military. The man points out that he is eligible for military service in Kazakhstan, which means that he would face criminal charges back home for serving in the Russian army, as this is considered mercenarism. The citizen of Kazakhstan was unable to receive a clear explanation as to why he was sent a call-up paper and why the draft office has his personal data.

Vadim Rozhnov, 30, did serve in the Russian army: six years ago, as a private. He works at a food enterprise and received a draft exemption from his employer soon after the mobilisation was announced. However, neither the exemption nor the illnesses he was diagnosed with after he completed his conscription service (thrombocytosis, arterial hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy) saved him from receiving a call-up paper and then getting drafted directly to a military unit, without personal items, clothes, personal data review or some kind of medical examination.

The district’s military commissar Dmitry Degtyarev, who has all Rozhnov’s documents in his possession, has refused to sign the form that would transfer the man to a special register, for over a week, now, saying that he does not have the time. Vadim was sent to the military unit in the settlement of Privetninskoye on 22 September. On 4 October, he was supposed to be transferred to Luga.

Andrey Grishkovits, 38, was not afraid of the draft: he is not eligible for conscription due to his age, he has never served in the army for health reasons, as he has two vertebral hernias. Grishkovits got a call-up paper on his old address and decided to come to the draft office to find out if there was a mistake. They took away his passport and military ID card and put him on a bus to Luga.

“Andrey says that they’re bringing 18-year-olds and 40-year-olds to the unit. There are not enough beds for some of them, we’re not even talking about clothes,” Grishkovits’s wife says. “A fellow draftee who also has a vertebral hernia couldn’t button his jacket during the assembly. And officer asked him: ‘Why is your jacket unbuttoned?’ And he says he can’t even move from the pain. What is it all for? Nobody cares about their age. Why do they need sick and crippled men? What are they sending them there for? I just don’t get it.”

Vladimir Shtivoloka is a sergeant in reserve who has never been to a combat zone. He is 10 years older than Andrey. The man used to serve in the police, and after retiring, he started working as a driver and taking care of his disabled mother. However, he was still invited to come to the draft office, supposedly to review his personal data. While he was there, Vladimir tried to explain that he is 48 years old and he is not eligible for the draft. According to his daughter, this is what he heard in response: “We know. When do you prefer to leave: today or tomorrow?”

Four days later, deputy governor Kirill Polyakov was asked to comment on Vladimir’s situation. Here is what he said: “Not every case of taking care of a disabled person represents the grounds for a draft exemption. However, all such cases are duly reviewed by the district administrations.” Since 25 September, there has been no information on the review of Vladimir’s case.

St. Petersburg deputy draft board chief, Colonel Ilfat Azalov, stated during the latest briefing that 8,000 men had already received call-up papers, which is a third of the required amount.

Alexandra Dolgopolova, exclusively for Novaya Gazeta. Europe

The Yekaterinburg region. Let’s raise a toast to mobilisation!

Over a hundred people drafted “by mistake” have returned home.

In the Yekaterinburg region, mobilisation has been suspended until 10 October. All men who come to draft offices with their call-up papers are sent home “until further notice”. No official reasons for the suspension have been provided, but relatives of the draftees suggest that this may be due to the lack of free spots at the training centres.

Draft offices in the Yekaterinburg region have switched to 24/7 operations since the mobilisation announcement on 21 September. Call-up papers were sent nonstop, regardless of the alleged “conscription waves” mentioned by legal experts in the media.

“My relative from Kurgan told me that they’d be sent to the training grounds first and then to Ukraine,” Alexey K., who is eligible for the “second wave” of mobilisation, says. “But two days after we said goodbye, he called me and said that they were spending the night in the Donetsk region, five kilometres away from the line of contact. We didn’t even have time to send him his blood pressure pills. I don’t get it, what about the training? I served in the army nearly 30 years ago, I haven’t held a gun in my hands since.”

However, not all the draftees have been sent to the combat zone so soon. Some of them died without leaving the training centres. This is due to the alcohol that the mobilised men consume daily in great quantities. After the mass brawl of the conscripts at the Yelan garrison in the Yekaterinburg region, district officials banned the sale of alcohol. Now the men are trying to find ways for alcohol to be delivered to their unit.

