Edward Marchesi Russian authorities have launched a series of investigations into alleged organized criminal groups kidnapping men with no military experience and forcing them to join the armed forces deployed in Ukraine . The most recent case focused on the Ivanovo region, where the police chief of the Komsomolsky district was taken into pre-trial detention, causing a nationwide outcry.
Yury Shibayev arrested and charged with serious crimes
In a ruling on Thursday, the judge ordered Yury Shibayev to be held in pre-trial detention until January 2 on charges of kidnapping , fraud , and unauthorized access to computer data . Shibayev, who has headed the Komsomolsky branch since , has refused to testify and has denied all charges, maintaining his innocence.
The interrogation has been suspended and the authorities are evaluating further precautionary measures.
Details of the charges
According to the investigation, the alleged organization recruited men through promises of paid work, then kidnapped them and forced them to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense. The allegations of illicit data access stem from alleged manipulation of computer systems to conceal the recruits' movements.
Investigators have identified fifteen individuals involved, with at least seven confirmed victims.
The criminal network and its victims
Authorities have reconstructed a pattern in which men were taken to isolated locations, held in cellars or makeshift huts, and pressured to accept the terms of military service. Testimonies indicate that the victims were often unemployed men or those with alcohol problems, selected for their vulnerability. Once forced to sign, they were transferred to a military unit in the Leningrad region, where they were expected to serve directly at the front.
Methods of coercion
In addition to physical kidnapping, the network allegedly employed fraudulent marriages : victims were encouraged to enter into sham marriages with local women in order to obtain financial benefits for the families of wounded or deceased soldiers. These practices aimed to increase gang members' earnings by exploiting the military allowance system.
Other similar cases in neighboring regions
The Ivanovo investigation is part of a broader phenomenon also uncovered in the Vologda and Sverdlovsk regions. In Vologda, Cherepovets prosecutors have reported a gang that kidnapped unemployed men with addiction problems, took them to another region, and forced them to sign military contracts, also stealing payments intended for their families. Authorities have removed from the internet a Kanal 12 report describing the incident.
Trial in Yekaterinburg
A similar trial began in Yekaterinburg, the capital of the Sverdlovsk region, where the defendants offered temporary housing to recruits and then threatened them to force them to sign. Investigators also discovered the involvement of several women who, by marrying the recruits, claimed compensation for injuries or deaths. The case revealed the existence of a more extensive network of forced recruitment, connected to several districts in central Russia.