Russian bombings in Ukraine, and particularly on kyiv in recent days, are breaking records for intensity. Ukrainian strikes are becoming deeper and deeper into Russian territory, with no prospect of an end to the fighting. Russia is recruiting everywhere for the army, especially for drone units, including in the most prestigious universities in the capital. Some, and they are very rare, refused to participate in the conflict, others ended up in court to criticize it. Their voices are rare and they know the increasingly high risks.
It’s a voice message that arrives from inside a barracks somewhere in western Russia (editor’s note: for obvious security reasons, RFI does not give its identity): “I refused to go to the special operation, because for me, a soldier is someone who protects. There is nothing else to add.”
Nothing more to say, because Igor, who sends these words in dribs and drabs, has already dared the unthinkable for many Russians.
He is 25 years old, he comes from a town in the north of the country where he couldn’t find work, he says. So before the war, he signed a contract for the army. Without imagining that a few months later, its president would decide to send his soldiers to Ukraine. “I have no friends participating in the special operation, I do not communicate with those who became fighters», said Igor in another message. “I never kept any contact, because we didn’t agree on this point. They decided it was easier to leave, while I stayed and fought not to go.»
Igor went so far as to go to the military courts and request official recognition of the end of his long-expired contract. He says he is supported by his family and friends. The fact remains that the relatives of those, very rare, who refused mobilization in 2022 and are in prison are paralyzed by fear and refuse to express themselves.
10-year prison sentence for desertion
The justice system unwaveringly executes the laws and associated penalties, such as 10 years in prison for desertion or refusal to submit to partial mobilization, and trials for discrediting the army continue to take place. This is what happened to Vassili Bolchakov, met by RFI in February 2024 during the opening of his trial in the town of Kassimov, nearly 400 kilometers southeast of Moscow. What triggered the prosecution was a joke in the form of an imaginary dialogue between Vladimir Putin and his then Defense Minister, Sergueï Chougou.
Questioning the head of state and the conduct of military operations is an absolute red line in Russia. The investigators then searched and obviously found other comments on social networks, and other red lines crossed by Vasily Bolchakov. He was found guilty on all counts and fined 250,000 rubles (around 3,000 euros at current prices).
Today, this thirty-year-old father of four has moved to the neighboring town of Ryazan, for professional reasons, he says. Sitting in a café, in a mixture of Russian and English, he considers himself extremely lucky to have received just a fine. He will in no case repeat the words with which the courts have accused him; he now weighs his words much more carefully, but he has clearly not fallen into line. For him: “ The people who did all this to me did it consciously, and they will have to live with it. Everyone will have to face it one day or another. But I wouldn’t even try to say when and how things might change. Because everything can get even worse ».
At the beginning of May, the Supreme Court made these statistics public: in two years, convictions for treason increased by 460%. Most specialist lawyers estimate that this figure is actually double.
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