Russian mothers are turning over their deadbeat exes to President Vladimir Putin’s military draft to receive financial compensation, Insider reports.
Last month, Putin declared a “partial” military mobilization that would draft at least 300,000 additional soldiers to fight on the frontlines in the war in Ukraine.
According to Russian investigative outlet Verstka, several women are handing over their deadbeat exes’ personal information to enlistment offices. The women claim the military draft may produce better results than the Russian court system because while “our laws protect slimeballs who run from child support,” Putin’s “special military operation” does not.
“Immediately after Putin’s announcement, the thought occurred to me: if my ex went to war, he would pay back the debt because he would be receiving official payments to an account that you can’t hide from the bailiffs. If he gets injured or dies, then the child is entitled to compensation,” Inna Kruglova, a technologist, told Verstka.
Another woman identified only as Irina said she divorced her husband after he developed a drinking problem and began stealing her jewelry. She later found out he took out a loan in her name and left her tens of thousands of dollars in debt. Despite several court appearances he still refuses to pay child support or alimony. So, when Putin announced the draft she saw a way to finally make him pay and she took it.
“I will go [to the military commissar] and hand over his personal information. I want them to take him,” she said. “It seems to me that he won’t be able to handle military action: he doesn’t have enough training or strength. Of course, I’ve thought about how I’d feel if he dies there. But my son and I already haven’t seen or heard from him in 12 years, although we live in the same city … So if they do kill him, it will even be good: the child will be compensated.”
Several other women in a similar situation have started an online community of about 70 people for support, to share information and to discuss the scheme.
Another woman identified as Lilia Sergeeva, said her ex-husband had not paid alimony or help to take care of their daughter for the past 13 years.
“I wrote an appeal to the bailiffs with a request to petition the military authorities to take my ex-husband to fight. To be honest, I don’t care if my ex-husband is able to withstand the pressure on the front and how long he will last there. If women endure hard physical labor, then why can’t a grown man in his prime?”
“I understand that there is a risk of death in the ‘special operation.’ But for me, my ex-husband, as a person, died a long time ago. If he is sent to fight and doesn’t survive, I will at least receive official confirmation that he does not exist—and, accordingly, all the payments due to his inheritors,” she added. “I am not really thinking about his fate. He hasn’t thought about how his daughter is living all these years, what she’s eating. And if she eats at all.”
Ekaterina Kotova, a copywriter, said she kicked out her ex-husband when their child was young after he picked up a bad alcohol habit. He hasn’t done anything to help raise their child and owes her 632,000 rubles.
“I believe that both parents should be responsible for the child. You can’t just drop like that. Unfortunately, our laws protect bastards who run from alimony. No harsh measures are taken against them,” she said.
“I don’t think I should feel sorry for him” Kotova continued. “For four years, he never got in touch with his son, although he lives forty kilometers from us. And when, in spite of all this, my child sees a father in every passing man, my only thought is: It would be better if he died already so that I could take my son to his grave and be done with it.”
