According to the interlocutors of the agency The return of hundreds of thousands of soldiers after the end of the war could become an internal conflicts. Putin, as sources say, realizes that the so -called Demobilization may upset the political order he has built over the years.
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Return of aggressive veterans from the war. This was the case after the war in Afghanistan
Russia already has painful experiences with similar phenomena. After the war in Afghanistan, the returning veterans contributed to the increase in crime and the wave of violence, which intensified the social crisis of the 90s. This time the scale can be much larger – British expert Mark Galeotti estimates that by the beginning of 2025, over 1.5 million Russians took part in the war against Ukraine, which is much more than in Afghanistan.
Data from the Russian penitentiary services show that from 2022 from 120 to 180 thousand were sent to the front. convicted criminals. This is an element that distinguishes the current war from earlier Russian invasion. Reuters quotes the example of Azamata Italijew – a man convicted of the murder of his wife, who was pardoned and sent to the front, and after returning he murdered his ex -partner.
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The independent Russian portal Wiorstka reports that Soldiers returning from Ukraine have already committed at least 242 killings in Russia, and 227 people were injured by them.
The problem will not only be criminal crime. Reuters: Kremlin has a plan for this
As Reuters emphasizes, many veterans may not find themselves in civil life, frustrated with lower earnings and lack of perspectives. Reuters reminds that the pay of the recruit from Moscow is the equivalent of 65,000 a year. dollars, and the bonus for signing the contract is 24 thousand. – Almost as much as the average annual salary in the Russian capital.
According to the sources of the agency The Kremlin has already started work on social programs for veterans to “develop” returning soldiers. Putin describes them as “warriors” and “real elite”, and some of the planned activities are to include employment of former soldiers in local administration and social organizations.
Experts emphasize, however, that the threat is serious. Gregory Feifer, author of the book about Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, estimates that The war in Ukraine was much more bloody – about 15,000 were killed in Afghanistan. Russians, meanwhile, losses in Ukraine are many times higher. This means that the potential wave of violence and social unrest after the war can be much greater than the one that shook Russia in the 1990s.
