Vladimir Putin is hoping that the Ukraine war veterans elected to his new parliament will act as political stormtroopers – but they could instead heap embarrassment on the Russian President.
Putin has called those who have fought in the war “the true elite”, who should “rise to leading positions in the state”. Yet he is not interested in giving this “elite” any serious political status. The veterans elected this weekend to the State Duma – the lower chamber of Russia’s national legislature – will soon realise their job is simply to vote as they are told and make the speeches dictated for them.
The vote to elect the 450 members of the lower house of parliament is, of course, heavily rigged. As well as ensuring Putin’s United Russia party wins an absolute majority, the Kremlin has worked hard to ensure that veterans are represented in the Duma, with 200 standing and a target for 100 to be elected.
Many of these, though, could be considered veterans in name only. It has become fashionable for some lawmakers – especially those whose poll ratings are slumping or who fear they have lost the Kremlin’s favour – to volunteer. However, whereas ordinary recruits sign contracts committing them to the duration of the war, these “VIP veterans” typically serve only a few months, in relatively safe rear-area drone units. Then they return home, typically with a medal, and a camouflage-clad photo opportunity.
Putin hopes that by selecting a collection of real and faux veterans for his hollow parliament, he can co-opt the veterans and use them as a new support base. Yet for all the elevated rhetoric about the veterans, nothing serious is being done to prepare for their eventual return to civilian life, not least adequate psychological-social provision, given that up to a third are expected to suffer from some form of PTSD.
The Kremlin is unwilling to spend resources on fulfilling its responsibilities to veterans, or to offer them genuine political status, so his dreams of a new constituency of blue-collar supporters seem doomed to fail. Those veterans who find themselves co-opted into the Duma and other political positions will soon find themselves facing a tough choice: betray their comrades and toe the party line, or champion the interests of soldiers, however much that embarrasses the commander in chief.
Many soldiers will return home angry, disoriented and feeling betrayed. They found themselves fighting a bitter imperial war for commanders who too often abused and exploited them. On their homecoming, they will find many of the glowing promises of educational opportunities, good jobs and public esteem awaiting them on their return to be empty.
Russian soldiers will in many cases return from Ukraine feeling betrayed, writes Mark Galeotti (Photo: Russian Defence Ministry Press Service via AP)Indeed, the undue attention paid to part-time “VIP veterans” and the awards and medals showered on them has been widely seen by the real fighters as an insult. Duma deputy Yevgeny Pervyshov, for example, served briefly in GROM Kaskad, a drone reconnaissance battalion known for providing a safe berth for these war tourists, before being appointed governor of Tambov region.
The battalion is formally commanded by Dmitry Sablin, who somehow combines that role with being a full-time Duma deputy for United Russia.
Many of the veterans of the USSR’s ten-year war in Afghanistan (1979-88) drifted into nationalist politics and organised crime, of alcoholism and drug addiction. Much the same was true of the soldiers who fought in Russia’s First Chechen War (1994-96).
In the past, Putin’s election managers have tried to mobilise different groups to try and build new constituencies for Putin. From the rising middle class to blue collar conservatives, they have been hailed as the new “best and the brightest” until they have grown disillusioned.
This year, the Kremlin is putting its faith in veterans. The highest-profile appointment is Artem Zhoga, who has been the Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Ural Federal District since 2024, but this is a role with little formal power, and there is already talk of his dismissal.
Putin’s power has rested on the willingness of so many to compromise their values to get ahead and hold on to what security and material comforts they have accumulated. Real soldiers who have dodged drones, endured shellfire, and seen their comrades bleed out before them may prove to be less willing to bend the knee to the Kremlin.
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