This is how poor Russians are tricked into joining the war in Ukraine

In a meeting with defense leadership on Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin said the war in Ukraine would continue in full swing.

According to the state-run Russian news agency Interface Putin said the country will provide whatever the defense asks for.

The number of Russian soldiers must be significantly increased, from 1 million to 1.5 million.

The figure is said to include 695,000 contracted volunteer soldiers.

– Great social challenges

Russian recruiting videos are already being actively used to recruit new soldiers.

Some of them are shared on the Telegram messaging service and create a heated debate on social media.

The videos play out the financial benefits of enlisting as a soldier. After the war of aggression against Ukraine, inflation skyrocketed and reached its highest level in 20 years in April.

– In a country with as great social challenges as there are especially in rural Russia, it is clear that financial compensation is an important factor for many considering joining the war in Ukraine, says Helsinki Committee senior adviser Ivar Dale norwegian on television 2.

– A poor country

Head of department Inna Sangadzhieva of the Helsinki Committee points out that Russia is a poor country, where about 20-25% of Russians live around the poverty line. About 1 percent is what in Norway would be called “noisy poor”.

– They don’t have enough money for food. One in five children in Russia lives in poverty, and now they too are becoming orphans, Sangadzhieva tells TV 2.

By November, Russia was in a recession following sweeping Western sanctions. Restrictions on exports and imports, labor shortages and problems with the supply of spare parts weigh on the Russian economy.

Save for iPhone

I a recruitment video we see teenager Alyona, who is saving up for a smartphone and talking about it with her friend.

The father has not received the salary from the factory and asks her for money.

– You are our only hope! the father exclaims.

Then the father overhears the daughter’s conversation with her friend, where she talks about her father’s heroic past as a military veteran. He then decides to enlist, to solve his family’s financial problems.

– This propaganda video shows Russian men the real reason why they should sign up to fight in Ukraine: to buy a smartphone for their teenage daughter, writes BBC Monitoring reporter Francis Scarr Chirping.

Watch the video here:

The recruiting video concludes with the text poster “Homeland Security – Family Happiness – Children’s Future” in front of a waving Russian flag.

Sangadzhieva says a highly corrupt system has led to huge differences between rich and poor.

He explains that the so-called “middle class” consists mainly of civil servants, including representatives of uniformed agencies, who often earn significantly more than teachers and doctors, especially in rural areas.

– Financial dependence on the state in the form of loans and credits is widespread not only among ordinary soldiers, but also among officers. Russian authorities try to buy loyalty in the form of promises of one-time support and paid holidays, but in practice the population is plunged into greater poverty with no future prospects, says Sangadzhieva.

He has to sell the Lada

I another recruiting video we see a grandfather struggling to afford food.

Rising food prices are a major concern for low-income Russian consumers. According to Rosstat, the prices of food products, especially fruit and vegetables, increased by 11.5% in November.

In the video, the grandfather decides to sell his Lada to make ends meet.

He is helped by his granddaughter Sasha, who photographs the car and puts it up for sale. But the grandfather is in great agony.

A buyer shows up and drops the price in half.

– This car is older than me, says the buyer.

While his grandfather resigns and signs the sales contract, Sasha comes to his rescue.

– Now we are definitely safe, says granddaughter Sasha, who put on a military winter jacket.

According to investigative journalist Christo Grozev on Bellingcat, there was discussion in Russia whether the video could be propaganda produced in Ukraine. But it turns out that this is a real Russian advertising video, writes Grozev Chirping.

Watch the video here:

– Tragic and grotesque

Senior Counsel Ivar Dale says that for many fathers, enlistment is a way to quickly earn money in a life otherwise characterized by unemployment.

At the same time, sensational rewards, like a new car for the bereaved, can have the opposite effect, she continues.

Dale says where before grandparents were thanked for victories in World War II, now it’s a father thanking his son for giving his life for a modest financial reward.

– For example, a video of a happy father getting a new Lada after his son was killed in the war has been circulating on Russian social media, and is probably perceived by most people as tragic and grotesque, he tells TV 2.

– The tragedy also lies in the fact that many Russians pretend that they think more about the size of financial compensation, and not about the morally reprehensible part of participating in the war against Ukraine, says Ivar Dale of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee.

Increase the age of conscription

Wednesday quoted To get marriedthe editorial of state broadcaster Russia-1, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu that 250,000 Russian soldiers have gained combat experience in Ukraine.

Shoigu proposes gradually raising the conscription age from 18 to 21 and says the struggle in Ukraine is ongoing against “the combined forces of the West”.

According to Putin, he will achieve the goals for the Ukrainian areas he is trying to incorporate into Russia.

– In all territories, including the new ones, soldiers will ensure the lives of our citizens, the president said on Wednesday.