The Russian army relies on what it considers to be an inexhaustible human resource that can be thrown into war, guided by a centuries-old saying: “Russian women will breed more”
Russian television audiences will be treated to a new hour-long daily show. Its name is still to be decided, but the producers are already: the wives and mothers of military recruits. The participants must evoke the heroism of their husbands and sons and tell tear-jerking stories that will serve as an accompaniment to the Kremlin’s plans to throw more young men into the meat-grinder that is its war with Ukraine.
How many men will be needed depends on the progress of Ukrainian forces. But though Mr Putin may not have enough troops to take more territory, he is making sure he has enough to keep Russia fighting for as long as he remains in power. “War is his only legacy now. He can scale it down or intensify it. But he can’t end it,” says one weathered observer of Russian politics who remains in the country.
Billboards have since sprung up around Russia. A sleek video advertises the benefits of swapping the job of taxi-driver, fitness instructor or security guard in a supermarket for that of a warrior. “You are a man. So be one,” it declares. Large advertising budgets, however, have not translated into large numbers of volunteers. Officials say 117,000 people had signed new contracts by June. Independent observers, such as Mr Sverdlin, say the real figures are likely to be less than half that.
Sending those doing military service to the front line has been considered taboo since the Soviet war in Afghanistan and the Chechen war of 1995-96, explains Sergei Krivenko of Memorial, a banned human-rights group that monitors mobilisation. Breaking this practice risks a backlash from the mothers of the young men. But the Kremlin has found a way of doing it covertly, by pressing those doing military service to sign contracts with the army, which formally turns them into volunteers.
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Russia is resorting to desperate measures to recruit soldiers for its warA sleek video advertises the benefits of swapping the job of a taxi-driver, a fitness instructor or a security guard in a supermarket for that of a warrior. “You are a man. So be one,” it concludes
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