“I know of two deaths,” regional commissioner Tatyana Merzlyakova told E1.RU news portal. “Two men conscripted from the Kurgan region, both from the rural area. One of them may have died from an epilepsy attack caused by alcohol poisoning. Military investigators are currently determining the causes of the other man’s death.”

The second man mentioned by Merzlyakova may have killed himself.

Denis Kozlov, 44, a resident of the Chelyabinsk region, was the third man who died. He died at home from internal bleeding. The day before, he was sent home from the Yelan garrison after he was deemed unfit for service. This allegedly happened after a drunk fight with another draftee.

Tatyana Merzlyakova was planning to come to the 32nd military town in Yekaterinburg on 5 October. The local media reported a drunk knife fight that took place there, which allegedly injured 13 people.

“We don’t have that many [men mobilised by mistake]. The draft board chief said there were 39 of them in the first two days. We counted 84 [since the start of the partial mobilisation],” Tatyana Merzlyakova told E1.RU. “We haven’t had time to make final estimations so far. We weren’t taking just anybody. We are gradually returning them [the wrongfully mobilised] home. We have over a hundred of them.”

URAL MASH Telegram channel reports that a man was mobilised in the Yekaterinburg region after spinal surgery. “Alexander, 32, underwent very difficult surgery in October of last year, he had an intervertebral hernia. Since then, he has been banned from any physical exercise. He is not allowed to lift anything over 5 kilos. However, neither this nor the persistent limping failed to convince the draft board, which deemed Alexander 'fit for service with minor restrictions'. Yesterday, the man was sent to a hospital right from the 32nd military town, his leg gave out. And even then, there is a small chance that he won’t be allowed to go home.”

A 44-year-old resident of the Tavda district, the father and caregiver of a 10-year-old girl with cerebral palsy, was also among the “wrongfully drafted”. He was taken to the 32nd military town as well, but later returned home after a claim filed by his wife.

Roman Dvernikov, a 39-year-old resident of Yekaterinburg, also returned home on October 4. He has three children and is diagnosed with hypertension, which means that he has to take his medication daily. His wife is on maternity leave, Roman is the only employed member of his family. He was taken off the plane that was ready to leave for Rostov-on-Don, a city in southern Russia.

“This is a very strange mobilisation,” Yevgenia K., a nurse, said. “They called me and said I was eligible for the draft. How can it be possible? I am the only caregiver for my child. My husband died from an illness that developed after an injury he got in the army: we have a medical certificate that confirms that. So, the state will take away both my son’s parents?”

Elena Kolesnikova, exclusively for Novaya Gazeta. Europe

Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar. Medical examinations ‘just to check the box’

In total, 499 people have been confirmed to be ‘wrongfully drafted’ in Russia’s three southern regions (the Volgograd, Rostov and Krasnodar regions) so far.

About 70 mobilised men have returned to their families in the Rostov region, governor Vasily Golubev said on his Telegram channel. A special task force established last week has received 150 claims of wrongful mobilisation so far, which are currently being verified. Local residents can file a claim online. However, many of them make their stories public in the comments under Golubev’s posts on social media. The governor’s spokesperson Irina Chetvertakova says that these comments are also taken into account. Most of the claims are related to the draftees’ medical diagnoses and the lack of combat experience. Natalya writes on social media: “My husband was mobilised with an intervertebral hernia; he basically walks on one foot.” People often complain that the medical examinations are carried out sloppily, just to check the box.

Stanislav Zhirinov, a resident of Rostov, received his draft notice the day after the partial mobilisation, although he has a titanium hip joint replacement. His sister says that during the mobilisation, they only measured his height, weight and blood pressure. “It was high, but the girls ignored it and marked it as normal. My brother showed them all the documents confirming his medical issues, but the medical board deemed him fit for service anyway!” After this claim reached social media, the officials admitted that Zhirinov had been drafted by mistake.

Another publicised event in the region was the mobilisation of Yevgeny Nikipelov, a teacher from the Azov district. The man has heart problems and poor eyesight; however, he had no time to collect his medical certificates: the call-up paper came on 23 September. The administration of the Azov district has stated that at the time of his conscription, Yevgeny did not have a draft exemption and did not mention anything about his health. He is currently in the “special military operation” zone.

As of 3 October, 50 people were considered wrongfully drafted in the Krasnodar region. There is a partial mobilisation task force operating in the region which holds sessions daily, the region’s military commissar Alexander Kuznetsov said.

Like in the Rostov region, cases of wrongfully mobilised men go hand in hand with the reports of sloppy medical examinations. On 22 September, 59-year-old resident of Kanevskaya Viktor Tarapun, who suffers from hypertension, chronic cardiac deficiency and prostate adenoma, was deemed fit for service and drafted. The man has never served in the army. He mentioned his diseases and age during the medical examination, however, the board decided that he was eligible for the draft anyway. Tarapun’s case was revisited only after his story reached the public. He went back home on 26 September.

In order to protect the rights of the mobilised, their relatives, aided by lawyers, send formal claims to various government bodies, however, this is not a quick process. Vasily Malinochka, a resident of Krasnodar, was nearly sent to the combat zone despite not being eligible for the draft. He is an IT specialist working for major cell operator Megafon, which makes him exempt. Besides, he is diagnosed with strabismus. Vasily’s relatives contacted a lawyer and sent formal claims to the military commissar of the Krasnodar region, the district’s draft chief, the military prosecutor’s office of the Krasnodar garrison, and the regional governor, attaching his documents. The man was drafted on 22 September. While his relatives fought to get him back home, he remained in Novocherkassk, waiting to be sent to the frontlines. Only on 29 September, the local governor announced that Vasily had come back home.

Mikhail Timoshenko from Adygea was a bit luckier: his situation resolved itself when he came to the draft office. The man accepted a call-up paper and was told to come to the conscription office as soon as possible. The people who handed him the call-up card did not seem fazed by the fact he was in a wheelchair. “They told me: come to the draft office, they’ll deal with you. <…> They clearly saw I was in a wheelchair.” Mikhail has repeatedly sent medical certificates regarding his health to the draft board: the last time he did that was two years ago. When he arrived at the draft board, he got an apology and was told this would not happen again.

Katerina Rukavtsova, exclusively for Novaya Gazeta. Europe

Far East. You’re sick? Not a problem!

Far Eastern conscription offices are drafting everyone in sight, especially in rural areas. There are many reports of wrongful mobilisation as well.

Governor of the Khabarovsk region Mikhail Degtyarev shared the story of Vitaly Dorenko, a drafted single father who takes care of his disabled daughter. The man was returned home. There is also a report of draft officials attempting to mobilise a man diagnosed with schizophrenia.

“Over the course of 10 days, several thousand of our natives have received call-up papers and arrived at conscription offices. We returned about half of them home, as they didn’t fit the criteria for contract military service,” Degtyarev said.

The Khabarovsk governor also announced that the region’s military commissar Yury Layko had been fired for numerous mistakes made during the conscription process. However, Layko got the same job in the Magadan region on the same day. The Magadan regional draft chief has been fired recently for numerous violations during the partial mobilisation.

Layko’s appointment was not met with enthusiasm. “As if we didn’t have enough ‘miracles’ under his predecessor, acting regional military commissar Yevgeny Derkach: with hundreds of sick people, old people, people who never served, who are exempt, drafted anyway, with people snatched from their places of work and escorted to military planes under the convoy of the National Guard, as if they were criminals, without an opportunity to pack whatever they need, to say goodbye to their families…” the All-Russia People’s Front, which is supposed to be a pro-government organisation, writes.

Here is one of the most egregious cases: they drafted a 44-year-old stage 2 cancer patient. Yes, he is currently in remission; however, he undergoes diagnostical procedures twice a year, with the next one scheduled for 5 October. No one cared about his medical certificate at the draft board, they even had time to send the man to a different city by plane.

Although the real “partial mobilisation” goals are not stated in open sources, some regions have already announced that they have surpassed every quota. This includes the Birobidzhan region, whose senator Yury Valyaev announced this on his Telegram channel back on 26 September. There are also reports of 25 wrongful mobilisation claims: they usually concern the draftees’ age and health.

