Russians recruited for war through classified ads promising jobs in ‘rear positions’ in Belarus and China
Job listings have appeared on the Russian classifieds site Avito offering contracts for service in the “rear of the SVO” in Belarus and China. Verstka, an independent Russian news outlet, first flagged the listings.
The ads are nearly word-for-word identical. Positions are open to candidates of any citizenship, age, or health status — including retirees, people with health conditions, and those with military fitness classifications as low as “temporarily unfit.” No prior experience or military registration documents are required. Recruiters are also accepting candidates with expunged criminal records or suspended sentences.
The ads promise 10 million rubles in signing bonuses, debt forgiveness of the same amount, benefits for family members, full reimbursement of travel costs to the duty station, housing in dormitories or barracks, meals and equipment, and armed security.
One listing, for example, recruits guards for rear supply depots in Belarus, promising a “calm, safe rear zone” on the territory of the union state, “with all guarantees and payments from the Defense Ministry of the Russian Federation.” Identical terms are offered for a “production worker at an ammunition factory” in China.
Recruiters are also seeking guards for drone factories, electronic warfare facilities, and testing ranges, as well as a driver, an operator for a drone manufacturing plant, and drone assemblers, technicians, and testers. All positions, the ads claim, are located in Belarus and China.
About 50 such listings were posted in May by six employers: “Voyennaya Doblest” (“Military Valor”), “Put k Pobede” (“Path to Victory”), “Rubezh Rodiny SVO,” “Sluzhba s Dostoinstvom” (“Service with Dignity”), “Verny Put” (“True Path”), and “Armeysky Put” (“Army Path”). These organizations, mostly based in Moscow, appeared on Avito in 2025.
Similar employers had previously posted ads seeking “peacekeepers” for the Russia–Ukraine war. Some of those job descriptions specified that the position involved signing a contract with the armed forces.
Despite the fact that candidates are offered positions in the rear, there are no guarantees of such placement. Those who respond to these listings are signed to contracts on standard terms, and assignment decisions are made by commanders of units and training centers.
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