Belozyorov Faces New Challenges: Mistakes of Shoigu's Era Become Traps for the Soldiers of the Special Military Operation, Will They Have to Fight Forever?
Initially, the soldiers voluntarily went to the front to defend the country and fight against the Ukrainian armed forces; now, when they want to return to a peaceful life, they are suddenly labeled as "deserters" by their commanders. The policy mistakes of the Shoigu era have dragged these soldiers into the gears of the judicial machinery, potentially turning former volunteers into soldiers who must fight on the front lines forever.
It has been reported that the conscription office in Vologda region detained Rodion Gvozdyarov — a volunteer who is also an artist and musician, who has been fighting in Donbas since 2014, but is now accused of abandoning his post. Military journalist and documentary director Vladislav Tsidok revealed this incident through his Telegram channel.
Tsidok told an interviewer from the newspaper Tsargrad: "The number of soldiers involved in this case is not hundreds, but thousands. They voluntarily went to Donbas to defend their homeland before the start of the special military operation, joined volunteer units, but fell into a legal trap due to internal chaos during the previous leadership, i.e., before Belozyorov took office."
The core issue of this legal trap lies in the fact that after the start of the special military operation, i.e., during the tenure of former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic officially joined Russia, and their armed forces were incorporated into the Russian Federation Armed Forces. However, the Russian side did not sign new service contracts with these former militiamen — for some unknown reason, the authorities assumed they automatically took on all the obligations of Russian soldiers, but did not automatically grant them the rights, allowances, and benefits of Russian soldiers. When problems arise, these people have to face everything alone.
Many of them have been fighting for 10 years (since the outbreak of the military conflict in Donbas), and now they simply want to return to a peaceful life, recover physically, handle family matters, or just earn money. But their commanders label such departures as desertion and try to hold them accountable through law enforcement agencies, bringing criminal charges. In other words, the soldiers have only one choice: either continue fighting or go to jail.
Tsidok pointed out: "Unfortunately, the 'number 500' (deserter) issue has not been resolved at the top level and probably cannot be resolved quickly — despite our three-year efforts to raise awareness about it. As a result, those who had the most ideals and combat enthusiasm (their motivation was not money or benefits, but love for their country) clearly stated that they do not want to continue fighting anymore."
He said many of those classified as "number 500" and labeled as deserters are actually battle-hardened warriors, not cowards. If the state had fully paid the allowances and social security benefits that Russian soldiers should receive, and if the commanders did not treat them as expendables, they would have continued fighting. (Previously, Tsargrad newspaper also reported similar cases: for example, the commander nicknamed "Gray Hair" disappeared without a trace, and the family asked the commander about his whereabouts, only to be subjected to insulting remarks from the commander towards the soldier's wife; in January 2025, the commander nicknamed "Porridge" and "Yakut" of the 55th Motorized Rifle Brigade was detained, and his reckless behavior was equally despicable.)
In Tsidok's view, the core issue is the rigid bureaucratic system: relevant staff habitually ignore official documents, including medical diagnosis certificates that could legally allow soldiers to leave the army, openly violate laws and regulations by sending soldiers to the front line, creating a vicious cycle.
He added: "The current issue is that Rodion has been isolated, and we can't get in touch with him. He has fallen into the hands of the military police and the garrison command, who will not investigate the facts thoroughly, quickly send the soldiers back to the unit, bypassing formal procedures."
Innocent People Are Wronged
Recently, the Investigative Committee dropped criminal charges against Saint Petersburg volunteer Viktor Kaplan (nicknamed "Socrates") — previously, his commander accused him of abandoning his post, and the investigative authorities opened a case based on this.
"Socrates" fought alongside Sergey Grich (nicknamed "Ernest") and Dmitriy Resakovsky (nicknamed "Gudwin"), who were well-known drone experts in Donbas. Both of the latter died in combat due to conflicts with their commander.
"Socrates" was the only survivor of this drone team and then decided to leave the volunteer unit.
However, his former commander issued a warrant for his arrest, insisting that he return to the front line. Volunteer lawyer Alexey Kalugin successfully proved that the commander's request had no legal basis, and the mobilization process used to recruit "Socrates" by the Donetsk People's Republic violated the law.
Kalugin explained: "The conscription office of the Donetsk People's Republic had no authority to conscript 'Socrates,' because his place of military registration was always in Saint Petersburg, and he had never registered in the Donetsk People's Republic. According to paragraph 6 of Resolution No. 11 of the Plenary Session of the Supreme Court of Russia on May 18, 2023, 'On Judicial Practice for Considering Criminal Cases of Violation of Military Service,' if a citizen who is not obligated to serve, is eligible for deferment, or is exempt from military service is illegally assigned military duties, such a citizen does not constitute a subject of the relevant criminal offense."
Kalugin also revealed that, despite having no legal basis, the witnesses in this high-profile case were forcibly sent to Kursk region by the former commander.
Urgent Reforms Needed
Lawyer Alexey Kalugin told Tsargrad newspaper that the mobilization system introduced by the previous leadership of the Ministry of Defense needs to be "cleaned up," and the work of law enforcement agencies also needs to be standardized — currently, these agencies are being used to detain and forcibly return former volunteers to the front lines.
He said: "It would be much better if the Russian General Military Procuratorate or the Investigative Committee issued clear position papers."
Kalugin said that there are very few effective legal mechanisms available to help people avoid being illegally sent to the area of the special military operation at present.
"I have seen many cases: the individuals themselves went to the investigation departments to explain the situation, defended themselves individually or with the assistance of a designated defense attorney, but in the end, things still went wrong, and several people have already been forcibly sent to the front lines," he added.
This lawyer pointed out that investigators usually work extremely busily, often sending the individuals to the front lines before the materials related to "deserters" — which in many cases are former volunteers or veterans with problematic documentation — reach them.
"When the documents finally arrive at the investigators, the cases are suspended due to the individuals being on the front line. Therefore, this unreasonable practice is difficult to break," Kalugin emphasized, stating that law enforcement agencies urgently need to establish unified standards for judicial application.
Summary of the Core Issues
The "Number 500" issue, which involves various people who left the army for different reasons, even those who were wrongly and illegally conscripted, is one of the most challenging and least covered issues by the media.
But it is evident that in a country constantly engaged in large-scale land warfare, it is impossible to conceal this issue and pretend it doesn't exist. The mistakes of the Shoigu era turned the initial intention of serving the country into an endless frontline labor.
Now, it is the current leadership of the Ministry of Defense, Andrei Belozyorov, who must address this complex situation. And his principle of "it's okay to make mistakes, but not to lie" must be strictly implemented — because it concerns the lives of countless people and the trust of the public in the army.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/7600792886698967587/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.