Governor of the Zabaykalsky region Alexander Osipov stated that the mobilisation was drawing to a close back on 30 September, before Putin’s address regarding the so-called referenda. Over this period, over 100 people contacted the regional All-Russia People’s Front. One of the stories was told by the brother of Alexander, a 46-year-old draftee who was drafted and taken to an assembly point in Peschanka. There, it turned out that he had not served in the army before, so he was let go.

Meanwhile, governor of the Kamchatka region Vladimir Solodov announced the end of mobilisation on 3 October without stating any numbers. According to the local All-Russia People’s Front, over 40 people contacted the organisation over the course of several days. Like in Khabarovsk, a single father without any close relatives was returned home. The only IT guy working at a regional company and two employees with an exemption managed to dodge the draft after they confirmed their status. “20 people have been sent to undergo a medical examination,” the regional People’s Front reported.

Head of the Amur region Vasily Orlov reported back on 27 September that over a hundred people had been drafted by mistake due to outdated information in draft offices. He also noted a sharp rise in prices for special equipment and uniforms.

To everyone’s surprise, Sakhalin announced that 320 government officials had been drafted during the partial mobilisation. Meanwhile, the families of the conscripts are promised five kilos of freshly frozen fish. According to the head of the United Russia regional executive committee Mikhail Shuvalov, the regional government have struck a deal with local fishmongers, who allocated about nine tonnes of fish for the region. This will be enough for 1800 families. Earlier, the People’s Front reported that the Sakhalin regional draft board had been ordered to draft 1,000 people: “Reservists under 35. Motorised infantry soldiers are needed the most. About 400 men (including volunteers!) have already been sent to the military unit for training.” In practice, even soldiers over 35 are still being drafted.

The Sakhalin mobilisation task force has considered over 300 requests filed not just by people whose relatives were drafted by mistake, but also by those wanting to know about pay-outs to the families, and simply by those who are against the draft. Nineteen out of over 300 people have the right to an exemption for family reasons, chairman of the regional civic chamber Vladimir Ikonnikov said. Russia still does not have a united civil registry and draft board database, which means that people need to confirm their status on their own, which no one does, of course. About 90 people have returned home after a review, including the draftees mobilised by mistake due to their health.

In Chukotka, the mobilised men are provided with “road kits”: a 60-litre tactical backpack, thermal underwear for the winter, thermal socks, a mat, tactical gloves, a towel, a thermos (1 litre), a sewing kit, a tactical flashlight, matches, cigarettes, a push-button mobile phone, the regional government reports. There have been no reports of wrongful mobilisation in the region. A mental health centre for the relatives of the draftees has been set up there.

Chairman of the Yakutia civic chamber Nikolay Bugaev reported that 300 wrongfully mobilised men had returned home: some were sent back from the Khabarovsk region. The regional task force received 209 claims regarding the partial mobilisation, dozens of people are contacting mental health services. Bugaev also stated that medical examination boards had started operating at the draft offices. The head of the republic Aysen Nikolaev said that the mobilisation would conclude by Thursday of last week, however, the city draft board refuted this information.

Head of Buryatia Alexey Tsydenov reported that the partial mobilisation in the region had concluded back on 30 September.

Local officials do not provide the official number of the wrongfully mobilised. The local All-Russia People’s Front reports over 70 such cases over two days and actively shares their stories. A resident of Ulan-Ude was mobilised despite a serious illness: blood coagulation issues. No medical examination was held, of course. The man and 40 more draftees were only offered a medical examination by public demand, he was sent to a hospital. Another resident of the republic Dmitry Grif received a call-up paper on 21 September at 22:14, and at 6 AM the next day he came to the draft office. He even drove there, because he was sure that he did not fit the criteria: a 52-year-old officer who quit the army 17 years ago. But he got drafted anyway. In the Barguzin district, five men were sent to the training grounds in the city of Borzya, despite the fact that “they do not fit any of the criteria of partial mobilisation”.

