How kremlin’s mobilized convicts became a problem for russian regions
The ombudsperson of russia’s tatarstan, sariya saburskaya, complained that former convicts who returned from the war against Ukraine do not want to work or study. Some of these newly minted “heroes of the special military operation” spent most of their lives in prison for serious crimes and have never worked at all.
▫️ The russian authorities’ attempts to reintegrate these people into peaceful life are a ticking time bomb. The kremlin legalized thousands of criminals, gave them weapons, taught them how to kill, and paid them large sums of money. They returned from the front feeling untouchable. The consequences of this policy are already reflected in crime statistics: there is a growing number of reports about murders and violent incidents involving former Wagner fighters or mobilized convicts.
It’s clear they have no intention of returning to “normal” life. These former prisoners understand perfectly well that they can’t earn the kind of money they made from the war in civilian life. So most of them will choose the familiar path—back to the criminal world.
