At a run and without debate, Russia on Wednesday adopted a law facilitating mobilization in the army and punishing those who resist, a text that greatly worries those who do not want to fight in Ukraine.
In just two days, both houses of the Russian Parliament passed this law which allows mobilization orders to be sent electronically and not just by hand delivery as before, a system that will make it much more difficult for Russians to escape it. Once the order has been sent, the mobilized person is notably prohibited from leaving the country.
“It’s worrying, like all the laws passed for a year,” told Agence France-Presse a 28-year-old Russian, mobilized and living in the north of the country, on condition of anonymity.
If he receives a summons, he plans to “ignore” it, despite the risks. “I won’t go to the enlistment office, it’s a direct ticket to Bakhmout,” he said, referring to the city which is the epicenter of deadly fighting in eastern Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had decreed a mobilization of 300,000 reservists in September 2022, the implementation of which has often been chaotic. If the Kremlin denies wanting to launch a second wave, many people in Russia are worried about it, while the Ukrainian army is preparing a major counter-offensive.
“The front will crack like last autumn, it will be necessary to urgently pile up human meat with machine guns to plug the holes,” says the 28-year-old Russian, according to whom the scale of an upcoming mobilization “will directly depend on the success” of the Ukrainians on the battlefield.
A 21-year-old Russian living in Siberia, who also prefers to remain anonymous to preserve his safety, says he is “as worried as everyone”, especially since he has not yet done his compulsory military service. ‘a year.
Like many others, he has simply “ignored the enrollment office” since the beginning of the conflict. “The other day, my parents received a call telling them that I was on the list,” he adds. “People in uniform are looking for me to take me to the military police station,” continues the young man, who says he changes places frequently to escape. “I will live a little here, a little there. My strategy is still being developed, it’s too vague. »
Fatalism
Among the Russians interviewed in Moscow, many are reluctant to speak, one of them simply admitting to being resistant to enlistment.
Others display a fatalism that today seems widespread in part of society. “If it is necessary [aller au front], it must. The fate of many people depends on us, to some extent. And even if you die, it’s worth it, ”says Denis Chevtchenko, a 35-year-old worker.
Kirill Asmadeous, a 34-year-old programmer, believes that “it should have been like this a long time ago”. “I understand that people are worried, but I don’t understand why they are so worried,” he said.
The police have the right to hunt down defaulters, who incur prison sentences. The tax service, universities and other public bodies will have a duty to provide the personal information of those who can be mobilized.
The other day my parents got a call telling them I was on the list. People in uniform are looking for me to take me to the military police station.
Refusal to report to the enrollment office will thus deprive Russians of the possibility of working as an entrepreneur or self-employed, of receiving loans and of disposing of their accommodation and their car. These measures also concern Russians who have fled their country and who work remotely.
According to the Russian expert Alexeï Tabalov, director of the organization École du conscript, who himself left Russia, means of escaping the army still exist: certificate of incapacity, studies, or bribes. wine. But it will become much more difficult.
“The degree of freedom is reduced for those who want to hide from the enrollment office. The state will catch them, by setting up nets,” he said.
The previous mobilization, in September 2022, had caused the flight of tens of thousands of Russians abroad.
“Should we leave Russia now? Short answer: yes”, headlined Wednesday the Meduza information site, very visited by young Russians and declared “undesirable” by the authorities.