The mobilized were called to the network – Newspaper Kommersant No. 221 (7422) dated 11/29/2022

The all-Russian association of opposition municipal deputies Zemsky Congress launched the Zemsky Defender project to provide legal assistance to Russians on issues related to partial mobilization. For two months of work, the oppositionists, who have undergone special training, organized several online receptions in the regions, and also created media projects in social networks to educate citizens on the issues of conscription for a special operation. Similar but larger projects are being carried out by the parliamentary opposition.

Many Russian parties are involved in helping the mobilized and their families. But if United Russia can afford costly projects (for example, for the material supply of military personnel and humanitarian assistance to their families), then the opposition, including non-systemic ones, more often focuses on “targeted” work with citizens.

The Zemsky Defender project was launched at the end of September: training seminars were organized for municipal deputies and activists from the regions on the topic of legal assistance in connection with partial mobilization. Zemstvo chose different formats to work with the population. For example, in the Kirov, Krasnoyarsk, Kurgan and Novgorod regions, activists and deputies held personal receptions. In Moscow, an offline seminar was held for relatives of citizens subject to mobilization, organized by Moscow City Duma deputy Yevgeny Stupin (KPRF). Online consultations were the most popular: for example, in Voronezh, the Zemstvo members created an online reception and a Telegram chat, which involved lawyers and human rights activists, and in Novosibirsk, local deputies Anton Kartavin and Helga Pirogova, together with lawyers, held a stream on mobilization issues . At the same time, the activists decided not to curtail work after the end of partial mobilization, including because of rumors about its possible resumption.

Most often, the “zemstvo” helped the reservists to appeal against procedural violations when serving summons and refusing medical examinations. So, in Krasnoyarsk, on the advice of the opposition, a man with a hernia of the spine, who received a summons through his mother, was able to appeal against the improper method of serving it and during this time managed to undergo a medical examination. Unfit for service due to health reasons, the Kurgan citizen, with the help of the Zemstvo, was able to apply for a medical examination and return from military training. And the Muscovite, who appeared at the military registration and enlistment office on a summons issued at work, managed to delay sending to the troops until a medical examination, which revealed health problems.

In general, the activities of the activists did not attract much attention from law enforcement agencies, although in some cases they did not go without conversations with the security forces. For example, the prosecutor’s office asked Anna Cherepanova (Yabloko), a deputy of the City Duma of Veliky Novgorod, to explain one of the publications in social networks, which said that administrative, rather than criminal, liability threatens to refuse to receive a summons or fail to appear at the military registration and enlistment office. The “Zemsky Congress” noted that the conversation with the prosecutor “had no legal consequences for the deputy.”

The parliamentary opposition, which, unlike the Zemstvo, supports a special military operation, also organizes legal assistance to the mobilized. So, in A Just Russia – For the Truth (SRZP), centers for the protection of the rights of citizens, activists and deputies in charge of new territories are doing this, Nikolai Novichkov, a member of the SRZP faction in the State Duma, told Kommersant. He added that the SRs work with both official and unofficial complaints. Yuri Sinelshchikov (KPRF) told Kommersant that on issues of partial mobilization, citizens turn to the party in the usual way: in particular, complaints relate to unreasonable conscription, lack of equipment and training. According to the deputy, the communists also sent amendments to the Criminal Code on responsibility for sending untrained people to the front for review to the government.

Finally, the New People party launched a special parliamentary support service for those who encountered violations during the draft. According to party leader Alexei Nechaev, the project came about because “the methods and pace of partial mobilization raise more and more questions.” “New People” keep statistics of complaints: in total, they processed 1.2 thousand messages, and in 414 cases, after the intervention of party members, citizens were returned home or decisions on their mobilization were canceled.

The implementation of such initiatives, built on the practice of “small deeds”, may lead to an increase in the popularity of local activists, political analyst Konstantin Kalachev admits. “This is possible if people are convinced of their usefulness, sincerity, ability to listen and hear people, lack of self-interest,” the expert notes. He considers the usefulness and demand for the opposition agenda to be the key factors in such work.

Kira Heifetz, Ksenia Veretennikova