Paul Goble
Staunton, April 5 – Despite Kremlin assurances that draftees won’t be sent to fight in Ukraine, assurances that aren’t worth much based on recent reports, many Russians, both those who may be drafted or have been and their families, are worried and seeking advice on how to avoid military service or otherwise protect their rights.
On March 17, the international human rights organization Agora launched a hotline to which they could turn for information and advice not only about their rights but about what they can do to defend them against the increasingly authoritarian Russian government. As of three days ago, the group says, more than 2,000 people have done so (t.me/army_help).
Even to ask for such advice and assistance is an act of civic courage because it is certain that the Russian authorities monitor the Agora telegram channel and can identify all those who appeal to it. In the future, such individuals are likely to face problems with the powers that be – and that makes the statistic of 1,000 impressive rather than something to be dismissed.
The Idel.Real portal reports this as a lead in to a story it has done about popular attitudes toward the ongoing spring draft and uses that opportunity to say that finding anyone in a Tatar village who will give an interview is “difficult” because people are always careful in dealing with journalists and have little experience of posting online (idelreal.org/a/31781482.html).
Despite such attitudes, the portal found three people who were prepared to speak with it on condition of anonymity lest they or their relatives run afoul of the powers that be. Their remarks say a great deal about where Russian residents are today with regard to the draft and the war in Ukraine.
A Tatar woman, aged 50, explains her caution by saying that “however bad things are now, being imprisoned or fined would be still worse.” She insisted that the journalists turn off their tape recorders and only record her remarks in writing, something that would make identifying her more difficult.
Her son, a recent IT university graduate, is slated to be drafted and she hopes that he won’t be sent to Ukraine. According to her, several young men from neighboring villages have been, and some of them may have been killed because their families have not heard from them in a long time. She fears the same outcome for her son if he is drafted.
She says that she and her husband have told their 19-year-old not to sign anything that could allow his commanders to send him to Ukraine as a contractor. She added that she didn’t believe anyone would go to fight there voluntarily but might either under pressure or as the result of deception.
A second Tatar woman, aged 44, says her son had been drafted last year and “thank God” has not been sent to the war. She said she has ceased trusting anything the authorities say about that conflict or anything else. And she adds that only those who have an easy life like the oligarchs with their yachts find it easy to talk about “conquering the whole world.”
“I have only my one son and nothing more,” she continues. I can’t see any use in talking about seizing more land when we don’t have enough.
And a third woman, who also has an 18-year-old at risk of being drafted this year, says she fears what would happen if he is drafted because he helps so much with their family garden. She also doesn’t trust what the government promises with regard to those who do serve in harms way.
Moscow told the Afghan veterans they would be taken care of. But that has proved to be a lie. Many of them get medals but that hasn’t kept them from becoming alcoholics or criminals or even “going insane.” I used to think, she says, that prosthetics could address these problems, but now I know that war harms people psychologically as well as physically.
And there isn’t any reason to think this war will be any different than the Afghan one. Then, Moscow made promises, but it didn’t keep them. Why should anyone believe that now will be any different than the past, for those who serve, their families, and the society that has to bear these costs?
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