Murder convict turned war hero: Russia's controversial recruitment tactics

The hero of the Russian Federation army was presented on social media on the Telegram channel Chelyabinsk of the Future. It turned out that a local community representative was bravely fighting in the war with the neighbouring country. This is a murderer sentenced to 18 years. He left the prison walls due to voluntary enlistment in the invaders' ranks.

According to the declaration, Chelyabinsk of the Future is an "anti-war project of the Urals," which describes and shows "the truth about the war and mobilisation." The authors revealed on social media that the ranks of Vladimir Putin's army include the worst criminals.

On the Telegram channel, members of the Chelyabinsk community revealed the infamous deeds of Aleksander Jerutin, a city citizen fighting in the war. The man murdered his stepdaughter, and although he was sentenced to 18 years in prison, he didn't serve even a year.

He was released because he agreed to fight. So, he is engaged in the war. If he survives, he will not return to prison.

The decree allowing the mobilisation of people convicted of serious crimes was signed by the dictator in November 2022, when it turned out that the war in Ukraine was not going as quickly as the Kremlin expected. The army's ranks decimated in the fight with Ukraine had to be patched up.

However, a list of sentences appeared that prevented enlistment in the army. However, in practice, the worst murderers and degenerates were constantly being recruited, among others, by the now-deceased Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.

This is also true with conscripts who went to the front to avoid punishment. As disclosed by the city’s anti-war service, on 31 July 2022, Aleksander Jerutin strangled his concubine’s 18-year-old daughter with a wire in a house on Pressovshtikov Street in Chelyabinsk. Her mother was holding her arms so the girl wouldn't resist. The couple hid the body in a rubbish bin overnight.

The details of this crime are also discussed in video material from local TV, which is attached to the post with war photos of Jerutin and his partner. The event in July shook the local community.

Four days after the murder, the strangled girl's body was found at a waste sorting centre. The remains of the murdered girl were packed in a bag and taped up.

Investigators quickly identified the perpetrator. The court sentenced Jerutin to 18 years in a high-security colony. However, not even a year had passed when the murderer began posting war photos.

He signed a contract with the Ministry of Defence three weeks after the sentence. He was injured in the fight, which he boasted about on social media. He was in a hospital in the Belgorod region.

He is now considered a war hero. "If Aleksander Jerutin survives the war, he will walk the streets of Chelyabinsk," notes the Telegram post.