Russian news piece speak against the war without speaking against the war

[AsiaCel]

I think this article is a masterful case study of how to frame your speech to get around rules. In places like Russia, you can't speak against the 'sarced' political ideas, like the Ukrainian war.

I was researching the Russian unified draft center (building 5) and contract center (building 1) at the Yablochkova Street of Moscow, and came across this article. The content is surprisingly honest and anti-war, if you read betwen the lines (Aesopian language)

The writer is an Central Asian/East Asian woman called Elena Khalmatova, where men there are disproportionately sent to the front lines, so you can sort of know why she is against the war.

I used Gemini to translate the article, as AI translation can deal with cultural nuances and details that direct translators (like Google translator) struggle to deal with.

You can notice how the writing included details like police grabbing draft evaders into the centers, Oleg's quote about the military turning people into robot pushovers, someone openly admitting he hopes that he won't be sent to border areas, the "on your sleeve - on your card" thing (the Anonymization feelings) and Saltynbek (54) being cheated out of his money, showing the reality of many people signing into the military.

Furthermore, the comments are full of people complaining about the war, the censorship, the concept of the "motherland" to fight for being overly vague (unlike in ww2), military buying lives for cash, and about that bloodthirsty of humanity (implied critique of the war)

Spoiler: Click to read the english translation

Moscow's Most Militarized District: What Is Happening at the Military Enlistment Offices on Yablochkova Street, Where Hundreds of Men Arrive Every Day​

We publish a report from the Unified Conscription Center and the Selection Center for Contract Service.

We tell the story of what goes on in the enlistment offices on Yablochkova, where hundreds of men arrive daily.

Source: Maria Romanova / City Portals

Over the past three years, the Butyrsky District has gained a reputation as one of the most militarized in Moscow. Located here are the Unified Selection Center for Contract Service and the Unified Conscription Center. Very soon, a multi-story military commissariat will open on Yablochkova Street.

From early morning, crowds of men flock to the Butyrsky District. MSK1.RU reports on what is taking place there during the spring draft.

Moscow's Most Militarized District​

You barely have time to exit the Timiryazevskaya metro station before recruiters greet you. They invite you to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense and head off to the SVO [Special Military Operation]. As a gift to future fighters, they offer gear and full military allowances. Large numbers on the signs display six-figure sums that a soldier can receive as early as their first year.

Bright promotional stands stretch all the way to the Selection Center for Contract Service. Since MSK1.RU's last visit to Yablochkova, the situation has changed significantly: entry to the territory is now controlled by the military, and future fighters wait outside on the street. In the courtyard of the enlistment office, it is empty—only two men with heavy protective-colored backpacks are talking about something.

The dispatch zone remains guarded by police and security personnel. On the grounds, men say goodbye to their wives and mothers.

Situation near the unified selection center for contract service > Source: Elena Khalmatova / MSK1.RU

At the bus stop opposite the enlistment office, Saltynbek is waiting for a taxi. He is 54 years old. He traveled from the small city of Almetyevsk to sign a contract in Moscow. A builder by trade, Saltynbek told MSK1.RU that his family’s situation is desperate—as the main provider, he has been cheated out of wages several times at regular jobs.

"Why am I going to the SVO? For the Motherland and for my family. I have many children, and I even have nine grandchildren now. I want to serve so they have opportunities. My brother has been in the SVO for a long time already. He was wounded and in the hospital, then they gave him leave, and now he’s back on the front lines," the man says.

Upon arriving at Yablochkova, Saltynbek discovered he was missing a few required documents. Now he is forced to return to Tatarstan to collect them.

"My mother doesn't know I went to sign a contract. I told her I was just going to earn money. She didn't give her blessing. Maybe that's why it's not working out for me to leave," he reflects in his conversation with MSK1.RU.

Some future contract soldiers arrive at Yablochkova already with their belongings > Source: Elena Khalmatova / MSK1.RU

Giant Enlistment Offices​

The Unified Conscription Center is located behind the building where contract recruits are selected. The scale of the Ministry of Defense complex is impressive: the Unified Conscription Center was pompously opened in 2024, occupying a nine-story building spanning 13,000 square meters.

Adjoining it directly is the future Military Commissariat of Moscow, where construction work is currently being finished. The area of the new eleven-story building is about 24,000 square meters. It is planned to open as early as the summer of 2025.

According to the Moscow Mayor's Office, the interior will house offices for military staff, open-space areas for medical examinations, visitor reception rooms, storage for current documentation and archives, as well as a conference hall and auditorium. A gym will also be equipped there, accessible not only to enlistment office staff but also to SVO participants.

The cladding of the Unified Conscription Center and the future Military Commissariat of Moscow mirrors the Russian tricolor.

Adjoining the Unified Conscription Center is the future Military Commissariat of Moscow, set to open in summer 2025 > Source: Elena Khalmatova / MSK1.RU

From early morning, young men from all over Moscow flock to the Unified Conscription Center. High school students come to register for military service for the first time, college students come to get deferments, and there are those who will soon be heading out for mandatory draft service.

Periodically, young men accompanied by police officers are escorted inside. These are likely draft evaders caught during routine raids and document checks.

Some draftees are accompanied by police > Source: Elena Khalmatova / MSK1.RU

Inside the Unified Conscription Center​

Guards are on duty at the entrance to the conscription center. They inspect bags and screen visitors through metal detector frames. Everyone is issued an electronic pass. Using this card, the recruit’s route and room permissions are mapped out. In the military enlistment office, there are no names; all data is anonymized. There is only you and your sequential number. You want to say on your sleeve, but no—on your pass.

"Visitor number … please proceed to waiting area No. 2 on the second floor," echoes through the loudspeakers periodically.

