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Russia’s convict fighters |
In July, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Russia’s largest private military group, Wagner, started arriving via helicopter at prisons around the country with an offer to the inmates: Pay your debt to society by joining a private army in Ukraine. |
Prigozhin promised the prisoners they would receive 100,000 rubles a month — the equivalent of $1,700 at the time, and nearly double Russia’s average monthly wage. He also offered bravery bonuses, $80,000 death payouts and, should they fulfill the six-month contract, freedom in the form of a presidential pardon. |
Those who ran away, used drugs or alcohol or had sexual relations, he warned, would be killed. |
My colleagues Anatoly Kurmanaev, Alina Lobzina and Ekaterina Bodyagina reported on the recruitment drive and the return to Russia of some convict fighters after they fulfilled the contract. |
“These are psychologically broken people who are returning with a sense of righteousness, a belief that they have killed to defend the Motherland,” said Yana Gelmel, a Russian prisoner rights lawyer who works with enlisted inmates. “These can be very dangerous people.” |
Since July, around 40,000 inmates have joined the Russian forces, according to Western intelligence agencies, the Ukrainian government and a prisoners’ rights association. Ukraine claims that nearly 30,000 have deserted or been killed or wounded, mostly in the fighting around the eastern city of Bakhmut, though that figure is difficult to confirm. |
A former inmate himself, Prigozhin showed that he understood prison culture, skillfully combining a threat of punishment with a promise of a new, dignified life, according to rights activists and families. |
“I needed your criminal talents to kill the enemy in the war,” Prigozhin said in one video. “Those who want to return, we are waiting for you to come back. Those who want to get married, get baptized, study — go ahead with a blessing.” |
Most of the enlisted men were serving time for petty crimes like robbery and theft, but records from one penal colony seen by The New York Times show that the recruits also included men convicted of aggravated rape and multiple murders. |
“There are no more crimes and no more punishments,” Olga Romanova, the head of Russia Behind Bars, said. “Anything is permissible now, and this brings very far-reaching consequences for any country.” |
