Four years after mobilization: a Russian conscript's account from the front
Russia's 2022 partial mobilization remains formally in effect, with more than 300,000 men drafted and at least 20,000 killed since. Meduza tracked two mobilized men over the past four years — one still fighting, one now a deserter abroad.
The "partial mobilization" Russia announced in September 2022 has never been formally ended by any decree. According to Russia's Defense Ministry, over 300,000 men were drafted that autumn, and at least 20,000 of them have since died. Meduza followed the stories of two mobilized men: Maxim, a Pskov resident whose name and city have been altered for safety, and Temirzhan Bayanov from Omsk.
From civilian life to the trenches
Before mobilization, Maxim worked as a refrigeration engineer and ran a small air-conditioning business. His son was born in September 2022, just a month before he received his draft notice. Despite asking for a deferment because of the newborn, a military commissar assured him he would be home within three months. His wife did not speak to him for a week after learning he had signed the notice.
After two weeks of training, Maxim's unit — composed entirely of mobilized men — was sent not to territorial defense duty as promised, but to the Luhansk region. His unit fought around Sievierodonetsk and Kreminna, later took part in the battles for Bakhmut and Kostiantynivka, and is currently advancing toward Druzhkivka.
Maxim describes how the war transformed with the rise of drone warfare — FPV drones and heavier agricultural-style drones made older tactics deadly or obsolete. He has been wounded several times, losing hearing in one ear and vision in one eye, yet a military medical board refused to discharge him. According to his account, soldiers are rarely released from service unless severely wounded or killed.
Temirzhan Bayanov initially tried to avoid the draft but was caught. He later managed to escape Russia and now lives in Spain as a deserter.