All electronic devices must be checked into storage lockers. Like everything on Yablochkova, it is automated. You swipe your card, and a metal locker opens in front of you.

"Text your young man in advance that you're inside. When he finishes, he'll read it, and you will be called to the exit by your number," one of the guards advises.

At the entrance, you must take a pass, which maps out your route and access levels > Source: V. Novikov / Press Service of the Mayor and Government of Moscow / mos.ru

In addition to recruits, accompanying family members can also stay in the building. Many young men come to the enlistment office with their parents. A separate area was made for them on the first floor. It is a spacious, bright room with panoramic windows, furnished with poufs, tables, and sofas. To pass the time, visitors can read books brought in from libraries in the North-Western Administrative District—with selections ranging from military prose by Astafyev to foreign novels by Charlotte Brontë.

In a separate display unit, newspapers lie stacked. A special issue of Vechernyaya Moskva for May 9 is laid out in piles. On the large centerfold is Putin shaking hands with a veteran, with a caption below reading:

"Thank you! Just as we won 80 years ago, we can do it again this time!"

You can pass the time by reading books or newspapers > Source: V. Novikov / Press Service of the Mayor and Government of Moscow / mos.ru

Information screens hang on the walls. Some broadcast new military hardware, while others display a complex table of numbers. Through it, you can track which room and floor your relative is currently on.

"Are you sure they didn't take him for good? He still has a term paper to write," an elderly man who came to Yablochkova with his son asks one of the administrators.

Waiting takes hours, so vending machines with food are installed in the hall. Nearby, you can withdraw cash from Sberbank and VTB ATMs. Also in the area are heavy-duty machines carrying the evocative name "Katyusha."

In the Unified Conscription Center, the abundance of flowers is striking—they stand in almost every room. In a building where everything speaks of the army and courage, peace lilies grow—commonly known in folk culture as "Women's Happiness."

On the screen, you can see where your loved one is currently located > Source: V. Novikov / Press Service of the Mayor and Government of Moscow / mos.ru

"I Will Wait—That Is Beyond Discussion"​

Gazebos are installed near the entrance to the Unified Conscription Center. In one of them, Asya passes the time. The girl arrived at Yablochkova with her boyfriend—at the beginning of June, he will depart for compulsory military service.

"It will be hard living in Moscow without him. I'll probably take an academic leave for the year, go home to my parents, and focus on myself," she shares her plans with MSK1.RU.

Asya is 18 years old, and her boyfriend Oleg is 19. They are originally from Sakhalin and have been together for five years. According to Asya, there were no prospects for education or careers in their hometown. In pursuit of their dream, they moved to Moscow and entered college—Oleg for construction, Asya for design—though a year apart.

"I'm still studying, but Oleg finished his studies last year. After graduation, he started teaching at the college he graduated from. Every time he came to the enlistment office, they extended his deferment. They couldn't take him into the army while the educational process was ongoing. But recently they told him to prepare for departure," Asya says.

"I will wait—that is beyond discussion. But we agreed we won't meet during weekend passes (uvaly) so we don't tease each other needlessly. Saying goodbye afterward would be too hard." > — Asya, Draftee's Girlfriend

*"We've already had experience with a long-distance relationship. Oleg is a year older than me, so he got into school in Moscow earlier while I was finishing up in Sakhalin. Will I make countdown calendars? No, so as not to stress myself out counting down the days. It's easier to live with the thought: 'they took him in the summer—he'll return next summer,'" * she says.

Oleg and Asya have been together for five years; very soon he leaves for the army > Source: Elena Khalmatova / MSK1.RU

Oleg himself holds the same opinion as his girlfriend.

"Why all this sentimentality? I won't even throw a send-off party. Even my parents aren't aware yet. Of course, I'd like to go into the army later and decide for myself when to serve. But it is what it is. I'm calm about having to shave my head bald, but living without contact with my loved ones will be tough," he reasons.

"It’s just spending a year like a robot, and then forgetting it like a bad dream. What kind of character do they build there? In the army, they just turn people into pushovers [terpily]." > — Oleg, Draftee

Nowhere Without a Military ID?​

Exhausted by waiting, draftees try to leave for home as quickly as possible. Dmitry and Savely are both 20 years old. The guys have already managed to graduate from college and are now preparing to be sent to the army. They view military service positively, saying it is a way to build character.

"We've been friends for many years. In April, we both got draft notices. We decided not to dodge it, but to do everything according to the law. My dad says: 'It's a school of life. You'll become a man.' I believe him," shares Dmitry.

The guys came to the military enlistment office together. To stay in touch with each other inside, they brought push-button feature phones. Such basic models are not confiscated at the entrance.

"We'd like to serve in the same unit, of course. I don't think they'll send us to the border regions—after all, we're Muscovites. I hope we'll be somewhere near the Moscow region," says the guy.

To stay in touch with each other, the guys brought push-button phones. These models do not necessarily have to be checked in at the entrance > Source: Elena Khalmatova / MSK1.RU

Another incentive to go into the army is obtaining a green military ID (voenny bilet). It is awarded to citizens who have already completed military service and are listed in the reserve.

"Last year we had an internship. To get hired there in the future, you need a military ID. If you don't have one, you earn almost nothing for three months, and only then do they put you in some small position," he explains.

"Our girls are in shock, of course. But there were no ultimatums like 'I'll break up with you.' Women have to face reality. Because a military ID is needed—without it, you won't get a normal job." > — Dmitry, Draftee

Earlier, MSK1.RU reported on how wives of contract soldiers see their husbands off to the SVO. Read also about what contract soldiers talk about before being dispatched for service.

Самый милитаризированный район Москвы. Что происходит в военкоматах на Яблочкова, куда каждый день приезжают сотни мужчин

Публикуем репортаж из Единого пункта призыва и пункта отбора на контрактную службу

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