Russia's first mobilization of troops since World War II marks a clear departure from its president's previous calls for a professional army.
Though Russian military leaders said the mobilization would be limited to roughly 300,000 soldiers, Putin's executive order could theoretically apply to some 2 million conscripts, according to estimates by the Institute for the Study on War, with few boasting extensive training or combat experience.
And while the country regularly drafts upwards of 100,000 men for one-year stints of active military service, few have joined voluntarily, according to outside reports of anemic recruitment numbers from the latest volunteer push, reportedly forcing Russia to rely on"One of Putin's main philosophical paradigms from the very beginning, when he first came to power, has been: Leave the people alone," A pro-Kremlin political analyst, Sergei Markov, toldthis summer.
But people have noticed. Shortly after Putin's announcement, scores of flights out of the country were unavailable, the Moscow Times, an independent online publication based in Amsterdam, reported Tuesday, prompting widespread speculation that the Russian government was seeking to prevent eligible conscripts from leaving the country.
"You don't have to die for Putin," Vesna Youth Democratic Movement, a Russian anti-war group, said in a statement Tuesday."You are needed in Russia by those who love you. For the authorities, you are just cannon fodder, where you will be squandered without any meaning or purpose." The government has begun cracking down on dissent. According to human rights tracker OVD-Info, nearly 1,200 had been arrested in anti-war protests across the country as of mid-Tuesday afternoon, though the group said the number is likely significantly higher.
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