Moscow city officials have staged mass resignations after one of their drafted colleagues was killed in fighting in Ukraine. The exodus threatens to wreak chaos across Russia’s capital city, that has a population of roughly 12 million people. Vladimir Putin announced his plans for a “partial” mobilisation in September, as he caved in to his generals’s demands for more troops.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said that 300,000 men would be initially conscripted into the army.
One of those to receive their call up papers was Alexi Martynov, the head of a department in the Moscow government.
Mr Martynov was reported killed in action on October 10, according to RT’s Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Natalya Loseva.
The Moscow official had no previous combat experience and died just two weeks after his conscription.
His death has provoked a furious reaction from his colleagues, many of whom could also be drafted into the ranks of the military.
Roman Super, a Russian journalist with close ties to the city’s administration, reported that many officials had handed in their resignations in protest.
A civil servant told the reporter: “We have a mass exodus – employees are quitting their jobs.
“Many simply leave their resignation notices on their desks.”
IT, PR and marketing staff are among those leaving the administration, along with other civil servants, the source added.
The nation-wide draft has disproportionately affected Russia’s ethnic minorities in the country’s far-flung regions.
Activists claim that ethnic groups in republics from Dagestan in the Caucasus to Yakutia in northeastern Siberia have seen a larger proportion of the male population rounded up.
One group that has been particularly hit hard by the conscription are the Buryats.
READ MORE: Putin reeling after Ukraine wreaks carnage on Russian border region
Entrances to an underground station in Moscow were blocked, as officials handed out draft notices to Russian men.
Similarly, police bore down on apartment blocks in an attempt to collar more recruits.
Igor Sushko, a Russian analyst, tweeted: “MASS #MOBILIZATION: In both #Moscow and Saint Petersburg in #Russia, people are being drafted right off of the streets, subway stations, and even at entrances of their apartment buildings.
“Putin’s enforcers physically block paths.”