Russia expands list of convicts eligible for military recruitment

On July 22, the Russian State Duma passed a law in its first reading and overall that expands the list of convicts that Russian authorities can recruit into the army during mobilization, martial law, or wartime. The report comes from Russian agency Interfax and The Moscow Times.

Under the new law, individuals convicted of banditry, participation in an organized criminal group, drug smuggling, and organizing illegal migration can now sign contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry. The list also includes those convicted of illegal handling or theft of nuclear materials, smuggling of weapons, ammunition, explosives, radioactive and pathogenic substances, as well as loss of documents containing state secrets.

Concurrently, the Duma adopted amendments to the Russian Criminal Code providing for exemption from criminal liability for such individuals upon signing a contract or undergoing military service. According to The Moscow Times, the Russian government submitted the relevant package of bills to the Duma just a few days before the vote.

Andrei Kolesnikov, a member of the Duma's defense committee, stated that convicts should be given "a chance to wash away their shame with blood." He suggested they could be assigned to assault units, adding that they would undergo a "certain filter" and acknowledged that "not everyone will return."

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Viktor Goremykin said that expanding the list will allow the Russian army to "increase the pool of potential candidates." He claimed that such recruits would be kept in separate units, not mixed with contract soldiers without criminal records.

The Moscow Times links the decision to slowing recruitment of contract soldiers and significant losses of the Russian army in the war against Ukraine.