In May 2026, we asked several questions of a person who deserted from the Russian Army in December 2024. We are publishing his responses as part of a series of interviews with deserters and people who are evading wartime mobilization or military service. It should be noted that our aim is not merely to share personal stories, but above all to use these interviews to clarify how we can contribute to making desertion a widespread and collectively organized form of resistance against war.
Warning: This interview includes photographs and video depicting the torture of deserters!
1) What were your reasons for deserting, and at what stage of the war did you desert?
To understand why I deserted, you need to understand how I ended up in the Army. To put it briefly, many people in Russia are currently in the crosshairs of the Ministry of Defense; the Russian Army is currently mobilizing available reserves. While there is no official military mobilization—or it is extremely limited—Putin’s relevant order remains in effect, and no one intends to revoke it. This opens up opportunities for “recruiters.” For example, it has become common practice to forcibly draft people into conscripted service. Conscripts, which I was supposed to be, are not supposed to be sent to the front under the law; however, they are drafted with the expectation that some of them can be forced to sign a contract. That is exactly what happened to me. Before I joined the army, my political convictions were strictly Marxist. War repelled me on humanitarian grounds, but I also clearly understood that the war was an act of imperialist aggression by the Russian Federation. The aim of the war was not empty rhetoric about protecting the people of Donbas and Luhansk from the alleged genocide taking place in Ukraine, nor was it to safeguard the state’s borders from the encroachment of NATO. I was fully aware that the war brought direct political and economic benefits to a narrow circle of the ruling Russian elite, centred around Putin. Naturally, I had no intention of taking part in this barbarity. Although at certain stages of my service it began to seem to me that resistance was pointless, that I should simply submit and follow orders, each time I found the strength to resolve to sabotage my personal participation in this war. In total, I went AWOL three times. Each time this happened when they were trying to send me to the front. Between these acts of desertion, I endured torture, bullying and all manner of humiliation. My last attempt to escape took place in December 2024; it was the craziest one yet – I jumped out of a window at Yaroslavsky Station in Moscow, having first snatched my documents from a military policeman. In short, it was a laugh.
2) Did you desert from a recruitment or training center, or directly from the front lines?
All three times I deserted before reaching the front; twice from the training centre, and the last time straight from the station.
3) Was it hard to desert? What risks were you most worried about?
It wasn’t easy to overcome the fear that our commanders had instilled in us. We’d all seen what desertion led to. People were thrown into pits, stoned to death or shot. The officers showed us videos of those who’d tried to escape but had been caught. Only a few of these videos made it online. I can assure you that the gladiatorial fight between two deserters, which caused a stir in the media relatively recently, is just the tip of the iceberg.
The first time, I was terrified, but after being caught, I got off with a couple of blows to the arm when they forced me to retract the statement I’d given to the military prosecutor’s office. The second time, I acted more decisively; I realised they couldn’t deal with me as harshly as they had dealt with the people in those videos, because I was still on Russian territory. The third time, I wasn’t afraid of anything; I had succumbed to fatalism. Freedom or death.
4) Did you have to spend a long time preparing for your escape, or was it more of an impulsive act without a clear plan?
I prepared very thoroughly for my last escape. I started about a month before I actually ran away. That’s probably why it went so well. I’d planned the route in advance and prepared for a long run away from my fellow soldiers. But there were surprises too; the military police commander took my papers. I barely managed to get them back, and afterwards I felt incredibly proud of myself for not being afraid to get into a bit of a stand-off with that man and coming out on top. As the original route from the station was already cut off, I ran to the toilet, climbed onto the windowsill and jumped down. I twisted my ankle, but managed to run; I crossed the bridge over the Moskva River quite quickly and disappeared into the crowd. As I was climbing onto the bridge, police officers were running towards me; I slowed down and pretended I was just walking along, and they didn’t notice that I was the one they were looking for. In a way, that was a stroke of luck. At that moment, I felt strong and ready to see it through to the end.
5) Is desertion widespread in the Russian army, or is it a marginal phenomenon? Is there any collective coordination involved, or is desertion primarily an individual act?
It always happens differently. I remember that when they were taking me to Borz to train, one of the soldiers—a seasoned veteran—said, ‘Fuck them all’—and then he jumped out of the KAMAZ while it was still moving and disappeared into the woods. The officer then threatened to shoot anyone who followed his example. I also knew one officer who simply vanished before deployment. He’d long held strongly anti-war views and had tried his hardest to stay with the unit, but when his name appeared on the list – he simply vanished. No one ever found him; he had most likely planned his escape well in advance. Desertion is quite a widespread phenomenon. When you recruit alcoholics, force conscripts to sign contracts, and offer special contracts to prisoners – you can’t expect anything else. In reality, there hasn’t been a proper professional army in Russia for a long time; now it’s just groups of mercenaries with a minimal officer corps. When I was in the Strategic Missile Forces in Chita, in just one missile brigade (I won’t mention the brigade number), there were about 100 people on the list of those who had left their unit without permission. This number could fluctuate from month to month, as some were caught whilst others were still on the run. But on average, it was around 100 people. If we assume that the situation is roughly the same in other units, the total number of deserters is very substantial. There are approximately 2,000 to 3,000 military units in the Russian Federation.
