The BBC, together with Mediazona (on the register of foreign agents in the Russian Federation) and volunteers, were able to establish the identities of 80,973 Russian servicemen who have died since the start of hostilities in Ukraine. More than half of them had no connection to the army before 2022.
Volunteer Casualties Rising
The highest increase in fatalities is among volunteers — those who signed a contract after the conflict began. They now account for 22% of all casualties, compared to 14% a year ago. For example, 32-year-old Nikita Solovyov from the Altai region died five days after being sent to the front. Such stories illustrate how quickly volunteers find themselves in combat zones and die.
Prisoners on the Front Lines
The death toll among prisoners has fallen from 26% a year ago to 18% in 2024. However, convicts continue to play an important role on the front lines. Rail Sirazhitdinov from Bashkortostan, convicted twice of murder, signed a contract in the summer of 2024 and died two months later. Despite his criminal past, the authorities celebrated his death as the fulfillment of his “duty to the Fatherland.” The use of prisoners allowed the number of troops to be temporarily maintained without harming the economy since convicts did not participate in the country’s productive life.
Regional characteristics of losses
The highest number of recorded fatalities was in Bashkortostan, Tatarstan and Sverdlovsk regions. However, the reasons for these losses differ:
— In the Sverdlovsk region, active mobilization was combined with the recruitment of prisoners;
— In Tatarstan, local volunteers collected the most complete data on the dead, including those whose deaths the authorities did not publicly report;
— In the regions of Siberia, information on losses is often hidden due to pressure on journalists and relatives of the dead.
If we take into account the male population, the heaviest losses are in Tuva, Buryatia and Altai. In Moscow and St. Petersburg, losses are minimal: a resident of Tuva is nine times more likely to die in the war than a Muscovite.
Volunteers and mobilized soldiers make up the bulk of the dead
Most of the dead joined the army after the war began. At least 52% of them had no previous military experience. Given that the status of 28% of the dead remains unknown, the real share of mobilized soldiers and volunteers may be significantly higher.
