A series of Molotov cocktail arson attacks and shootings have taken place in Russian military commissariat registration and enlistment offices since the start of the country's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Other governmental buildings have also been attacked in multiple

regions of Russia In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

. Part of the Russian partisan and

anti-war movements A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals, such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world pea ...

, the attacks were spurred by several factors, including the outbreak of the invasion of Ukraine, the deployment of Russian conscripts to the front line, the start of spring conscription, and rumors about possible

mobilization Mobilization is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the Prussian Army. Mobilization theories and ...

in the country, which were later found to be true. Commissariat offices recruit servicemen to the

Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �В Sukhoputnyye voyska V, also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Gro ...

and choose who is eligible and ineligible for service. The attacks are not a single coordinated campaign; behind them are a variety of people, from left-wing

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

s to

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

groups and assorted lone wolf actors.

Chronology

Versions

In the Telegram channel “Oderint, Dum Metuant”, the authors of which opposed the invasion of Ukraine and position themselves as a cell of the revived

National Socialism / White Power National Socialism / White Power Crew (NS/WP Crew, also known as Sparrows Crew), is a Neo-Nazi extremist group operating in Russia, recognized by the Supreme Court of Russia as a terrorist organization. History According to Mediazona, many u ...

, there were videos of some actions - on some unknown people set fire to cars with the letter Z, on others fires are visible in some buildings — the channel claims that supporters of the movement set fire to the warehouse of the “military facility”, the police department and the military commissariats. The channel administrators even arranged a “quest”, promising 15,000 rubles to anyone who sets fire to a car with the Z symbol, or 30,000 for setting fire to a police car. They planned to pay money in cryptocurrency. According to the security officials, the movement's associates could be involved in several arsons in central Russia. In anonymous Telegram channels and on pro-Kremlin websites, allegations began to appear that the

Security Service of Ukraine The Security Service of Ukraine ( uk, Служба безпеки України, translit=Sluzhba bezpeky Ukrainy}) or SBU ( uk, СБУ, link=no) is the law enforcement authority and main intelligence and security agency of the Ukrainian ...

pays 30,000 rubles for setting fire to military commissariats, and this “must be filmed on camera”. According to another version, draft offices are set on fire by conscripts and those subject to possible mobilization.

Legal proceedings

After beginning of mobilization, Vladimir Tsimlyansky, Representative of General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, in an interview with

Rossiyskaya Gazeta ' (russian: Российская газета, lit. Russian Gazette) is a Russian newspaper published by the Government of Russia. The daily newspaper serves as the official government gazette of the Government of the Russian Federation, publishi ...

stated "arson of military commissariat will be qualified as terrorist attack or calls for terrorist attack". According to

Criminal Code of the Russian Federation The Russian Criminal Code (russian: Уголовный кодекс Российской Федерации, frequently abbreviated УК РФ) is the prime source of the Law of the Russian Federation concerning criminal offences. The 1996 Crim ...

, a person can get up to 15 years in prison for those charges. Two men — from Saint Peterburg and from Chernyakhovsk — were charged with "Intentional damage or destruction of someone else's property" under Arcticle 167. The man from Volgrad was arrested for molotov attack and is now detained on charges of Arcticle 167 as well as Article 213 "Hooliganism". Another case has been opened under Article 205 "Terrorist act" for molotov attacker from Krasnodar.

References

{{2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine 2022 in Russia 2022 protests Protests in Russia Resistance during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

Chronology

Versions

Legal proceedings

See also

References