Over the past two years, at least 107 people have been killed or died as a result of the actions by those who have returned to Russia from the war in Ukraine, and another 100 people have been seriously injured. Of these offenders, 91 were prisoners pardoned by Putin, and 45 had previously been convicted of murder. Novaya Gazeta Europe estimates that over the course of two years, 1130 war veterans have been charged with criminal offences committed 'in civilian life'. They most often drive under the influence and commit drug-related crimes; violent crimes account for about 20% of all crimes committed by war participants, with illegal arms trafficking at 6%. Participation in the war is generally considered a mitigating circumstance and leads to more lenient sentences, and readiness to return to war leads to exoneration. The violent cycle of 'war — crime in civilian life — war' is becoming a kind of new social norm and, judging by the polls, elicits a mixed reaction from the population: two-thirds of those surveyed find the participation of prisoners in military action acceptable, but only a third approve of pardoning those who committed serious crimes in exchange for deployment to the front. Nevertheless, this social norm has been legally codified: now those who participate in the 'special military operation' are not subject to punishment for crimes committed during service or leave, and those convicted, including those charged with serious crimes, are exempt from liability when they sign a contract with the Ministry of Defence.
Over the past two years, at least 107 people have been killed or died as a result of the actions of individuals who have returned from Russia after fighting in the war in Ukraine, and another 100 have been seriously injured, according to calculations by Verstka based on open source data, including media reports and information from court records. The 107 people represent two-thirds of those who died in the terror attack at Crocus City Hall. Russia has declared a nationwide period of mourning in memory of its victims, and Putin has called for retaliation. In contrast, the authorities tend to overlook the victims of those returning from war to civilian life, and murders they commit have now been practically legalised.
The data on those killed and maimed by returning war veterans is incomplete, as this is not always noted in the court records; in reality, there are more victims. Among the cases identified by Verstka, 91 were committed by criminals pardoned by Putin. And of the 45 previously pardoned war veterans who committed murders again, at least 24 were already repeat offenders. Ex-convicts account for a significant proportion of the most serious offences: they are involved in 36 out of 55 cases filed under Article 105 of the Russian Criminal Code ('Murder').
76 people were deliberately killed by the 'heroes of the special military operation', another 18 died as a result of their injuries, and the health of 70 of their victims was seriously compromised. In addition, nine car accidents caused by those returning from the front killed a further 11 people (Article 264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
In more than half of the cases, the offences were committed on domestic grounds and in a state of alcoholic or drug intoxication, yet only in one-third of these cases were these factors considered as aggravating circumstances by the courts. There are also 'political' motives, where the reason for murder is the interlocutor's negative attitude towards the 'special operations', servicemen or private military companies. In one case, a volunteer soldier beat a man to death for 'negative statements about events in the country and the world' and for calling him a 'Ruscist'. According to Verstka's calculations, in two-thirds of the sentences, the defendants' participation in the 'special military operation' and the awards received for this are listed as a mitigating circumstance.
A similar figure for mitigating sentences on these grounds (57%) is also given by an investigation by 'Novaya Gazeta Evropa'. According to the publication, a total of at least 2605 former and current participants of the war have been charged with criminal offences since the beginning of the conflict. 1130 of them committed 'civilian' offences, the rest — crimes against military service. 192 (17%) were charged with violent offences, including 49 individuals charged with murder. The most common offences were drink-driving (252 cases) and drug trafficking (141): together these accounted for 35% of all convictions. However, three quarters of those charged with these offences receive fines rather than heavier sentences, in stark contrast to the statistics for 'civil' charges. Theft (86 cases) and weapons trafficking (72) follow in terms of frequency. Novaya calculates that 14% of the accused already have criminal records.
In general, the pattern of 'participation in hostilities — returning and committing a crime — being sent to the front again' is becoming a kind of new norm. Those who are willing to fight are sometimes not even tried, but sent straight to war, according to an investigation by Kholod that analysed 220 court verdicts involving combatants. In this sample, violent offences accounted for about 20% of verdicts. The most frequent were again 'driving under the influence of alcohol' (56 cases), theft (51) and drugs (36), at almost two-thirds of all offences. Illegal trafficking in weapons was just over 6% of all offences, with 15 cases, as in Novaya's calculations.
As noted in the 'Kholod' investigation, the convictions of those pardoned by Putin are considered expunged, and their new crimes are not classified as recidivism. In half of the cases, awards, diplomas and commendations for participation in the ‘special military operation’ were also considered a mitigating circumstance. For drug-related offences, defendants received almost exclusively suspended sentences and fines. However, even for violent crimes, the statistics from the Kholod sample are shocking. For particularly serious crimes (although there are only four murders in the sample), those who returned from war received an average of 6.7 months of actual imprisonment, for serious crimes (such as assault and weapons possession) they received 6.5 months, and for crimes of moderate severity (theft, drugs), they were given just 1.2 months. Out of 100 verdicts that include information about the criminal, in 42 cases, they were members of the Wagner Group.
Public opinion might reflect the numerous crimes — particularly murders and assaults committed by ‘frontline’ participants. According to a June 2023 Levada Center survey, 66% of respondents found it acceptable or somewhat acceptable for prisoners to participate in military actions, while 31% held the opposite view. This distribution is understandable: prisoner recruitment looked like a possible alternative to new mobilisation. However, in a survey conducted in December 2023 by Russian Field, when asked whether it is 'more acceptable or unacceptable to pardon prisoners who committed serious crimes if they participate in the 'military operation'', more than half of the respondents (55%) gave a negative response, and only 32% a positive one. Among the younger ages (18-29 years), this ratio was 69% against and 20% for, and among those over 60, the ex-con-combatant model was supported by 43%, and opposed by 42%. As a rule, the shift in the perceptions of the older generation is related to their attachment to television as their main source of information. Among women the share of those who do not support this model is also higher, at 60% compared to 48% among men. It should be noted that the lack of criminalisation of domestic violence in Russian legislation poses a separate problem, since the aggression of those who have returned from war is usually directed primarily at relatives. However, only cases that end in death or disability are brought to court.
By contrast, however, Russian authorities have recently legalised Z-crime. In March, the Duma passed, and Putin signed, two laws enshrining a mechanism for exempting those who have signed a military service contract from liability. Under the new legal norms, if a soldier commits a crime while serving or on leave, he will simply be exempt from punishment. If a convicted person (including in cases of rape, murder and grievous bodily harm) signs a contract with the Ministry of Defence, he will also avoid punishment. War is war, and Russia is its territory.