![Russian soldiers in Ukraine, in an image taken from a video published by the Russian Defense Ministry, April 9, 2024.](https://img.lemde.fr/2024/04/18/0/0/4980/2803/664/0/75/0/044c066_1713451130248-268905.jpg)
We can only guess Oleg Orlov’s surprise when the prison administration gave him the following deal, in mid-March, a few days after his conviction for “discrediting the army”: rather than serving his sentence of two and a half in prison, enlist in the army to fight on the Ukrainian front.
Neither the age (70 years) of the human rights defender and co-founder of the famous NGO Memorial, dissolved in December 2021, nor his status as a fierce opponent of the war discouraged the recruiters. The official Russian press, referring to the anecdote, confirmed that the procedure was perfectly regular, and that the contract was offered to each detainee.
The disappearance of the Wagner mercenary group, which had made a specialty of prison recruitment, in no way caused the practice to disappear. Even before the death of its leader and founder Yevgueni Prigojine, in August 2023, this prerogative had been recovered by the Ministry of Defense. Since then, several normative texts have come to frame it.
The latest law, adopted by the Duma on March 19, completes the definition of recruitment in places of detention. Main innovation: the possibility offered to defendants to commit themselves even before a conviction is pronounced, the signing of a contract with the army having the immediate consequence of stopping the prosecution and even the investigation.
The text also sets in stone a practice observed for several months on the ground: there is no longer any question of a presidential pardon obtained after six months of service, but of an “early conditional release” endorsed by a judge, which can only result in definitive release at the end of the war. On this point, the detainees are now on par with the civilians mobilized in September 2022, to whom no prospect of return is offered.
Only prisoners who received a medal or those whose injury prevents them from continuing their service can hope to return home. Opportunity offered to corruption, assure experts, who also highlight a vagueness in the wording of the law: it is nowhere specified that the criminal must go to the front, but only that he must sign a contract. Those who have connections will therefore be able to stay behind.
Rapists and murderers welcome
Several civil servants, local elected officials, or entrepreneurs accused of corruption have already said they want “redeem their guilt with blood”, according to the expression used in November 2023 by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov. More original, the husband of a famous blogger accused of tax fraud, Elena Blinovskaïa, announced his commitment to “rehabilitate” he and his wife obtain clemency from the judges. It turns out he joined one of those VIP units, and assembles drones.
You have 62.34% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.