Thread by @ChrisO_wiki

1/ Cases of desertion in the Russian armed forces have massively increased over the past year, according to Mediazona. In the first four and a half months of 2023, there have already been more prosecutions than in the whole of 2022. ⬇️

2/ Desertion is known as having 'left for Sochi' or to have become a 'Sochi resident', from the abbreviation SOC (самовольное оставление части, "unauthorised abandonment of a [military] unit"). It's criminalised under Article 337 of the Russian Criminal Code.

3/ In late 2022, the Russian government introduced tougher restrictions and tighter enforcement of Article 337, increasing the severity of the penalties "during the period of mobilisation or martial law, in wartime or in conditions of armed conflict or combat operations."

4/ By the end of 2022, Mediazona reports, the number of cases of desertion increased by 63% compared to the previous year. Russian government figures state that just over 1,000 people were convicted of this in 2021 and more than 1,300 were convicted in 2022.

5/ The number of criminal cases has soared this year. There were 1,053 cases between January and the first week of May 2023, compared to 1,001 cases in the whole of 2022. The nnumber of cases heard weekly also soared, from around 100 a month in 2022 to over 400 a month now.

6/ Desertion is punishable with between 5-10 years' imprisonment. However, Mediazona notes that many defendants are given suspended sentences by the garrison courts, often to ensure that they can be sent directly to the war. The military no longer discharges convicted soldiers.

7/ Sometimes commanders specifically petition for a defendant to be "sent in the prescribed manner to the zone of a special military operation, where he can prove his correction by his behavior and actions". Courts generally grant this.

8/ Given the huge casualties sustained by Russian forces fighting in Ukraine, however, this may have a good chance of being a de facto death sentence. A suspended sentence is also an effective threat to hang over an offender to ensure his obedience on the battlefield. /end

Source:
zona.media/article/2023/0…