Source: TW
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Elders
1/ Large numbers of elderly Russian men are being attracted by fat recruitment bonuses to join the war in Ukraine for the financial benefit of their families. “I’ve lived my life, we’ll get an apartment for my son now, so what if I get killed?”, asks one. ⬇️
2/ The independent Russian media outlet Verstka reports that men over 50 from all over Russia are travelling to Moscow to join the army there, enticed by what have until recently been the highest military recruitment salaries in Russia.
3/ Ukraine’s incursion in the Kursk region in August 2024 galvanised enlistment, according to staff at one Moscow recruitment office. They say that lines began forming at the office after the incursion, with 500 people a day queuing to sign up.
4/ Moscow’s regional government says that new recruits will earn 5.2 million rubles ($66,200) in their first year. It’s more money than most of them have ever had at any one time in their lives. Many are retirees who arrive with their families to see them off.
5/ A recruitment specialist admits that many of them are poor.
“But almost everyone cites patriotic feelings when asked about their motivation. Some mention debt. Of course, everyone is confident they’ll survive, but they can’t stop thinking about death altogether. And naturally, they’re not prepared to die for 30,000 rubles. The vast majority have children, and they understand that they need to address their concerns. And when they decide to die for patriotic reasons, they know it provides certain guarantees for their children.”
7/ The recruiter observes that “it’s great for the wives. She understands that, from the perspective of her children and their future, everything will be fine. And if you work at a furniture factory for 30,000 [$382] a month, what other options do you even have?”
According to the recruiter, most of the volunteers are motivated by the wish to afford a better standard of education than they themselves had. “These men think a lot about their children’s higher education, for example. The number of free places is decreasing every year. And they understand that they will never be able to pay for three children’s education…. The majority don’t have a higher education. My guess is that 80% are from technical schools, 15% have a nine-grade education, 5% have a higher education.”
Guilt
Others are signing up out of a sense of guilt or obligation, to pay for medical treatment or to pay off loans. One man says: “I’m not here for the money. My wife is crying, but I think we have to go. It’s not like young people are going to fight. I have to, so why am I just sitting there, an old man, while there are young people fighting who haven’t even seen women yet…”
The man’s son spent seven months in Ukraine, returned home and hanged himself outside his home city, leaving behind a wife and two children.
“Well, I buried him, put up a monument. And now I’m going,” says his father.
Former lieutenant colonel Alexander says it’s “for the sake of my children. One is turning four, and the eldest is 17. My wife scolded me at first, but then I prevailed. She realised it was for the children… I believe it was right that we started standing up for ourselves and for our children—that’s the most important thing. The war will end with our victory. I believe we must take Odesa, and then we’ll see, if God is with us and helping us.”
The new recruits are formally hired by utility companies owned by the Moscow regional government, to ensure that they receive additional regional payments of 50,000 on top of their regular military salary, plus a 2 million ruble bonus payment from Moscow.
Youngster motivation
Younger males sign up because they are motivated, as a social worker involved in recruitment says, by “the fact that they’re losers. For them, going through the war is one of the few goals in life that’s realistically achievable.”
“They say it like that: ‘I’m 35, I’m a total loser, this is my last chance.’
You can completely screw up, get drunk, be lazy, lose your shit, have failed in your relationships, have no family, have been laying around for years playing computer games. And then they ask you: ‘Want to play another game?’ There’s a non-zero chance it won’t go well. But you’ll also have money, a profession, status, respect, and the attention of society. And their eyes light up.”
Many see military service as the only way out of a life of low-paid drudgery. As Ivan, a fitter, says, “salaries in Russia are low. You’re educated, well-read, and you work, but you have no money. If I had a peacetime salary of 200,000 rubles, I wouldn’t go to war. But we don’t manage the money in this country. There are people who make decisions for us; it doesn’t depend on us. Have I ever voted? A couple of times. The last time, I voted for Putin.”
Women
Women under 45 are also signing up in small but significant numbers – 15 to 20 per week. A social worker says: “They’re increasingly cheerful and positive. They’re not burdened by the patriarchal pressure to ‘achieve,’ ‘be a man,’ and they’re not disillusioned with their role.”
The women can serve not only as medics or cooks, but as snipers. (Russian women have been seen – and killed by the Ukrainians – at the front line).
Childcare responsibilities don’t seem to worry them. A mother of a one-year-old and three-year-old replies when asked about them: “They’re fine. They’ll stay with their grandmother and father.”
Prisoners
Many people with criminal records are continuing to sign up, as well as those awaiting trial. The attraction for both groups is that military service will result in a pardon, opening up new opportunities for their children and family members.
A former prisoner now working as a taxi driver explains:
“I want to make up for the mess I made with my brother. My brother died out of stupidity, and his grandson is like family to me. From the outside, I think maybe my grandson will be proud that his grandfather went to war and earned something. He’s the only one I have. It will be better for him if I erase all this past.”
Catch
While the volunteers say what they know what they are getting into – in particular, being aware of the army’s very high casualties – they seem to be unaware of the terms of their contracts and the need to spend their salaries and bonuses on supplying themselves. Many of the would-be recruits interviewed by Verstka expressed shock at being told the contracts are indefinite. The recruitment form they are given speaks only of a 1-year contract, but in reality they are automatically renewed under a Putin decree of September 2022.
Casualities
As soon as they sign the contract, the recruits are taken away to buses for transportation to their units and training camps. Many will receive only a few days’ perfunctory training before dying in Ukraine within a couple of weeks of being recruited.
A significant factor in the number of casualties is likely to be that many of the recruits are simply unable to cope with the physical demands of the war. According to an airborne officer fighting near Kherson, over-50s make up nearly half of the existing Russian force. Calling the situation “dismal”, he says: “Right now we’re standing here mixed in with the mobilised and 40% are over 50. And three-quarters of the new recruits are elderly. It’s sad, but that’s how it is.” /end
Source: TW