What ordinary Russians are saying about mobilisation

Russia has announced a ‘partial’ mobilization, dragging 300,000 civilians into the war against Ukraine that nobody needs.

Photo by Lerone Pieters on Unsplash

Yesterday, I woke up in my London apartment to learn that my country has announced a “partial mobilisation” in a war against a neighbouring country. Unlike seven months ago, I wasn’t the least bit surprised. But just like in the early morning of February 24th, when this war started, I felt hopeless, powerless, both deeply sad and utterly terrified. Maybe even more so.

It should be evident to everyone that this mobilisation is not partial.

Kremlin has a long history of giving vague terms to the public that they can later manipulate. But even if the words were concrete, that wouldn’t change a thing: Kremlin also has a long history of changing the law (and Constitution) to their wants and needs. If you look at the mobilisation decree, which is publicly available, you’ll see that there’s not a hint about this mobilisation being partial. Anyone can be drafted in this war.

The word partial should be substituted for a more accurate — gradual.

In the coming days and weeks, we’ll see Russians receiving notices from all over the country. Men over 18 wouldn’t be…