In a recent tweet, Anton Gerashchenko, Advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, revealed a new recruitment strategy by the Russian army.
Faced with a decline in interest for contract service, the Kremlin is now targeting debtors as potential "contract servicemen."
According to Gerashchenko, all data on individuals owing loans has been transferred to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
These debtors are now faced with an ultimatum: either repay their debts or join the military.
Watch his post below
This move comes as Russian banks sold overdue debts to debt collectors for a record 75 billion rubles ($800 million) in the third quarter, a significant increase from 41.9 billion rubles ($450 million) in the second quarter.
According to Gerashchenko, the typical debtor in Russia is around 40 years old, has secondary or higher education, and has a family to provide for. To lure such individuals into military service, the Ministry of Defense is offering various benefits, including credit freezes and preferential mortgages.
The regions with the most clients for Microfinance Institutions (MFI) are Tyva, Altai, and occupied Sevastopol, while debtors of other loan types are primarily located in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar region, Sverdlovsk region, and Bashkortostan.
This new recruitment strategy raises ethical questions and highlights the desperate measures the Russian government is willing to take to bolster its military ranks
