A farewell to Putin's regime: Russian soldiers who deserted share their experiences

Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Voxeurop

Russian soldiers face coercion and choose exile; a media project aids desertion efforts.

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[This is an automatically generated summary, for reference only]

A 28-year-old Russian army lieutenant named Georgy, who is gay and disagrees with state policy, fled Russia for France with his partner Sergey after facing insurmountable obstacles within the military, including threats of imprisonment or war participation following the invasion of Ukraine. Political scientist Anna Colin-Lebedev explains how compulsory service has been transformed into an indefinite contract for young men, making them vulnerable to exploitation by the army which targets disadvantaged groups. Georgy and another former soldier, Aleksandr, co-founded “A Farewell To Arms,” a media project on Telegram and YouTube designed as counter-propaganda to encourage other soldiers to desert and provide support to those who leave the military. The text also discusses difficulties in verifying official Russian military statistics regarding troop numbers and deserters, noting that for individuals like Georgy, the choice was between war, prison, or exile.

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