In the colonies of St. Petersburg, prisoners began to be recruited as “volunteers” for a trip to the Donbass as part of the Wagner PMC. This was told to Important Stories by relatives of convicts serving sentences in IK-7 Yablonevka and IK-6 Obukhovo. For six months of service, the “volunteer” is promised to be paid 200 thousand rubles and amnestied. If he comes back alive.

“On Friday evening, what they call “checkers” arrived at Yablonevka,” says a relative of the convict. “They spoke to the prisoners and urged them to ‘defend the Motherland’. Then, late in the evening, they gathered the foremen [prisoners who help the colony staff to lead the detachments], they were told something there, after which the foremen began to carry out work in the detachments.

The foremen said that the prisoners were offered to go to the Donbass. They will be formalized there allegedly as a stage, they will be taken to the border under escort, like ordinary prisoners.

My relative was told this: “The Nazis are very difficult to detect there, and they are very well trained. You will be at the forefront, helping to detect the Nazis, so not everyone will return.” At first they said that about 20% would return. Then – that “almost no one will return.” Those who survive are promised a reward of 200,000 rubles and an amnesty. And if he dies, they promise to pay the family 5 million rubles. This is all just words, it will not be recorded anywhere on paper. At the same time, all information is not transmitted directly, but through the foremen.

At first they were told that only those who served or fought would be considered. But after a few hours, it became clear that everyone who wanted to be included in the lists. About 200 people wanted to sign up, but in the end, about 40 signed up, they were even checked on a polygraph.

My loved one wanted to agree, but we, the relatives, gave him a tantrum with threats. Now he swears that he will not go, but he definitely hesitates, because he sees this as an opportunity to earn money, says: “If the worst happens, I will earn you an apartment.” They discuss among themselves that “you can imagine how much you can take out of there”. They believe in it. Not all, of course.

Recruiting people from Wagner PMC. Nobody hides this, the foremen speak about it directly. My friend is serving a term in a colony in the center of Nizhny Novgorod. According to him, there are many people who have previously participated in hostilities, and they are very eager for this war. He managed to contact the Wagner himself and declared his desire to go to war. They answered him: “Wait for us in your colony within a month.”

Important Stories managed to talk to the relatives of the Yablonevka prisoner, who agreed to go to Donbass: “On the second day after the news about the meeting, he said that he had signed a contract and there was no going back. But today [the conversation took place on July 4] said that the contracts would be concluded upon arrival at the place. According to him, they are going to fight, not to restore. Why agreed? He was bribed by the promise that in six months he would return home and the criminal record would be extinguished. In addition, when six months pass and someone wants to continue their service, this company will provide work.

According to our sources, Yablonevka became the first colony in St. Petersburg where the Wagnerites staged campaigning: “Today they, the recruiters, were supposed to be in Fornosovo ( there are two colonies IK-3 and IK-4 in Fornosovo, which one is speech, we don’t know – Note ed. ), but yesterday or today – in Obukhovo.

This information was also confirmed by an interlocutor of “Important stories” from among the relatives of prisoners of IK-6 “Obukhovo”: “Yesterday some chauffeurs came to them and offered to go to Donbass. As far as I understand, the contract is oral. They say that they send without tokens and passports. How exactly they decide to whom to make such an offer is not clear. It seems like first they persuade those who served in the army. At the same time, not those who are in jail for 20 years are called, but, for example, a young man who has a few months left before the PTR [ according to the law , a prisoner can serve part of the term in the colony, and replace the other part with a lighter form of punishment, for example, forced labor work, PTR].

Versions of why they are sent are different: some relatives said that their loved one was invited to serve; others – what to restore the infrastructure . According to my information, the first group of “volunteers” from “Obukhovo” is already being prepared for shipment, ”said the source of Important Stories.

According to “Important stories”, today the relatives of the prisoners of IK-7 “Yablonevka” tried to get an appointment with the head of the colony – Colonel of the Internal Service Alexander Rulev. On his official reception day, he refused to meet people. When it was possible to get through to him, Rulev replied to questions about recruitment that he “heard” about this for the first time, and commenting on the stage, he said that if they were to transport prisoners, then “according to the plan.”

https://istories.media/reportages/2022/07/04/chvk-vagner-verbuet-zaklyuchennikh-kolonii-peterburga-dlya-poezdki-na-donbass-idti-v-avangarde-pomogat-obnaruzhivat-natsistov/