‘We bought our lives’ Russian soldiers are reportedly bribing their superiors to avoid combat

The mother of a former Russian prisoner who was recruited into the Storm Z unit and sent to fight in Ukraine told Novaya Gazeta Europe that there is a robust bribery system in the Russian army. Soldiers can buy medical “injury” reports, leave passes, and specific rotations, and can even pay to be left out of assault missions. She gave journalists a voice message her son reportedly sent her in which he says his unit hasn’t moved in half a year and doesn’t engage in actual fighting thanks to “bribes worth millions.”

“Of course, this all comes from our money,” he explained. “Even soldiers who have [military-issued bank] cards [and accounts to get their salary] don’t see any of the money because they constantly have to chip in for bribes, for gifts for the fucking generals, commanders, because the more time that passes, the more people start fussing about why Storm’s been sitting in the same place for half a year.”

He added that he and other former prisoners now fighting in the war were paid 100,000 rubles ($1,127) a month instead of the promised 200,000 ($2,254), and that they had to purchase their own equipment and supplies. “We bought our lives,” he said. “We just didn’t expect they’d [only] give us half our salary.”

A Russian officer from a motorized rifle unit confirmed that bribes are common at the front. According to him, soldiers can buy an official report saying they have a “concussion,” an injury that entitles them to hospitalization, for $10,000 to $50,000, depending on the soldier’s rank and where they’re located on the front. A bribe for leave is between $5,000 and $10,000, and soldiers can pay $500 to $3,000 to be transferred to another sector or to get early rotation. The officer noted that military personnel are entitled to a three-million-ruble (about $33,800) government payment for injuries, which servicemen who’ve paid for fake injuries will also get.

Sergei Krivenko, head of the human rights group Citizen. Army. Law, notes that before the full-scale war, servicemen regularly bribed officers to avoid duties, get leave passes, or go on vacation. During the war, corruption in the army remained, but the purpose of the bribes changed. Russian investigative outlet Important Stories, citing military court verdicts, said that some draftees have tried to avoid being sent to war by offering bribes of 10,000 to 400,000 rubles (about $100-$4,500).