Are Abkhaz students in Russia at risk of being sent to fight in Ukraine?
Abkhaz students drafted to fight in Ukraine
Young men from Abkhazia studying at Russian universities are being registered with military enlistment offices. This rule has always existed, but it is only now being enforced, raising concerns among parents that their sons could be sent to fight in Russia’s war on Ukraine. The Abkhaz government is powerless to intervene but sees this not only as a threat but also as a reason for cautious optimism.
Alexander Kvitsinia (name changed) is a student from Abkhazia studying programming in his second year at a Moscow university. About a week ago, Alexander shocked his parents with the news that he had been registered at the local military enlistment office in Moscow.
“Russia is at war, and it’s been going on for years. I’m afraid our boys might be sent there like this,” Alexander’s mother shares her concern.
She said she even tried to persuade her son to drop out of university or take academic leave and return home to avoid being sent to the front line.
“Alexander mentioned that he already knows how to program drones, and right now that’s in high demand for military operations,” she adds.
As it turns out, students from Abkhazia have always been registered (or were supposed to be registered) at military enlistment offices in Russian universities because, in addition to Abkhazian citizenship, they often hold Russian citizenship as well. Under Russian law, all students who are citizens of the country must be registered with the military enlistment offices.
According to Abkhaz Foreign Minister Sergey Shamba, this situation arose because the dual citizenship agreement between Abkhazia and Russia is currently in a frozen state and has not yet been regulated.
“Although the dual citizenship law was ratified by the Russian State Duma, it is now frozen. Students are being registered with military enlistment offices, but this doesn’t mean they’ll immediately be sent to the army. However, after graduation, if the dual citizenship law hasn’t come into effect by then, they could be drafted into the army if they remain in Russia,” Shamba reassures.
In his view, there is even a silver lining to this situation, as students might be more inclined to return to Abkhazia after graduating rather than staying in Russia to avoid conscription.
Alexander Kvitsinia’s mother admits she had hoped her son would return to Abkhazia after university but also understood that he had better opportunities in Russia.
“I wanted him to build a career, and become successful, and that’s hard to do in Abkhazia. But now I think—let him come home,” she says.
Terms, place names, opinions and ideas suggested by the author of the publication are their own and do not necessarily coincide with the opinions and ideas of JAMnews or its individual employees. JAMnews reserves the right to remove comments on posts that are deemed offensive, threatening, violent or otherwise ethically unacceptable.
