Bashkir activist in exile tells of Russia’s army recruitment campaign
In Russia’s Bashkortostan Republic, which is the leader in the number of volunteers who were killed in action on Ukrainian battlefields, officials do their utmost to recruit more soldiers for the war effort, fearing criminal prosecution.
That’s according to Ruslan Gabbasov, head of the Committee of the Bashkir National Movement in Exile, who spoke with an Ukrinform correspondent.
"The leadership of Bashkortostan is now in a precarious position. Many officials from the close circle of the head of the Republic, Radii Khabirov, have been detained on fraud and corruption charges They can remain in power and free only if they keep supplying a sufficient number of soldiers for the war without interruption," he explained.
According to Gabbasov, officials campaign across the republic, handing out promises or putting forward threats, all in order to seal as many new army contracts as possible: "Just today, I received a report from the ground on how they engage with ‘volunteers’. People are bribed, offered to sign a contract while intoxicated – and that’s how these people end up in the army ranks."
He also explained that, although Bashkortostan is considered a "wealthy republic", there is a lack of jobs in the region. That is why locals would traditionally move up north to make money. Now the authorities tried to switch this flow from oil and gas extraction areas to the Ukrainian war zone.
"At the same time, they also often deceive people, promising that they won’t have to actually fight, kill someone, or die themselves, instead claiming they will be involved in construction or guarding warehouses. However, once deployed, these people are given rifles and ordered to go on assault missions. But, of course, we must admit there are also those who sign contracts on their own will: adventurers, adventure seekers, often socially disadvantaged people," Gabbasov said.
According to him, the Bashkir national movement, like other liberation movements included in the League of Free Nations, works a lot on various platforms, across social media, doing outreach work.
"Of course, it is difficult for us to compete with the huge and well-funded Russian propaganda machine and its branches on the ground, for example, the BST (Bashkir Satellite Television). But I believe that we still manage to achieve something. The government actively works in social media that are popular among the youths. For example, on Instagram, they often post on Instagram bits about the war and "heroes of the special military operation". However, about 90% of the comments are negative as many in Bashkortostan, especially younger people, stand against the war with Ukraine," Gabbasov concluded.
Ruslan Gabbasov is a public figure, one of the leaders of the Bashkir national movement. Since late 2021, he has been living in exile. In 2022, he was recognized as a "foreign agent" in Russia. He is also one of the leaders of the Forum of the Free Peoples of Post-Russia, co-founder of the League of Free Nations.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, in the fall of 2023, the Committee of the Bashkir National Movement in Exile announced the creation of the Bashkir Liberation Army to be embedded with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Photo: Idel.Realii