War is better than prison: the NYT named how many female prisoners agreed to go to the front

War is better than prison: the NYT named how many female prisoners agreed to go to the front Irina Chebotnikova

Russians began sending female prisoners to the front/Getty Images, illustrative photo

Russia is desperately looking for human resources for the war. More than a year ago, she sent the first prisoners to the war, and at the end of May she began sending female prisoners to the front.

It is known that criminals in Russia, concluding a contract with the Ministry of Defense is considered a universal means of avoiding punishment even for terrible crimes, such as murder or rape. The authorities promise the prisoners mountains of gold for their service; moreover, those mobilized will have their loan debt written off, and their wives will be able to avoid paying utility bills.

How women prisoners are mobilized in Russia

At the end of May, Russia released a group of women from prison to participate in hostilities in Ukraine, which may indicate about a new stage in the Kremlin’s use of criminals in its military operations, the material says.

This happened near St. Petersburg. However, it is not clear whether this is the first swallow in a larger program, or an experiment.

As of February 2022, about 30 thousand women were serving their sentences. In the fall of 2023, recruiters began visiting prisons throughout the European part of Russia. Interestingly, those women who expressed a desire to serve in the fall remained in prison. No one sent them to the front – until now.

Of course, no one gave an official explanation for the reasons. Neither the Russian Ministry of Defense nor the Russian Penitentiary Service have commented on the prisoner recruitment program.

“The recruitment of convicted women is happening at a time when The Russian government is resorting to increasingly unorthodox schemes to attract volunteers from the margins of Russian society in an attempt to avoid another round of unpopular military conscription. In addition to prisoners, these schemes target debtors, accused of crimes and foreigners,” journalists note.

What is the motivation for women to fight -prisoners

In a prison near St. Petersburg, from where the first group of conscripts went to the front, recruiters offered one-year contracts for the positions of snipers and combat medics and front-line radio operators. And this is strikingly different from the usual auxiliary positions that most Russian military personnel occupy.

About 40 out of 400 prisoners signed contracts – despite the fact that the military warned them of the danger. They argued their choice by the harsh conditions of detention The prisoners were forced to constantly remain silent and work for 12 hours. . Forced labor took place in a wood sawing workshop. They were carried out even in winter at subzero temperatures.

Women received pardon and a monetary reward of 2 thousand dollars per month. This amount exceeds the minimum wage in the country by about 10 times.

Russia is also recruiting people in Africa

The GUR showed a propaganda leaflet where people were lured with generous payments, passports and insurance. They also lie with inspiration that the Russian army is no longer the second in the world, but the best.

British intelligence claims: the Russians have problems with recruiting prisoners, so they took on foreigners. But they don’t know Russian and don’t know how to shoot.