In the Primorye region, local draft board chief Nikolay Trigubko told Governor Oleg Kozhemyako personally that the region had been ordered to draft 7,700 of its residents. However, he quickly went back on his words and said during a briefing that this quote cannot be spread in the media, because they might end up drafting fewer people or getting an order from the Defence Ministry to mobilise even more men.

The Primorye region’s human rights commissioner used to receive 10 calls a day in the first days of the mobilisation, and now the number is down to two-three, TASS reports. In total, there have been about 50 calls.

The People’s Front told Novaya Gazeta. Europe that over 500 people had contacted the organisation for help. Not all of them have been mobilised by mistake, of course: some thought that privates are only drafted under the age of 35, but it turns out the maximum age is 50 in accordance with the Russian law. However, the majority of people have health complaints. There is no decent medical examination set up at draft offices and military units, of course.

A 37-year-old Primorye resident with heart issues has spent 10 days at a military unit. He has high blood pressure, which disrupts his brain activity (at times, he can’t even talk) and constantly takes medication. The draft board was not fazed by that. His place of employment has already fired him. The man has two daughters: and now it turns out the family has had no income for those ten days.

Vladimir, a 45-year-old sergeant, is among the draftees. He got a contusion back in Chechnya, and has never fully recovered from it. He weighs 45 kilos at a height of 180 cm. Besides, he is suspected to have tuberculosis. He has recently had a medical examination at a local hospital and showed his medical certificates to the draft board. However, he was still sent to a military unit in Vladivostok. In his address to the People’s Front, he is not even asking for an exemption, he is asking for time off to have a full medical exam.

Here's a list of some more draftees: a man blind in one eye, a man without three fingers, and finally, an insulin-dependant diabetic. They promised to hold a medical exam, but they sent him to the barracks instead.

Irina Morozova, exclusively for Novaya Gazeta. Europe

Karelia. Not enough water, not enough answers

Volunteers collect packages with drinking water for the unlawfully mobilised residents of Karelia.

Since the start of the mobilisation, Karelian officials, led by governor Artur Parfenchikov, have been trying to put at ease the relatives of unlawfully mobilised conscripts: “We are dealing with every case separately with our task force, we conduct reviews.” But the reviews are not conducted fast enough.

57-year-old Andrey Ivanov was discharged from the army 20 years ago. When he was young, he served in Afghanistan and even received state medals. Andrey received a call-up paper on 25 September. He was told to come to the draft office early in the morning on the next day. Ivanov had no time to collect all his medical certificates, but he thought there was no need:

“He is a lieutenant colonel in reserve. The Russian president and the defence minister said in their address that they would only enlist senior officers up to 55 years of age in reserve, the General Staff said the same in their explanation,” Dmitry Ivanov, Andrey’s son, says. “As an honest man and citizen, he came at the stipulated time and was drafted anyway. His former fellow officers were handed draft notices, too, some of them are 62 years old. This is a blatant violation. He already did his duty for the Motherland.”

“According to the republic’s military commissariat, there are no violations when it comes to mobilisation in this case,” representatives of the information portal set up to tackle mobilisation queries told Dmitry. “Servicemen of this rank are drafted up until the age of 65. He was not deemed unfit for service. Besides, there will be a medical exam at his military unit, which the aforementioned citizen will undergo, too. If the serviceman’s health makes him unfit for service, he will be returned home.”

Alexey Rogalev from Svyatozyor never served in conflict zones, he only did conscript service with the rank of private. Rogalev did not have the specialisation “technician and driver of an armoured personnel carrier” before the mobilisation. He worked at a trout farm. It was not immediately clear that the man was unlawfully drafted: no one at the draft office noticed that he was 46, and his relatives did not know the conscription rules.

“He got a call-up paper on Friday. On Monday morning, he had to be at the assembly point. He went there practically without his things: he thought the state would provide him with everything if they decided to draft him,” Olesya Rogaleva, Alexey’s wife, says. “I asked Parfenchikov: he said they would be provided with everything. But now, we’re sending them a package to their military unit in Luga. They asked us for water. There isn’t even potable water in the barracks, they have to walk 20 minutes to the canteen to get it in their army boots, they’ve all got blisters on their feet. Meanwhile, the training still has not started in the first week. They are told how to bandage wounds, but they weren’t even given first aid kits!”

