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Four years after Russia announced its “partial mobilization,” Meduza has traced two men caught up in the draft: Maxim, who remains at the front, and Temirzhan Bayanov, who fled abroad and is now a deserter in Spain. Russia has issued no decree ending the mobilization; the Defense Ministry said more than 300,000 people were drafted in 2022, and at least 20,000 have died.
Four years after Russia announced “partial mobilization,” Meduza has reported on the contrasting paths of two men drafted in 2022: Maxim, who remains at the front in Ukraine, and Temirzhan Bayanov, now a deserter in Spain. The accounts offer a personal view of a mobilization that, Meduza says, has never formally ended.
Meduza’s September 28 report says Russia’s Defense Ministry put the number of people drafted in fall 2022 at more than 300,000. The outlet reports that at least 20,000 have died. These figures describe the mobilization and deaths since 2022; the supplied report does not provide a separate accounting of current service members or deaths by year.
Maxim, whose real name and city Meduza withheld for safety, was 34 when he received a draft notice. He says he worked as a refrigeration equipment engineer and ran a small air-conditioning business. His son had been born about a month earlier. Maxim recalls signing the notice after an employer representative warned that refusing could mean jail, then reporting for mobilization on October 11, 2022. A military commissar told him he would be home in three months, he says.
After two weeks of training, Maxim says, his unit was told its members would not be sent into battle and would instead serve in territorial defense. The supplied excerpt ends as the men are put on a train, so it does not explain the full route from that point to his current position. Meduza says he is now at the front and describes a change in his outlook: before mobilization he paid little attention to the war, while now he regards Ukrainians as enemies.
Four Years With No End Decree
The two accounts show how a single state mobilization order has led to sharply different outcomes: continued service at the front for Maxim and flight abroad for Bayanov. Their experiences are individual testimony, not a representative survey of everyone drafted, but they make visible the personal consequences behind the national totals.
The report also highlights the continuing uncertainty around the mobilization’s status. Meduza says no decree has formally ended it. The supplied material does not establish what that means for future call-ups or the legal position of those already drafted. For families and men subject to military service, the absence of a formal end is a consequential distinction from a policy that has been officially closed.
The Fall 2022 Draft
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced “partial mobilization” in September 2022, after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to the Defense Ministry figures cited by Meduza, more than 300,000 people were drafted that fall. The outlet’s new report looks back on the four years since through two men’s accounts.
Maxim says he initially assumed he would not be needed because he was not a professional soldier. He recalls seeing colleagues receive exemptions and others leave the country, then receiving his own notice at work. His account describes a rapid shift from civilian work and caring for a newborn to military training and deployment. Meduza cautions that his perspective is subjective: people at the front may judge events mainly through what they see in their own units, without a broad view of the war.
““You’ll be home in three months.””
— Maxim, as quoted by Meduza
What the Accounts Cannot Establish
Meduza’s report follows two men, so their stories do not establish how typical either outcome is among those drafted. The supplied material gives no full details of Bayanov’s attempt to avoid mobilization, his escape, or his current circumstances in Spain. It also does not identify Maxim’s present unit or describe how he reached the front.
The report says no decree has ended mobilization, but the material provided does not spell out the legal or administrative consequences of that status. The Defense Ministry’s draft figure and the reported death toll are not accompanied here by a methodology, a breakdown, or an independent verification. Those figures should be understood as claims attributed to the cited sources.
No Formal End Announced
As of Meduza’s September 28 report, Russia had issued no decree formally ending the mobilization. The supplied source material names no forthcoming government announcement, court decision, or other scheduled milestone. The next clear development would be an official change in the mobilization’s status or further reporting that clarifies the men’s circumstances and the wider fate of those drafted in 2022.
Key Questions
What happened to the two men Meduza followed?
Maxim remains at the front in Ukraine, according to Meduza. Temirzhan Bayanov tried to avoid mobilization, was caught, and later fled abroad; the report identifies him as a deserter now in Spain.
How many people were drafted in 2022?
Russia’s Defense Ministry said more than 300,000 people were drafted in fall 2022, according to Meduza.
How many of those mobilized have died?
Meduza reports that at least 20,000 have died. The supplied material does not give a year-by-year breakdown or explain how the total was calculated.
Has Russia formally ended the mobilization?
Meduza says no decree has ever ended it. Its report does not detail the consequences of that status or provide a new government statement on future call-ups.
Source: rss
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