The Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies pipss.revues.org

13/05/2026

🔎POST-SOVIET ARMIES NEWSLETTER • THE RUSSIAN ARMY OBSERVED🔎 350,000 Russian soldiers killed: This is a new—and reliable—estimate of Russian Armed Forces casualties over the four years of the major war. For the first time, we have been able to include missing-in-action personnel in the tally
9 May, 2026

В начале мая подразделение ВСУ «Птахи Мадьяра» опубликовало свою обновленную оценку потерь среди российских военнослужащих. По расчетам украинской стороны, поте....

06/05/2026

🔎POST-SOVIET ARMIES NEWSLETTER • THE TURKMENISTAN MILITARY OBSERVED🔎 Crisis in the Turkmenistan Army: Suicides, Desertions, and Disarmament

A surge in suicides among conscripts has forced the Turkmenistan military command to restrict personnel’s access to weapons. In military units, keys to armories were confiscated, bayonets were replaced with batons, and live-fire training exercises were canceled. However, these measures do not address systemic problems: hazing and impunity for violence persist in the military, which provokes new tragedieshttps://asia-today.news/27042026/8132/

Всплеск суицидов среди срочников вынудил командование Туркменистана ограничить доступ личного состава к оружию. В частях изъяли ключи от складов, заменили штык-н....

30/01/2026

🔎POST-SOVIET ARMIES NEWSLETTER • THE RUSSIAN POLICE OBSERVED🔎 “Soon, the Ministry of Internal Affairs can be shut down.”

Russia is experiencing a rapidly growing shortage of police personnel Mikhail Pashkin, head of the police union, spoke about the serious personnel shortage in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and named its possible causes.
"The personnel shortage is reaching 40%. Three years ago, it was 30%, in a couple of months it will be 50%, and then the Ministry of Internal Affairs can be shut down,“ Pashkin told NSN.
The first reason for this situation is low salaries, a maximum of 60,000 rubles per month. The second reason is the attitude of managers towards employees.
”If the boss yells at and humiliates employees, people just leave. If all bosses were people with a capital P, the shortage would be 20% instead of 40%,“ Pashkin said.
According to him, the system of normal bosses drives them away because they do not meet their targets: for failure to meet targets, employees should be deprived of their bonuses, but they do not do this.
”The system is actually destroying itself. There are many proposals on how to improve all this, but the Ministry of Internal Affairs does not need it,“ said Pashkin.
Earlier, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Vladimir Kolokoltsev, also complained about the shortage of personnel. Back in 2023, he called the personnel situation critical.
”I understand perfectly well that the shortage of personnel is very large. I would say that it is already critical. Last month (July 2023 — ed.), five thousand employees resigned from the internal affairs agencies. It's a difficult situation. And there are not enough investigators," Kolokoltsev said.
Information service Nakanaune.RU

https://www.nakanune.ru/news/2026/1/28/22856417/

Глава профсоюза сотрудников полиции Михаил Пашкин высказался о серьёзном кадровом голоде в системе МВД и назвал его возможные причины.

26/01/2026

🔎POST-SOVIET ARMIES NEWSLETTER • THE RUSSIAN MILITARY OBSERVED🔎 This year, Bashkortostan will allocate 25 billion rubles to support war veterans and their families. The republic's budget deficit is 22.5 billion rubles.

According to calculations by Idel.Realii, Bashkortostan leads in the number of confirmed deaths in the war against Ukraine.
In 2026, Bashkortostan will allocate 25 billion rubles to support participants in the Russian invasion of Ukraine and their families. This was announced by the republic's Prime Minister Andrey Nazarov at a government meeting, writes Bashinform.
https://www.idelreal.org/a/v-bashkortostane-v-etom-godu-na-podderzhku-uchastnikov-voyny-i-chlenov-ih-semey-vydelyat-25-mlrd-rubley/33654876.html

26/01/2026

🔎POST-SOVIET ARMIES NEWSLETTER • THE RUSSIAN MILITARY OBSERVED🔎 The Returned and Robbed.
How participants in the war in Ukraine become easy prey for criminals

The war with Ukraine does not remain on the front line. It returns to Russian regions along with people, money provided to them by the state, and the habit of resolving conflicts by force. However, combatants become figures in crime reports not only as aggressors, but also as victims. Most often, they are deprived of their money—it is stolen, extorted, or taken away through fraudulent schemes. Soldiers have become easy prey in an environment where the hallmarks of the 1990s are returning: “overseers,” “thugs,” and “protection rackets.” The Regional Aspect studied court sentences and reports from law enforcement agencies.

Как участники войны в Украине становятся удобной добычей для преступников

25/01/2026

🔎POST-SOVIET ARMIES NEWSLETTER • THE RUSSIAN MILITARY OBSERVED🔎 Two million disabled people have disappeared in Russia: authorities are getting rid of “unnecessary” beneficiaries with the help of orders and decrees
https://www.svoboda.org/a/systema-invalidy/33657480.html ).

Sistema discovered a surprising figure in Rosstat's official statistics. According to the agency, there are 11.1 million people with disabilities in Russia. In recent years, this figure has changed insignificantly, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the war. It is not only the lack of growth that is surprising: the figure itself seems unreasonably low.

В статистике Росстата "Система" обнаружила удивительную цифру. По данным ведомства, в России насчитывается 11,1 млн инвалидов. В последние годы этот показатель меняе...

13/01/2026

🔎POST-SOVIET ARMIES NEWSLETTER • THE RUSSIAN MILITARY OBSERVED🔎 How drunk people are recruited and sent to their deaths in rural Russia

By the end of the fourth year of full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian army is in dire need of soldiers. To replenish their ranks, the military is resorting to unconventional methods: for example, recruiting people who are heavily intoxicated. Once sober, the newly recruited contract soldiers realize what they have done, but they go to the front under threat of criminal prosecution — and die in the very first battle.

К концу четвертого года полномасштабного вторжения в Украину российская армия остро нуждается в солдатах. Чтобы пополнить их ряды, военные применяют нестандартны...

23/12/2025

🔎POST-SOVIET ARMIES NEWSLETTER • THE RUSSIAN MILITARY OBSERVED🔎

More than a thousand people have fallen victim to soldiers returning from the front

23/12/2025

🇷🇺 STATE-BACKED PARAMILITARY YOUTH MOVEMENTS IN RUSSIA

The All-Russian Cossack Society turns school clubs into pipelines for state-sponsored militarisation and recruitment for war in Ukraine. Bellingcat shows how they shape an alternative mobilisation force.

12/12/2025

🔎POST-SOVIET ARMIES NEWSLETTER • THE RUSSIAN MILITARY OBSERVED🔎 Novaya Gazeta Europe has discovered 8,000 convictions against former and current participants in the war in Ukraine under “civil” articles (excluding unauthorized absence, desertion, etc.).
About 7,000 convictions were handed down by courts of general jurisdiction, i.e., against veterans who had already returned home. We found another 1,000 such convictions in criminal cases for “civil” crimes in military courts, where active military personnel are tried.

«Новая газета Европа» обнаружила 8 тысяч приговоров в отношении бывших и действующих участников войны в Украине по «гражданским» статьям (исключая самоволки, дезе...