When Olesya found out that 46-year-old privates should not be drafted, she contacted the hotline and filed a claim to the military prosecutor’s office. The hotline relayed the information to the draft board, but the woman did not get a response: no one wrote to her, and the man she tried to contact hung up on her. The military prosecutor’s office has not responded to Olesya either.

In total, Karelia plans to draft 1,000 reservists, however, the information on how many people have been conscripted under the “partial mobilisation” is not published anywhere.

Tatyana Ovchinnikova, exclusively for Novaya Gazeta. Europe

Tyumen and the Khanty-Mansi region. Not many conscripts return

The All-Russia People’s Front alone received over a thousand claims of wrongful mobilisation. Only 25 people were returned home.

The press service of the All-Russia People’s Front Tyumen office told Novaya Gazeta. Europe that 1,355 people had contacted the organisation with claims regarding the mistakes made during the “partial mobilisation”, 1,075 of which were “just consultations”. As of now, only 25 people have managed to reverse or delay the draft and return home. A father of three and the only caregiver of two disabled children was among those who managed to return.

Like in many regions, the relatives of the conscripts say that many men are drafted with no combat experience. Protesters who gathered on 27 September near the Tyumen garrison military prosecutor’s office told 72.ru news outlet that 31-year-old lawyer Alexander Kharkov, who was applying for a job at the Tyumen regional government, was drafted into the army. He was promised 15 days of training at the army grounds.

Another man, 35-year-old Ruslan Gizatullin, was drafted without a military ID card. He is a train operator who never served in the army. Gizatullin was supposed to go to Ukraine to build roads. Andrey Khan, 58, who never served in the Soviet or Russian army, and only had a military department at his university, was drafted as well.

Regional governor Alexander Moor admitted there had been mistakes during the “partial mobilisation” on the fourth day since its announcement. “We see that there are cases of people who do not fit the criteria announced by the Russian president getting call-up papers. They should not be drafted. We carefully review the documents of those who got draft notices and come to conscription offices. We also review the information on the men sent to the military units. People who do not fit the criteria of the draft are already returning home,” he said.

The governor did not specify how many people should be drafted, but he noted that “it’s a small number” out of all the men in reserve.

So far, there have been no known cases of resignations or criminal charges in the region due to the mistakes made during the mobilisation process.

According to governor of the Khanty-Mansi region Natalia Komarova, over 2,500 people have been drafted in the region. Local officials assure citizens that all conscripts undergo a medical exam before being sent to their military units. However, the conscripts themselves point out that the draft boards do not take the medical examinations seriously: the exams are held “as usual”, so people with serious diseases are often sent along to military units.

This is how Yevgeny Togushkin, who practically cannot use the fingers of his left hand, and Igor Polyakov, partially blind in one eye, have made the list of draftees.

In total, there have been over 500 claims of wrongful mobilisation received by the regional All-Russia People’s Front. The families of the conscripts say that the draft boards are mobilising fathers of many children, men with heart conditions and even men with cancer.

Local human rights commissioner Natalya Strebkova says that so far, she has managed to return home 14 men who were drafted by mistake.

Mstislav Pismenkov, Nikita Blinov, exclusively for Novaya Gazeta. Europe

The Perm region. Endless conscription

Regional officials keep announcing the end of mobilisation and then launching it again.

Back on 29 September, Perm regional officials announced that the mobilisation in the region had come to a close. “100% of citizens eligible for mobilisation have been informed of the conscription, the drafted men will be sent to the training grounds by 1 October,” the region’s territorial security minister Viktor Batmazov said during a government session.

However, on 4 October, regional officials backtracked on their words. Perm.aif.ru news outlet quoted the territorial security minister, who said: “There has been no official information regarding the suspension of partial mobilisation notices, there has been no official suspension of conscription under partial mobilisation.”

Echelons with Perm conscripts have started leaving for training grounds in Yelan and Tyumen since 26 September.

On 29 September, a video was published on social media that showed Dmitry Sekarin, a drafted emergency physician, who said that 60 conscripts from the city of Berezniki in Yelan were left “in a field”. It was reportedly 0°C outside, it was snowing, and the conscripts had no hot food. There was no place for them to warm themselves, as the unit was full of conscripts who arrived earlier.

