A Russian official who spoke out against Vladimir Putin has been summonsed for conscription to the front lines in Ukraine despite having no military experience. Dmitry Baltrukov, 43, a municipal deputy for Putin's birthplace of Smolninskoye, St Petersburg, was fined 44,000 rubles (£675) after he and his fellow councillors complained that the war in Ukraine had left thousands of Russian soldiers dead and damaged the country's economy.
Baltrukov was punished for 'discrediting' the army under a law to crack down on anti-war dissent, and Newsweek reports that yesterday (October 2) military enlistment officers and police officers turned up at his home to hand him the summons. They were met by his mother, with the official away on a business trip.
Baltrukov told Newsweek: "Yesterday, four people came to the address where I registered. My mother saw two policemen and two men in uniform, she asked who they were and what they needed. They said that they were from the military registration and enlistment office and that they had brought the summons to me."
The officers said he should appear at his local military enlistment building today at 9am. He said the presence of the police suggests they were wanting to detain him immediately, and he ignored the order to go to the enlistment office.
"Since I have no military experience, I believe that the real reason for the agenda is an attempt to get rid of me as a deputy," he added. "I believe that what is happening is aimed at eliminating me as a political opponent and revenge for my position on handling the charge of treason against Putin. And a categorical rejection of war."
Councillors in Smolninskoye were interrogated by police after calling for Putin to be charged with treason. The politicians petitioned the Russia parliament to oust Putin for 'high treason'. Nikita Yuferev, 34, said he and six other councillors had been told to appear for questioning.
But Grigory Rankov, head of the Smolninskoye administration, claimed that the group acted illegally in petitioning the state Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament. He said that the demand to charge Putin was a 'provocation' and an 'attempt to discredit' the council.
It comes as Putin carried out a new purge of military officials after his botched mobilisation saw thousands sent home because they were unfit for service. The chaotic call-up has seen old men, students and unfit civilians being sent to the front lines in a desperate bid to shore up numbers.
The military commissar of Russia's Khabarovsk region, Yuri Laiko, was removed from his post after half of the new personnel did not meet the draft criteria and were sent home, while Commander of the Western Military District, Alexander Zhuravlev, 56, has been ousted in revenge for Ukraine's successful counter-offensive.
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