The Kremlin has admitted for the first time to recruiting inmates to fight in the war against Ukraine, saying the recruits "are atoning for their guilt with blood," a phrase first used by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin during World War II.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the admission on November 10 when a journalist asked him about comments by a Siberian family this week that questioned how it was possible that a man convicted of their daughter's murder was now being treated as a hero in his hometown after receiving a pardon from President Vladimir Putin.
Peskov responded by saying a presidential pardon is possible when a convict accepts his or her guilt, asks the president for a pardon, and goes through a procedure approved by the Penitentiary Service, the regional or federal authorities, and the Central Commission on Clemency.
SEE ALSO: 'He Considers Himself A Hero': Russian Town Uneasy After Ex-Con's Return From Ukraine WarA second path to receiving a pardon, Peskov added, is for a convict to "atone for their crimes with blood on battlefields, in military units, under flying bullets and shells."
The phrase "to atone for guilt with blood" was first used by Soviet Stalin during World War II in his decree on the creation of so-called shtrafbats (punitive battalions) by recruiting inmates from penitentiaries. However, mostly inmates sentenced for politically motivated crimes, not violent ones, joined such military units at the time.
Earlier this week, the Agentstvo (Agency) Telegram channel said that in 2022-2023 Putin pardoned at least 17 people convicted of murder, all of whom were recruited to fight in the war in Ukraine and returned home to freedom. Some have since been convicted of committing new crimes after their return.
The issue of using prisoners as soldiers was an open secret for much of the early months of the war.
The late founder and leader of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was suspected of recruiting inmates from prisons across Russia. After months of avoiding commenting on the issue, Prigozhin finally admitted to offering inmates full exoneration and sealed criminal records if they served six months in Wagner’s ranks.
After Prigozhin died in a mysterious plane crash in August following a short-lived mutiny aimed at Russia's military leadership in June, the Defense Ministry started recruiting inmates to fight in the war in Ukraine.