“No one came to us, there’s no supervisor, all the officers say they have nothing to do with it. We weren’t given any rations; we are standing in front of the military unit burning fires for hours: we stopped a truck with firewood ourselves and unloaded it. Complete anarchy,” the doctor told 59.RU news portal.

The regional government dismissed the video as fake. Governor Dmitry Makhonin said on his VK page: “The unit’s commander did not confirm this information.” The region’s territorial security minister Viktor Batmazov came to Yelan with an inspection. Meanwhile, contact with the mobilised doctor who shot the video was lost.

On 1 October, Dmitry Makhonin admitted that there had been problems at the training grounds in Yelan due to a high number of new conscripts, however, “the difficulties have now been resolved”.

“Our men were provided with uniforms, they’re sleeping in the barracks, the food is fine, first aid kits were delivered,” the governor said on VK.

A video with an apology of doctor Dmitry Sekarin was posted on social media. “We were tired after the trip; we couldn’t hold back our emotions. We let our emotions loose. We live in barracks; we are given hot food three times a day. We don’t have any complaints,” the doctor says on video.

On 30 September, buses with previously drafted men came to Berezniki. A local newspaper reported that 155 people had returned. Regional officials have not commented on their return yet.

There have been several known cases of “wrongful” mobilisation. In Kudymkar, Dmitry Kozhevin, head of the traumatology department at the Komi-Perm district hospital with 24 years of experience, received a call-up paper at his place of work. However, “the situation was dealt with” with the aid of the regional health minister, and the man remains at the hospital, 59.RU news portal reports.

Another resident of Perm, Anatoly Petrov, was already on his way to the training centre when he was sent back. The 42-year-old man has an artificial heart valve. RT head Margarita Simonyan wrote about the man on Telegram: “We’ve sent letters with the stories of violations during the partial mobilisation. We received our first response: from the administration of the Perm regional governor. The man was sent back. Now, he will undergo an examination to get a medical certificate.”

Ivan G., a student born in 1998, was drafted and sent to the Yelan training centre from the city of Chaikovsky. The Perm department of the All-Russia People’s Front contacted the local military commissar. “We demanded that they fix the violation. Ivan is a full-time student at one of the universities in Chaykovsky, and he will return home,” the People’s Front noted.

Perm regional officials have not announced the official number of conscripts in the region. There is no information on anyone being held responsible for the “wrongful” mobilisation of local residents either.

Alexandra Semyonova, exclusively for Novaya Gazeta. Europe

Crimea and Sevastopol. ‘It’s your own fault’

Crimea military commissar accuses local residents of making “mistakes” during mobilisation.

Crimea and Sevastopol officials do not deny cases of wrongful mobilisation. Viktor Fesenko, the head of Crimea’s mobilisation and territorial defence service, told a local TV channel that about 400 Crimean residents had received draft papers by mistake, but later, all of them were sent home after their personal information was reviewed. The fact that they received call-up papers when they should not have done is the citizens’ own fault, Fesenko added, as they failed to duly inform their local draft boards of changes to their health status and other factors.

Earlier, head of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov stated that the mobilisation on the peninsula had come to a close, however, the local draft board chief refuted this statement. As of now, the situation with the wrongfully drafted citizens is under Aksyonov’s personal control, however, there have been no reports of anyone being held responsible for the mistakes.

A similar situation is reported in Sevastopol. City governor Mikhail Razvozhayev mentions cases of wrongful mobilisation of citizens on his Telegram channel and vows to return the men drafted by mistake from their units or training grounds. Moreover, the governor ruled to set up a task force that will deal with all cases of wrongful mobilisation. It will involve representatives of the prosecution, draft boards, the social section of the government and other government bodies responsible for carrying out the mobilisation. It is unclear so far whether the establishment of this task force means that someone will be held responsible for the mistakes. So far, this “correction of mistakes” seems more like an attempt by Raznozhayev and his team to save their image of “good and just authorities”.

Anastasia Smirnova, exclusively for Novaya Gazeta. Europe