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Russian convicts who earned their freedom fighting Ukraine are going home with swagger and a stash of money to burn: NYT
By Kwan Wei Kevin Tan,
2024-04-08
Fighting in Ukraine has given some of the ex-convicts Russia recruited their swag back.
These men are granted freedom after surviving their military service.
Around 15,000 ex-convicts have reportedly returned to Russia, per The New York Times .
Ex-convicts who fought for Russia in Ukraine are heading home with newfound wealth and swagger, The New York Times reported on Saturday.
Olga Romanova, who heads a Russian NGO focusing on prisoner issues, told The Times that around 15,000 ex-convicts have returned to Russia after fighting in Ukraine.
The returning men, who are released without any rehabilitation, often go on to commit crimes once back home. Kirill Titaev, a Russian sociologist at Yale University, told The Times that the wave of "invisible violence" was a "big problem for the society."
Experts The Times spoke to said some former prisoners gained confidence after their stints in Ukraine, and see their wartime service as a form of rehabilitation.
Fighting in Ukraine has also left them financially well-off, as they were paid a base monthly salary of about $2,000 from The Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary organization, per The Times.
That is also more than double the average salary of a Russian worker, who makes around $756 a month, Russia's statistics agency said in a survey released in October.
Romanova told The Times that even the local police officers are afraid of the returning convicts and their newly-attained veteran status.
"Unemployment is 3% and in some regions, it is even lower. This means there are practically no workers left in the economy," Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina told lawmakers in November. "The situation with personnel is really very acute."
Representatives for Russia's defense ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.
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