Family in Russia’s Irkutsk region accuses police of plying a 54-year-old man with alcohol and forcing him to sign papers for military service in Ukraine
The family of Vladimir Shch., a 54-year-old businessman from Ust-Kut in Russia’s Irkutsk region, complained to prosecutors that police had forcibly taken him to a military enlistment office, the news outlet Lyudi Baikala reported.
According to his relatives, a district police officer came to an apartment where Vladimir was visiting on the evening of September 20 in response to a complaint from neighbors. The officer then took him home to get his passport. The family says police kept Vladimir at the station all night, plied him with alcohol, and forced him to sign papers for a military service contract.
The next day, Vladimir was taken to a military enlistment office, where he spent about two hours signing papers. He was given alcohol again on the way there. His relatives believe Vladimir, who has poor eyesight, was denied his glasses at the office to keep him from reading exactly what he was signing. He was then sent for a medical examination.
Vladimir’s wife came to the enlistment office to get him, but the district officer refused to let him go, saying she was “preventing him from signing a contract for the special military operation.” After his medical examination, Vladimir was allowed outside for a cigarette. His wife met him outside and drove him home. His documents were returned, but the family says the officer later waited for him outside his home and told his relatives that Vladimir was now “on the hook.”
Vladimir’s daughter said at least 17 men may have been forcibly taken to the Ust-Kut military enlistment office over the past two weeks. She had also heard that police receive cash payments for helping sign people up for military service. She provided no evidence for either claim but asked prosecutors to investigate them.
In June, the outlet Ust-Kut24 reported cases in which people wearing military uniforms rounded up men with criminal records or disabilities in Ust-Kut and forcibly took them to military enlistment offices.
At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.
If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].
To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.