{"id":42204,"date":"2022-11-15T16:32:48","date_gmt":"2022-11-15T15:32:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/?p=42204"},"modified":"2023-03-30T17:12:00","modified_gmt":"2023-03-30T15:12:00","slug":"how-russia-is-recruiting-central-asian-soldiers-for-its-war-in-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/kazakhstan\/how-russia-is-recruiting-central-asian-soldiers-for-its-war-in-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"How Russia is recruiting Central Asian soldiers for its war in Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Many Central Asian migrants have joined the Russian army since partial mobilisation was announced in Russia.&nbsp; They are being pulled into Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine against the advice of their countries\u2019 consular organs.<\/strong><strong>This article was oroginally published on Novastan\u2019s <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/novastan.org\/fr\/politique\/comment-la-russie-recrute-des-citoyens-centrasiatiques-pour-la-guerre-en-ukraine\/\"><strong>French website<\/strong><\/a><strong> on 19 October 2022.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"hp-newsletter col-span-3 lg:col-span-1 flex flex-col bg-primary-100 border-t-8 border-secondary-500 rounded-lg justify-center items-center lg:items-stretch px-6 py-6 gap-4 box-border\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"flex\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"enveloppe\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"far fa-envelope text-5xl text-secondary-300\"><\/i>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"formulaire_nl\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"font-bold text-xl block\">The whole of Central Asia in your inbox\n<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSubscribe to our free weekly newsletter\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<form class=\"flex w-3\/4 lg:w-full\" action=\"https:\/\/us4.list-manage.com\/subscribe?u=6a15a2256d412b041fdec39e8&amp;id=d479236523\" method=\"post\" id=\"mc-embedded-subscribe-form\" name=\"mc-embedded-subscribe-form\" class=\"validate\" target=\"_blank\" novalidate=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"flex-grow py-2 px-3 border border-primary-300 rounded-l\" type=\"email\" placeholder=\"Email\" name=\"EMAIL\" id=\"mce-EMAIL\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"bg-secondary-500 py-2 px-3 text-white rounded-r-md border border-secondary-500\" type=\"submit\" value=\"\" name=\"subscribe\">Register<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/form>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#\" class=\"underline text-secondary-700\">Click here for the latest issue\n<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><!-- newsletter -->\n\t\t\n\n\n\n<p>\n\nOn 21 September, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the mobilisation of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/europe\/what-does-vladimir-putins-partial-mobilisation-mean-russias-military-machine-2022-09-21\/\">300 000 reservists<\/a>, called up from a pool of 25 million potential fighters.&nbsp; Some of these are seasonal workers and precariously employed migrants from Central Asia.\n\nRussia amended their federal law \u201cOn Conscription and Military Service\u201d in 2013 so that every young person with Russian citizenship is required to perform mandatory military service, even when they have already served it in their land of origin.&nbsp; According to reports by the Kyrgyz news portal <a href=\"https:\/\/kaktus.media\/doc\/467512_v_rossii_trydovyh_migrantov_hotiat_otpravliat_na_voyny.html\">Kaktus<\/a>, recruitment of Central Asian migrants has taken place in the Sakharovo migration center in Moscow since 21 September. This marks a turning point in the war, as the government is no longer hiding their desire to <a href=\"http:\/\/duma.gov.ru\/news\/55276\/\">recruit foreigners<\/a> to expand the ranks of their army.\n\nThere are no official figures for how many Central Asian citizens have been recruited to fight in Ukraine.&nbsp; According to <a href=\"https:\/\/rus.azattyq.org\/a\/russian-military-eyes-central-asian-recruits-amid-mobilization-drive\/32047456.html\">Radio Azattyq<\/a>, the Kazakh branch of Radio Free Europe, the overwhelming majority of Central Asian migrants come from three countries: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>High salaries and Russian passports as bait<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>\nRussian recruitment authorities want to mobilise migrants from Central Asia and do so by promising high salaries and Russian citizenship.&nbsp; In some cases, the authorities use subterfuge.&nbsp; <em>\u201cThey told us that there was a lot of construction happening in <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kherson\"><em>Kherson<\/em><\/a><em> and that we have to go there.&nbsp; And that we could expect salaries of 220 000 rubles (\u00a33065.94),\u201d<\/em> one witness told <a href=\"https:\/\/eurasianet.org\/central-asians-targeted-in-russias-desperate-mobilization-drive\">Eurasianet<\/a>.&nbsp; <em>\u201cSome from our group went but it turned out they had been taken along to fight.\u201d<\/em>\n\nThe lure of profit and citizenship is an effective mode of manipulation. The use of migrants and refugees in war is, according to an article in the American journal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foreignaffairs.com\/articles\/europe\/2022-02-22\/when-migrants-become-weapons\"><em>Foreign Affairs<\/em><\/a>, a widespread phenomenon. Their lives are used like chess pieces in the game of war.