In the Russian Federation, despite official statements denying the existence of hidden mobilization, there is ongoing active recruitment of students and workers for military service under contract. The press secretary of the President of Russia, Dmitry Peskov, emphasized on April 2 that the offer to sign a contract with the military department is open and applies to all categories of citizens, including students, workers, and even the unemployed.
This is reported by Finway
“New troops (of unmanned systems – ed.) have indeed been created, there is a specific need for new personnel for this type of military, and there are offers. For those who have the relevant competence and are ready to serve in these new troops. This offer exists, it is on the market, and it applies equally to everyone: to workers, to students, and to the unemployed. Therefore, this is absolutely an open offer, an offer for a new type of military,” said Putin’s spokesman on April 2, responding to journalists’ questions.
Mass Recruitment of Students and Workers into the Military
It is known that the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia has set a quota for educational institutions, according to which at least 2% of students must sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense. According to estimates, in 2025, there were 2.2 million men studying in Russian universities, so up to 44,000 students could fall under these requirements, and if technical schools are included, up to 76,000 individuals.
Students are actively recruited into newly created unmanned systems units, being offered additional payments from the university, as well as being threatened with the refusal to retake academic debts in case of refusal. Such recruitment methods became widespread at the end of 2025.
Recruitment of Enterprise Workers and Regional Initiatives
In addition to students, enterprise workers are also actively called to contract service. In particular, at the end of March, the governor of the Ryazan region, Pavel Malkov, signed a decree requiring all organizations, regardless of ownership, to select and send between two to five individuals for military service from March 20 to September 20 of this year. The relevant document was published on the official legal information portal.
These measures are part of the so-called hidden mobilization, which involves replenishing the ranks of the armed forces without officially declaring general mobilization. In addition to contractors and reservists, the Russian authorities are also recruiting enterprise workers, students, and even prisoners to participate in the war against Ukraine.