Mobilization

PARTIAL MOBILIZATION:  TENSION RISES IN MOSCOW

By Stephen Wilson

 

 

Moscow was obscured by a dismal and dense gray fog. It sent such an unpleasant chill through your body you were loathe to go out. It was tempting to just retreat into your home, curl up in bed, hibernate and render yourself reclusive. 'Don't leave the room' as the poet Joseph Brodsky wrote. But we are not just in a physical but moral and mental fog. Many people in Russia are unsure what the right thing to do is. Should they stay in Russia or go abroad? This is because on the 21st September, President Putin made a speech announcing partial mobilization, the organization of a  referendum in Russian republics in Donbas allowing locals to vote to become part of Russia, as well as threatening to use nuclear weapons in the event Russian territory was threatened. He emphasized that he was not 'bluffing.' Unsurprisingly, many Russians in Moscow became very tense and some are already stressed out. Much of the stress comes from not knowing what will happen next. Women have told me how anxious they are about whether their sons, brothers or husbands will be called up to serve  at the front in Ukraine. Many Russians don't believe when politicians attempt to reassure them they won't be called up. There is a long deep distrust of officials and politicians who can bend the law. There is an air of ambiguity about an increasing volatile situation where it seems anything might happen.

 

I first heard of partial mobilization when I encountered a student who looked very down and depressed. He looked as if his parrot had died. I asked him "What is the problem?" He answered "Haven't your heard? The government has announced we are to have partial mobilization. The situation is getting worse." Alexander, a student of around 20, expressed a fear of being called up despite the fact that students are exempt from partial mobilization. Again I met a very depressed mother who expressed fear her son would sent to Ukraine because he had already been sent his call up papers. "It doesn't make any difference whether he is in bad health. He will still be sent there."

 

A more dramatic indication of how anxious some people have become is the panic to leave Russia. After hearing about this declaration some desperate Russians, on impulse, headed for Georgia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and many other countries. Katya, a Russian who works in public relations, told me, "I heard that the price of some flights from Moscow to Kazakhstan have risen to 30,000 rubles and it cost 700,000 rubles for one flight to Istanbul from Moscow. Flights to those countries are already overbooked. At the border of Georgia the line of traffic stretches 20 kilometers. Many of those people have been waiting in these queues for days and have no water or food. People came to this border using all kinds of transport - going by car, by taxi, and even by foot. Some came partly by train, then taxi, then foot again. One person walked twenty kilometers to the border."  

 

Is this fear of being called up justified? After all, many of the young people fleeing are legally exempt from partial mobilization. 'Fear has big eyes' as a Russian proverb goes.

 

It is worth seeking to clarify what constitutes 'Partial mobilization.' According to the speech by President Putin "The call to military service will rest only on those at present who have military experience and most of all those who have served in the ranks of the armed forces and have definite military posts and the corresponding experience." Students and those doing military service won't be called up. Parents of four children or more not older than 16 won't be called up and neither will highly skilled specialists which companies badly need. People in ill health will also be exempt as well as invalids in category one. The Russian state hopes to muster as many as 300,000 recruits.

 

Perhaps one problem associated with the word mobilization is that people regard it as synonymous with going to war or sending people to a war situation. However, this was not always the case throughout history. Before the First World war, mobilization could mean the threat of war or a bluff designed to provoke an opposing power into giving concessions or retreating from a position. It was largely a strong form of diplomatic pressure. Unfortunately, due to the influence of Schlieffen, the head of the German general staff from 1892 to 1906, a new doctrine arose where 'mobilization meant war.' This new notion was one of the causes of the First World war. This is one of the reasons why the word mobilization carries so many bad connotations.

 

At present, many human resource managers are seeking to draw up a list of highly skilled specialists in their company and are taking precautions to ensure no mistakes are made by recruitment officers in calling up the wrong people. Katya told me, "A highly skilled worker who works at the Russian railways was taken by the army but then sent back when they found they could not legally do this. A loop hole is the law was found to protect him."

 

Mikhail, a 45 year old businessman, told me that one of his friends, a 57 year old who was very fit, had military experience and does shooting every week as a hobby was not summoned by the military because of his age.

 

So why are so many young people who don't fall under the defined group of those who are to be called up so uptight ? Why are they taking desperate measures such as giving up their jobs and fleeing to an uncertain and ambiguous future abroad? Is this not an overreaction? Mikhail asked the parents of those children this question. They answered that they were afraid the rules would quickly change in the near future, and partial mobilization would soon become full mobilization.  

 

But no doubt another factor is that the wrong people are often called up. The recruiting process is notoriously marked by bad organization, corruption and ineptness. Many people are aware of people in bad health being called into the army and medical commissions breaking the rules. The work of recruiting officers is assessed in terms of set quotas - the more people they recruit, the better. This often leads to recruiting officers bending the rules. The same quota system operates in the police force. The result is that some miscarriages of justice occur where innocent people languish in prisons. So a kind of grotesque performance motivation system is at work. Therefore it is understandable that so many young people experience fear and flee. It is always the poorest people who end up in the army as opposed to the children of rich parents who are described as untouchable 'golden teenagers'. Such parents can afford to pay lavish bribes to avoid their children doing military service.

 

But often this fleeing abroad seems to be a spur of the moment decision done on impulse. Will those fleeing abroad have enough money to survive and attain employment?  Their credit cards are frozen  in Turkey!  There have been cases of people being forced to return to Russia from Turkey because they could not access money via credit cards or obtain work there. And obtaining work and accommodation is not always as straightforward as it appears. Not all the people in those host countries welcome the presence of Russians. In Kazakhstan there was an uprising in January where the locals were attacking Russians. Russians were forced to run away from a pogrom and one couple going to the airport which had been besieged by a mob were only saved by a kindly taxi driver who took them to his home and put them up until the unrest died down. This taxi driver saved the lives of those Russians! It is worth recalling that Georgia had a war with Russia on several occasions.

 

So what should those people do? Are there any other options than leaving Russia? They are certainly worth exploring! Mikhail thinks there are. "The first thing people should do is not sign any documents which officials from the recruiting office hand them and then of course, consult lawyers or groups such as the Committee of Mother's Soldiers and read as much information about the law as possible. Check out different sources to avoid misleading information." Even the pro-Putin 'Russia Today' have become incensed by the foolish errors being committed by the recruiting officers in calling up those who don't qualify as recruits for partial mobilization. The recruiting officers have tried to defend themselves by saying they only handed papers to residents to fill in to establish  whether the person is a reservist or has military experience.  It is interesting to note that migrant workers have been promised Russian passports if they volunteer for military service. Given the insecurity of poor conditions and their often limited  legal status many jumped at the opportunity. While some are desperate to stay in Russia, others dream of getting out. Mikhail who has foreign citizenship tells me that, "I'm tired of people constantly asking me, 'Why are you still in Russia? Well I have a family, work and home here. Why should I get out?" He also told me like so many other people, he can't wait till this conflict ends! Many people in Moscow are praying for a swift end to this futile conflict where people feel they are at a dead end. Should you stay in Russia or should you leave? If you stay in Russia, you might regret it, but if you leave Russia, you might also regret it!

 

 

Editor's note: All the names of those interviewed have been changed to ensure their privacy as well as security.