6) Is it possible to estimate how many people have deserted in Russia? Is there an upward trend, or is the number of desertions declining?
I believe that number is rising. As I said, if we assume—based on my experience—that around 100 people deserted from each unit, then taking the minimum estimated number of military units (2,000), that comes to around 200,000 people. It’s a very rough and approximate figure, but I think it’s close to the reality.
7) How does the Russian government respond to desertion? Are there any repressive measures in place to prevent or suppress desertion?
The Russian leadership has not responded publicly. But their attitude can be gauged from the accounts of surviving deserters – torture, abuse, shootings, and elaborate executions (forcing two deserters to fight with their bare hands for the right to live, tying them to a tree and beating them, locking them in a pit or barrel without food or water). I believe that this approach is approved from above.
- In this video, two men are shown stripped and kept in a storage tank. “Time to feed the animals!” a voice says. Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/28/europe/russia-deserters-ukraine-war-intl
- A deserter tied to a tree with a rusty bucket over his head. https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/28/europe/russia-deserters-ukraine-war-intl
8) What does desertion mean in legal terms? What penalties do deserters face? What sentences do deserters actually receive if they are arrested and convicted?
From a legal standpoint, the penalty is up to 15 years in prison. The soldiers would very much like to see them sent to prison, but in practice the Ministry of Defence does not make any demands of the military prosecution service or the military courts. The soldier is returned to his unit, beaten, and then sent to the front, where he is handed over to his commander to be slaughtered. Once the soldier who attempted to desert is in the commander’s hands, nothing can save him.
9) Are there any specific challenges you face as a deserter and a refugee? Is there a support network among refugees where you are now?
There is a support network for refugees in Armenia. However, it is primarily aimed at political and civil refugees. We are trying to set up something similar, but our resources are very limited. The most pressing issue is legalisation. Deserters find themselves in limbo; they cannot obtain refugee status, cannot obtain citizenship, and find it more difficult to find work or access medical care. There is no clear legal solution to these issues. Furthermore, Armenia is home to the largest Russian military base outside the Russian Federation. Putin has tried several times to send his special units from Gyumri to catch and return deserters, but Armenia has refused to hand over deserters to Russia; the police refuse to assist the Russian military and do not allow them to engage in manhunts. This is already a huge favour on the part of the Armenian government. We thank them for this.
10) Do you think you’ll ever go back to Russia? Under what circumstances would it be possible for you to return to Russia?
I am prepared to return to Russia provided that revolutionary processes begin within the country and provided that I am able to play a part in overthrowing the current regime.
11) Putin’s propaganda claims that all soldiers fighting in the war in Ukraine are contract soldiers who are fighting voluntarily. What is your opinion? Is there coercion or intimidation involved, or are all the soldiers on the front lines truly loyal to Putin’s regime?
As I mentioned earlier, the army is being replenished with criminals, through deception and pressure on conscripts, and by recruiting people with antisocial lifestyles or those with substantial debts. Although there are quite a few volunteers in the Russian army, I cannot say that this is an ideological choice on their part. Rather, they are trying to escape poverty in this way, and their ideological convictions can be anything from imperialist to liberal; in some cases, these are even combined with radical left-wing ideologies such as communism, anarchism and the like. It seems rather amusing, if one does not consider that this motley crew will soon be armed and killing people.
12) Are there any general recommendations for other soldiers who might want to desert in the future? What do they need to do? Which countries should they travel through? How can they avoid contact with the authorities and the police?
People who want to desert should contact desertion support groups. Our project ‘ZKR’, our comrades’ project ‘Tverdyi Znak’, the ‘Idi Lesom’ project and similar ones. I don’t want to reveal specific routes in an interview, so that they aren’t blocked. Ultimately, once you’ve deserted, you have about three days to leave Russia. Make sure you have money for a ticket ready in advance. If you come across the police, try to act naturally; don’t panic. If they take an interest in you during the first three days of your escape, it is most likely not related to desertion. But don’t go out of your way to contact them; some police officers can be very thorough. If they’ve taken you seriously, if in the very first days of your escape the police have turned all your places of residence upside down and intimidated all your relatives – then you need to stay well away from major cities, travel via BlaBlaCar and leave the Russian Federation as soon as possible. Situations vary; sometimes they are very specific.
13) How can people from European Union countries practically help deserters?
You know, I can say for myself that I understand perfectly well: firstly, the people of the European Union owe me nothing; secondly, they are not gods and cannot grant wishes. I am certain that I no longer have a peaceful future. I will have neither a wife, nor children, nor a home of my own, nor a steady job. In effect, I am dead. I would like the people of the EU to see the tragedies to which imperialism, fascism and militarism lead. As a man of left-wing views, I would like to see, between us, fewer imaginary lines drawn along ethnic or national lines. I would like us to be able to stand together in support of oppressed people that have fallen victim to imperialist wars of aggression. So that together we can stand against war and for the defeat of all aggressive imperialist governments. It would be a good idea to set up a fund to help deserters, or to have a number of temporary shelters or hostels for deserters, but for now this is only in the planning stage.
Read also: