Recruitment of Criminals in Russian Mercenary Unit Sparks Controversy

Russian mercenary unit recruits in prison
Even sex offenders offered a pardon
Russia has a history of using penal battalions

Typically, people would expect a unit composed of criminals to be quite strong. The belief is that if a pardon is offered as a condition, hardened criminals will fight with more passion. Therefore, if war breaks out, drafting them onto the battlefield would be a very effective strategy. This notion is reinforced by many media outlets portraying such criminal-filled penal battalions as powerful forces.

It’s been reported that the head of Wagner, a private military company deployed on the Ukrainian front, conducted recruitment activities in a Russian prison. In this process, he even offered a pardon to sex offenders. Let’s take a closer look at this.

Wagner head, Putin’s ally
Recruits penal battalion with pardon condition

Prigozhin, the head of the private military company PMC Wagner Group, is a close ally of President Putin and has even made the FBI’s most wanted list for crimes such as interfering with U.S. elections. He has acted as a problem solver for Russia through the Wagner Group, exerting Russia’s influence in various parts of the world, including Africa and the Middle East, under Putin’s orders.

This recruitment activity in prison also appears to have been directed by the Russian government. Prigozhin reportedly recruited healthy adult male applicants between the ages of 22 and 50 through a simple test and stirred controversy by saying that he understands ‘everyone can make mistakes. Furthermore, it includes sex offenses. Those who pass will be pardoned after serving for six months in the Wagner Group, he announced. This recruitment has reportedly been taking place since March in 17 prisons, targeting 1,000 inmates.

Operated penal battalions during the Stalin era
An extreme solution to manpower loss

Russia has a history of operating units composed of criminals. As demonstrated by the Shtrafbat, which the Soviet Union claims to have inherited, used under Stalin’s orders during World War II. These battalions were not pardoned but simply drafted as a way for criminals to serve their sentences as infantrymen, receiving the same treatment as regular soldiers. Of course, considering the conditions at the time, it’s clear that the environment was essentially no different from a concentration camp or prison.

The reason for drafting criminals was the astronomical casualties suffered by the Soviet army during World War II. With 12 million of the Soviet Union’s total 29 million World War II casualties being military personnel, the number of civilians and soldiers had drastically decreased. Furthermore, the Soviet military suffered even more significant losses due to the absence of a command structure due to the purges of senior officers.

Is the situation of the Russian military that serious?
Netizens: ‘Isn’t this a last-ditch effort?’

Considering these factors, one could speculate that the situation of the Russian military in Ukraine is more severe than thought. Currently, the Russian military is being pushed further out of the Ukrainian border due to a series of victories by the Ukrainian military. Experts analyze that the situation looks bad, as they even recruit criminals through a private military company.