Recently, a message about the death of 55-year-old Ivan Taymagyr spread on the russian social network VK. Taymagyr was considered, if not the last, definitely "one of the last" representatives of the small Kerek people, one of the many indigenous ethnicities of the Chukotka region in russia.
According to the 2021 census, only 23 people called themselves Kerek, of whom only four remembered their own folk language. Taymagyr died "on the Special Military Operation" September 13th of this year.
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This case is one of the many examples of the Kremlin's systematic policy of exterminating its own subjugated peoples. Mobilization in russia has already taken away the majority of the male population in small indigenous settlements, leaving them not only without a workforce but also without a demographic prospect for the survival of the ethnic group. In fact, dozens of small peoples of russia may not survive this war simply because there will be no one to continue the family line.
Another example: 14 representatives of the small Udege ethnicity were mobilized from the village of Gvasiugi in the Khabarovsk Krai, which makes up 30% of the mobilization reserve of this settlement. In absolute numbers, among the russian regions, the largest number of confirmed killed soldiers hail from Bashkortostan — 3,487 people.
Meanwhile, residents of Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other large cities are mobilized several times less often, as has been repeatedly pointed out by numerous analytical institutions, including the U.S.-based Wilson Center and the Jamestown Foundation; the best ones to illustrate the topic were Ukrainian OSINT analysts from the Molfar project two years ago:
In general, according to demographers and sociologists, 3.5 times more Bashkirs, three times more Tatarstan residents, and twice as many Buryats died in the war against Ukraine as residents of the capital and its region as of 2024. Keep in mind that this trend has been observed during the three years of full-blown warfare in Ukraine which remains the largest and bloodiest military conflict in Europe since World War II.
A quick math shows that the russian regular army in its 2022 form has already been completely wiped out in this war, as the military casualties have now reached almost 800,000 soldiers and officers.
To compensate for the insane losses, every month, about 30,000 new recruits are mobilized into the russian armed forces, they are promised high immediate payments and financial support. Instead, they receive a one-way ticket because, without adequate combat training, equipment, or protective gear, they are thrown into the meat grinder of the frontlines.
The mortality rate among the newly arrived reinforcements is also comparable to the losses of the Soviet army during World War II. Up to one-third of recruits in the first echelon units die in their very first battle, up to half within the next two to five battles.
That is not to mention the hazing from their more experienced comrades and the systematic bullying of soldiers by sergeants and officers. The newly mobilized are treated as expendables because tomorrow a new replenishment will arrive anyway. In the event of illness or injury, the soldiers of the russian army do not receive the necessary medical treatment, and the time for recovery and rehabilitation is cut to a bare minimum.
Therefore, it shouldn't come as a surprise that many of the newly mobilized, having just realized the situation and the risks to their life and health, voluntarily leave the units or voluntarily surrender. For all the conditional Ivans from Chukotka and other depressed regions, this is actually the best way to save their lives.
Earlier, Defense Express covered how North Korean troops in Kursk were taught to shoot down drones and hide from artillery fire based on the materials from the so-called Private Jong's Notes, that is, the diary of a North Korean soldier killed during the fighting in the Kursk Region.
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