[Treadreaderapp] Members of the Russian elite have been criticised by many Russians for enabling their sons to evade mobilisation or war service. They have reportedly found an ingenious solution — a special unit for the elite, which serves at a safe distance from the front.
The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel has published a series of documents documenting what it calls a "cronies' detachment" called BARS-Kaskad (BARS-Cascade), commanded by Duma deputy Dmitry Sablin, the deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defence.
According to the documents, BARS-Kaskad is for members of Putin's United Russia party "located on the territory of the new constituent entities of the Russian Federation" (i.e. the occupied regions of Ukraine).
It describes their duties as "organising the work of the humanitarian headquarters of the Party, providing voluntary assistance to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, communications with voters residing on the territory of these regions."
The documents show several members of Russia's State Duma engaged on short month-long "business trips" as members of BARS-Kaskad, mostly working as drone operators. Notably, they include Sablin's son Anton, who had been criticised for evading war service. |