Putin's Mobilization Backfires With Bloodshed, Xenophobia at Home: ISW

Russian President Vladimir Putin's partial mobilization of troops amid the war in Ukraine is prompting racist and xenophobic rhetoric from some in Russia, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) a U.S.-based think tank.

Russian officials have blamed a mass shooting at a military training ground on Saturday, which killed 11 people and injured 15 others, on a duo of ethnically Tajik Russians who were forcibly mobilized to fight in the war. According to the ISW, the incident was "likely a natural consequence of the Kremlin's continued policy of using poor and minority communities to bear the brunt" of the mobilization effort, while wealthier citizens and those who are ethnically Russian are spared from serving.

Backlash over the ethnic identities of the shooters has led to calls for immigration reform in Russia and "virulently xenophobic rhetoric against Central Asian migrants and other peripheral social groups," the ISW said in a report on Tuesday night. The report cites a "long, xenophobic critique" of immigration and the Russian military mobilizing migrants in a recent Telegram post from Sergey Mironov, chairman of the political party A Just Russia—For Truth.

"These people were not ready to sacrifice themselves for a country that was foreign to them, which means that anything could be expected from them, but not to fulfill their military duty," Mironov wrote on Monday, while urging a moratorium on granting Russian citizenship to migrants from Tajikistan.

"The consequences can be the most tragic," he added. "This is another strong reason to radically rethink the state's approach to migration."

The ISW report argues that "Putin's unequal implementation of partial mobilization is causing social fractures" and aiding those who seek "to further marginalize ethnic minority communities."

"Mironov's calls for immigration reform demonstrate the role that partial mobilization has seemingly played in catalyzing ethnic divisions, racism, and xenophobia in the Russian domestic space, especially against ethnic minorities," the report states.

Last month, Putin ordered Russia's first partial mobilization since World War II as part of an attempt to replenish a dwindling numbers of troops and bolster the struggling war effort in Ukraine. The Russian president said that at least 220,000 reservists had been mobilized as of last Friday, out of a total goal of 300,000.

On Monday, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed in a blog post that the mobilization was ending due to Putin's goals having been "achieved in full." There has been no official confirmation of Sobyanin's claim from the Russian president, although Putin did say on Friday that he expected it to be completed within two weeks.

The mobilization effort was met with backlash and heavy criticism from within Russia. Hundreds of thousands of potential conscripts have fled Russia to avoid being sent to war.

In addition to accusations concerning the inequitable drafting of ethnic minorities and the poor, Putin has also been accused of sending ill-equipped troops to war with inadequate training out of desperation.

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian government for comment.