Russian authorities in the Penza region have begun a campaign of forced recruitment for military service, using street detentions and pressure to secure contracts with the Defense Ministry, according to media reports published on July 31, 2026. Residents said the campaign was being conducted with the participation of local administrations and involved people in civilian clothing who detained men of military age and took them to enlistment offices in Penza.
The reports concern recruitment for Russia’s war against Ukraine. Residents described physical force, beatings and pressure to sign contracts. The reported actions were attributed to recruiters and other people acting with the support of local authorities. The allegations could not be independently verified from the material provided, but accounts were published by several Russian-language outlets, including Novaya Gazeta Europe and the Telegram channel Agentstvo.
Residents describe street detentions
According to residents cited in the reports, men were stopped in public places under the pretext of checking or updating personal information. Some of those involved allegedly presented themselves as representatives of state or law-enforcement bodies. Residents said the men were taken to military commissariats, where they faced psychological and administrative pressure to sign contracts with Russia’s Defense Ministry.
Video material recorded by Penza blogger S. Morozov and published by the outlet 7×7 was cited in accounts of the campaign. The material and witness statements reportedly documented attempts to detain men in the streets, the use of force and the involvement of vehicles belonging to local authorities.
The reports also described cases in which people were allegedly detained by mistake, including minors. Residents said physical force was used in some incidents. The source material did not provide a complete account of the number of people detained or identify all those involved in the reported confrontations.
Local administrations alleged to be involved
Residents said district administration leaders were overseeing the fulfillment of recruitment targets for contract soldiers. The reported involvement of municipal officials would extend the campaign beyond the regular work of military commissariats, although the precise legal status of the people carrying out the detentions was not established in the material.
The reports linked the renewed street recruitment campaign to a decline in the pace of voluntary contract enlistment publicly acknowledged by Russian federal authorities. They did not provide a single nationwide figure for the decline, nor did they establish how many additional contracts officials sought to obtain in the Penza region.
In the village of Bashmakovo, residents organized a local volunteer patrol, described as a people’s militia, to warn others about possible raids and patrol populated areas. The group was reported to have about 250 members. Residents also organized an information campaign and duty shifts to monitor recruitment activity.
Pressure on residents who document the activity
Participants in the Bashmakovo group said law-enforcement officials were putting pressure on them and threatening criminal prosecution. The accounts also said officials sought to discourage residents from recording or publicizing alleged cases of forced recruitment.
Separate reports said the authorities had not opened investigations into the allegations described by residents. Instead, according to the source material, pressure was directed at people who documented or distributed information about the detentions. The reports did not include a formal response from the Penza regional administration or Russia’s Defense Ministry.
The accounts from Penza describe a recruitment campaign involving military offices, local administrations and people operating in civilian clothing. Residents’ efforts to organize patrols and share warnings remain the latest reported response to the activity in the region.
