With fewer men willing to fight, Russia is focusing on cash incentives for those who sign up, seeking to avoid an unpopular draft while still increasing the ranks of soldiers.
Author: Neil MacFarquhar and Milana Mazaeva
Pavel Kushnir Dies in a Russian Prison
Among the hundreds of Russians jailed for criticizing the war in Ukraine, the death of Pavel Kushnir in detention has transformed him into an antiwar symbol.
Russia’s Youngest Conscripts Unexpectedly See Combat Against Ukraine’s Invasion
The long-sacrosanct practice of keeping young Russian army conscripts off the front lines is eroding as the lack of troops in Russia’s Kursk region indicates a manpower shortage.
Russia Opens Secret Trial of Evan Gershkovich of The Wall Street Journal
Evan Gershkovich of The Wall Street Journal has endured 15 months in prison by reading letters and Russian classics, while the authorities have not publicly offered any evidence that he was a spy.
Pardoned for Serving in Ukraine, They Return to Russia to Kill Again
Recruiting convicts for its army has given Russia a manpower advantage. But it is backfiring in tragic ways when former inmates are pardoned and return home to commit new crimes.
Russian Women Protest Long Deployments for Soldiers in Ukraine
“Make way for someone else,” a new grass-roots movement demands as women challenge the official argument that the mobilized troops are needed in combat indefinitely.
A Russian Town Where the War Dead Were Everyone’s Neighbors
The contradictions of Vladimir Putin’s war are changing the face of towns with military bases in Russia. Patriotism and pride are abundant, but so are sadness and death.
A Russian Town Where the War Dead Were Everyone’s Neighbors
The contradictions of Vladimir Putin’s war are changing the face of towns with military bases in Russia. Patriotism and pride are abundant, but so are sadness and death.
In Russian Schools, It’s Recite Your ABC’s and ‘Love Your Army’
The curriculum for young Russians is increasingly emphasizing patriotism and the heroism of Moscow’s army, while demonizing the West as “gangsters.” One school features a “sniper”-themed math class.
He Heeded Russia’s Call to Enlist. Five Months Later, He Was Dead.
Pvt. Ivan Ovlashenko was one of at least 16,000 Russians who have died in Ukraine, more than in the Soviets’ Afghan war. It’s getting hard for the Kremlin to cover that up.