The evolution of Russia’s combat recruitment

The Naked Pravda explores how Russia’s mobilization drive is pressuring society and capturing men for the invasion of Ukraine. This episode features Project “Get Lost” creator and director Grigory Sverdlin, whose human rights group helps Russians evade the draft and leave Russia (among other things). For a geopolitical perspective on Moscow’s mobilization, Meduza spoke to Dr. Stefan Wolff, a professor of international security at the University of Birmingham in England and the cofounder of Navigating the Vortex, a newsletter on the geopolitical and geoeconomic context of events and developments around the world.

Timestamps for this episode

• (3:27) Project “Get Lost”
• (5:10) The challenges of avoiding mobilization
• (9:15) Consequences for ignoring a military summons
• (12:24) Military recruiter tactics
• (15:46) Mobilization’s social and demographic impact in Russia
• (29:35) The future of mobilization in Russia and Ukraine

New episodes of The Naked Pravda are released at the end of every week. Catch each show by subscribing through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or one of these other platforms. If you have a question or comment about the podcast, please write to Kevin Rothrock at kevin@meduza.io with the subject line: “The Naked Pravda.”

Production and mixing by Ania Kovalenko. Sound editing by Kevin Rothrock. A.I. voice-dubbing by Eleven Labs.