‘They’re using us as bait’

A Russian draftee was hanged after abandoning his position. The authorities call it a suicide, but his family is skeptical.

On March 20, Russian draftee Alexander Samoilov was found dead near the village of Chervonopopivka in the self-proclaimed “Luhansk People’s Republic” with rope marks on his neck. Earlier that month, after abandoning his post and getting drunk with other soldiers, he had been taken to a military commandant’s office and held captive there. In the days before his death, he repeatedly called his brother and said his superiors were threatening to kill him if he didn’t confess to a crime. The Russian media outlet People of Baikal recently told Samoilov’s story. Meduza has translated it into English.

Before Russia’s mobilization campaign, 35-year-old Alexander Samoilov lived in Irkutsk and worked in construction. Then, in October 2022, he received a military summons. He didn’t want to go to war, but draft officials at the enlistment office threatened to charge him with desertion if he refused.

Alexander’s brother, Sergey, told People of Baikal that in early March 2023, Alexander and three of his fellow servicemen abandoned their combat positions because they were “bored of sitting in the trench with nothing to do.” The men went to the city of Oleksandrivsk in the self-proclaimed “Luhansk People’s Republic,” rented an apartment, and started drinking. At one point, when they ventured out to go to a store, they were arrested and taken to a military commandant’s office. There, Alexander was held in a cell for a week, until March 17.

“Alexander called me multiple times from different phones, asking me to get in touch with the commanders through the enlistment office and explain that he was in the commandant’s office,” Sergey told People of Baikal. “But the military commissar said he didn’t know the commanders in question. Meanwhile, Alexander’s voice was getting more and more anxious. He literally begged me: ‘Hurry up, or I won’t make it out of here.’”

On March 18, Alexander told his brother that the commanders were trying to make him sign documents saying he had blown up a civilian vehicle. He also said they were hinting that if he refused, he might “become a missing person or be killed in an accident,” saying he may “go around the corner and not come back.”

“[Alexander] said that he hadn’t committed any crimes and that he wouldn’t sign anything,” said Sergey. “After that, he was kicked out of the commandant’s office without his passport or his military ID. At that point, our sister called the Irkutsk military prosecutor’s office and submitted a complaint that Alexander had received death threats [from his superiors]. All they said in response was: ‘Well, let’s hope he doesn’t go around any corners, then.’”

‘Not related to military service’

Alexander wanted to return to his battalion, but on March 20, he called his brother and said that he was back in the commandant’s office. Another man then took the phone from him and told Sergey that Alexander had been “bumming around and drinking” with nobody keeping track of him. Sergey then asked what was going to happen to his brother, and the man, speaking in a “clear Ukrainian accent,” said, “That’s none of your business,” according to Sergey.

Several hours later, Alexander called Sergey again and told him that he was being driven to an unknown location. Sergey could hear a woman laughing in the background. After that call, the phone number Alexander was using became unavailable.

Officials at the military enlistment office back in Russia assured Sergey that his brother was still at the front. The family also took comfort in the fact that Alexander’s salary continued to come, which they took as a sign that he was still alive.

Then, in mid-May, Alexander’s relatives received a letter from the Russian Defense Ministry. It said that Alexander Samoilov had died on March 21 near the village of Chervonopopivka and that his death was “not related to his military service.”

Alexander’s medical report gives a different death date: March 20. The cause of death is listed as “mechanical asphyxia from constriction of the neck by a noose.” The medical examiner also included a note saying that the death occurred “as a result of damage inflicted with undetermined intent.”

‘That territory is 100 percent Ukraine’

Alexander’s body was transported back to Irkutsk on May 22. The military commissar said his death was a suicide, but the family, skeptical, asked for a second examination.

“The enlistment office refused, saying there wasn’t enough time and that he needed to be buried quickly because there were a lot of bodies to take care of,” said Sergey. “I wanted to turn the body over and look at it, but they wouldn’t let me; they said it was already decomposing and that we should let it be. All I managed to do was to unbutton his gown and see that one of his sides was black. I think it was from beatings.”

Sergey sent a photo of Alexander in his coffin to People of Baikal. Even on the partially decomposed body, a groove of the kind associated with strangulation is visible under his jaw, a deep cut can be seen on his cheek, and his arms are covered in cuts and bruises.

“I’ve heard that this isn’t the first time Russian soldiers have been caught in the LNR and quietly killed. There’s nothing Russian there; it’s 100 percent Ukraine. What did they annex? It’s total nonsense. My brother told me: ‘I realized this isn’t the war I was picturing. This is extermination; they’re using us as bait. I won’t die for this; I’d rather be imprisoned,’” Sergey said.

Sergey has officially requested information from the Russian Invesigation Committee and Military Prosecutor’s Office about the circumstances of his brother’s death, including where and by whom he was found hanged. The deadline for the authorities to respond passed at the end of June, but Sergey was told that he’ll have to keep waiting because the “commandant’s office in Oleksandrivsk is moving to another building” and doesn’t have time to respond to his complaint right now.

In July, Alexander Samoilov’s monthly salary arrived in his bank account. Military authorities said it was a technical error and that the money will be returned to the state.

Story by Lidia Pribyleva for People of Baikal

Translation by Sam Breazeale