\n\nThe Russian human rights activist Valentina Chupik spoke with Central Asian media agency <a href=\"https:\/\/cabar.asia\/en\/central-asian-natives-participate-in-war-in-ukraine\">CABAR<\/a> about her experiences with Tajik migrants in an interview. According to Chupik, many have said that they have received anonymous calls from law enforcement officials with offers to join the Russian army and receive Russian citizenship within three months. Furthermore, one of the Tajik migrants questioned said that some of his friends and relatives had decided to serve in the army in order to earn more money to send home to their families.\n\nEven before partial mobilisation was announced, people with a Central Asian background or nationality were recruited. In fact, an investigation by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hUqTsYIecPI\">MediaHub<\/a> discovered that in Uzbekistan, certain online platforms advertising security-related jobs in Russia actually sent workers directly to a military base controlled by the private <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wagner_Group\">Wagner Group<\/a>.&nbsp; This Russian mercenary group is used in wars worldwide, including in Ukraine.&nbsp; <a href=\"https:\/\/nv.ua\/ukr\/ukraine\/events\/cherez-velichezni-vtrati-v-ukrajini-rf-verbuye-naymanciv-iz-centralnoji-aziji-novini-ukrajini-50263715.html?fs=e&amp;s=cl\">Ukrainian intelligence agencies<\/a> say that <em>\u201cCentral Asian recruitment campaigns for mercenaries\u201d<\/em> have been in operation since the beginning of the war.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The embassies react<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>\nThe embassies from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan have <a href=\"https:\/\/novastan.org\/de\/kasachstan\/die-folgen-der-russischen-mobilmachung-fuer-zentralasien\/\">called on their citizens<\/a> not to involve themselves in the war in Ukraine. They claim that involvement is a criminal offense according to the domestic laws of their respective countries.\n\nThe risk of being sucked into the war is particularly high for young men from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan who have already acquired Russian citizenship. With a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/46473734_Long-Term_Population_Statistics_for_Russia_1867-2002\">diaspora<\/a> of 650 000 Kazakhstanis, 1.9 million Uzbekistanis, and 104 000 Kyrgyzstanis (numbers from 2002), able-bodied men from these groups could be subjected to forced recruitment.\n\nFor Turkmen, Tajik, and Uzbek citizens, participation in a foreign conflict can lead to imprisonment upon returning home.&nbsp; Particularly affected by this are the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rferl.org\/a\/tajikistan-russia-exodus-migration-brain-drain\/31700293.html\">1.2 million Tajik migrant workers<\/a> (number from 2021) in Russia.\n\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\"><strong>Originally written <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/novastan.org\/fr\/politique\/comment-la-russie-recrute-des-citoyens-centrasiatiques-pour-la-guerre-en-ukraine\/\"><strong>in French<\/strong><\/a><strong> by Matthieu Petrov<\/strong><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\"><strong>Translated into <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/novastan.org\/de\/kasachstan\/wie-russland-zentralasiatische-buerger-fuer-den-krieg-in-der-ukraine-anwirbt\/\"><strong>German from French<\/strong><\/a><strong> by Robin Roth<\/strong><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\"><strong>Translated from German into English by Mari Paine<\/strong><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\"><strong>Edited by Maya Ivanova<\/strong>\n<p><em>For more news and analysis from Central Asia, follow us on <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/Novastan_Eng\">Twitter<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Novastan.org\/\">Facebook<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/telegram.me\/novastan\">Telegram<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/fondation-novastan\/\">Linkedin<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/novastanorg\/\">Instagram<\/a>.<\/em><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many Central Asian migrants have joined the Russian army since partial mobilisation was announced in Russia.&nbsp; They are being pulled into Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine against the advice of their countries\u2019 consular organs.This article was oroginally published on Novastan\u2019s French website on 19 October 2022. On 21 September, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the mobilisation [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":403,"featured_media":42205,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3,6,7,5],"tags":[2060,4656,4541],"coauthors":[2635,4598,4602],"class_list":["post-42204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kazakhstan","category-kyrgyzstan","category-tajikistan","category-turkmenistan","category-uzbekistan","tag-migration","tag-mobilization","tag-war-in-ukraine"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/403"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42204"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42204\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43487,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42204\/revisions\/43487"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42204"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=42204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}