More than 100 Russian officials, lawmakers, and law enforcement officers accused of corruption and serious crimes have avoided prison sentences by joining the war in Ukraine, according to a new investigation by the BBC Russian Service.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, at least 102 former civil servants, deputies, and security officials have managed to leave pre-trial detention centers and penal colonies in exchange for military service. The group includes 22 mayors and municipal leaders, 10 regional lawmakers, seven vice-governors and ministers, 25 security officers, and two judges.
The vast majority — 79 individuals — were accused of corruption, while 16 others faced charges for violent crimes.
A Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card?
For many of these officials, military deployment has become an escape route from prosecution. According to the BBC, at least 23 individuals have already returned home as free men, having their cases dropped or sentences overturned.
Another 17 men were reported dead or missing in action, while the rest remain on the front lines.
However, high-ranking federal officials are being denied this loophole, with sources claiming that Russian security services are wary of allowing them to return as war heroes.
“They know too much and could take revenge on those who imprisoned them,” a lawyer familiar with corruption cases told the BBC.
One high-profile example is Alexander Kibovsky, the former head of Moscow’s Department of Culture, who was arrested for bribery in July 2024. Kibovsky immediately requested to be deployed to Ukraine, but his plea was ignored. In December, he appeared in court wearing a T-shirt that read: "I'm in a pretrial detention center, but I should be fighting near Kursk."
Corruption in the Recruitment System
The process of recruiting prisoners for military service is reportedly riddled with corruption itself.
At the federal level, recruitment is strictly controlled by the FSB, which prevents high-profile figures from escaping trial. However, at the regional and local levels, oversight is weaker, allowing many mid-ranking officials to slip through the cracks.
Lawyer Ivan Mironov described the practice as a “mass phenomenon”, confirming that if the FSB is involved in an investigation, the accused has no chance of being deployed.
According to legal expert Andrey Grivtsov, the Defense Ministry formally approves prisoner deployments, but the FSB has the final say and can block specific individuals from being sent to the front.
This could explain why governors, ministers, and federal security officials facing serious charges are rarely allowed to enlist.
