Russian police officer coerces men into army contracts

A police officer in Penza, Russia, pressured men to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense by promising rear-guard service and threatening arrest if they refused. One family claims the man who signed after these promises was declared missing two months later.

In **Penza**, a Russian city about 600 kilometers southeast of Moscow, police officer **Olesya Adamova** presented herself as the civilian partner of recruitment center employee **Alexei Akimov** to convince men to sign defense ministry contracts. According to testimonies from several neighbors, the officer promised assignments in the rear or drone units. Those who refused were warned that officers would visit their homes under the pretext of neighbor complaints and take them away.

## Promises of rear-guard and drone units

To women who asked questions, Adamova assured them everything would be fair and that she would coordinate with Akimov so men could choose their service location. When one interviewee mentioned reading about forced deployment to assault units, the officer advised her not to believe the internet. The promise of rear-guard duty served as bait: a quiet destination far from the front in exchange for a signature.

One neighbor recounted that her husband was persuaded to sign based on this promise of rear-guard service. Two months later, he was declared missing. Since then, the family has heard nothing from him. This case illustrates the gap between what is promised at signing and what happens to recruits afterward.

## Akimov and Dmitry's case

Akimov was no stranger to stories about forced deployment to war. Relatives of **Dmitry**, a **22-year-old** youth, said the recruitment center employee threatened to send him to assault units over an administrative abusa. According to the young man's sister, incivil proceedings were peine against Akimov, and the military prosecutor reported he was under an order not to leave the country.

Local police stated that their employees do not participate in rounding up men. This account conflicts with testimonies collected in Penza, where one of their officers appears as the face of the pressure. The contradiction between official discourse and families' accounts lies at the heart of the matter.

## Pressure on those unwilling to sign

The narrative describes two paths for hesitant men. If they accept, they are promised rear-guard duty but may end up in assault units. If they refuse, authorities find reasons to accuse and detain them. Neighbors claim these agents receive bonuses for each man convinced, an economic incentive explaining the persistence. These assertions should be treated with caution: they come from resident testimonies, not concluded judicial investigations.