Russian Tyranny and Conscription—Courtesy of Altruism
The Russian regime's decision to conscript 300,000 young men further demonstrates its complete disregard for individual rights
On September 21, 2022, the Russian government announced that it was conscripting 300,000 men to go to the front lines in Ukraine. Although the regime claimed it would only conscript army reservists, the draft reportedly has included teachers, students, flight attendants, and even people arrested for protesting the announcement—some being sent to fight without any training.1
This desperate act on the part of Putin’s regime further demonstrates its complete disregard for individual rights—not only those of Ukrainians, as was already obvious, but of Russians as well. The regime has attempted to justify the war in Ukraine by claiming that Ukrainians and Russians are “one people” historically and culturally, and thus they ought to be ruled by the same government.2 This view disregards the lives and rights of the individuals in question in favor of this supposed Russian “identity.” In short, Ukrainians must be subject to the same tyranny as Russian citizens because of this purportedly shared culture—and Russians must be forced to subject Ukrainians to the tyranny that is “good” for all.3
This is naked collectivism: the idea that individuals are merely cogs in a collective, and the collective is more important than the individuals that comprise it.
This idea has infected Russian culture for more than a thousand years, and it is an application of the morality of altruism: the idea that individuals must sacrifice their lives for some “greater” cause, such as God, community, or country. It is an idea at the core of two formative ideologies in Russia’s history: Orthodox Christianity and communism. A few days after the conscription announcement, Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, called for Russians to “sacrifice in the course of carrying out your military duty.”4 As the Gospel of Mark puts it, “those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the Gospel, will save it.”5 Substitute “state” for “Gospel,” and you have the philosophy behind Russia’s conscription.
Fortunately, about 115,000 Russians have had the sense to disregard this idea. Fleeing to neighboring countries such as Georgia, Turkey, and Kazakhstan, they have been branded “cowards” by their fellow Russians.6 But the truth is the opposite: Putting one’s own life first in a culture antithetical to that idea is a brave act.
These men value their own lives, goals, and priorities, and they are properly acting to protect those values—as opposed to those who passively accept Putin’s draft.
Some commentators in Europe have suggested that these men, and all Russians, are complicit in the Ukraine war because they did not resist it prior to the conscription announcement.7 However, many Russians don’t know the truth about what’s been happening in Ukraine; Russian state media is polluted with disinformation, particularly in regard to this issue.8 Nonetheless, some did protest the invasion from the start. And they did so at great personal risk: More than thirteen hundred protesters have been arrested. “Russian authorities have criminalized many public and even private expressions of dissent against the invasion,” notes RadioFreeEurope, “even from abroad, and tightened measures against the media and NGOs.”9 Further, even if Russian citizens manage to dig up the truth, each and every man is responsible, first and foremost, for his own life; each must decide for himself, given his own context, whether actively resisting a powerful dictatorial regime is the best way to serve his values. It is perfectly rational and moral for a person living in Russia to decide that his best chance at a meaningful and valuable life is to escape to a freer country. He is not responsible for the actions of the tyrannical regime he happens to have been born under (unless he chooses to support it) and is under no obligation to risk his life by staying and resisting it.
Even if Russia had free and fair elections, that still wouldn’t mean all Russians are directly responsible for the government’s actions. Observe that in relatively free countries, where representatives are elected, such as those in Western Europe and North America, the winning party does not represent every voter, and elected officials often don’t honor their campaign promises. The idea that every one of a country’s citizens is responsible for their government’s actions is ridiculous, and under the totalitarian Russian regime it is even more so.
Nonetheless, many Eastern Europeans advocate banning Russians from entering their countries, blaming refugees for the actions of their government—which rigs elections and tramples citizens’ right to free speech. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russians must “live in their own world until they change their philosophy.”10 Individual Russians certainly can change their philosophy, and those who support the regime should, but it is unreasonable to expect them to correct the philosophy of the entire country before accepting that they have the right to live and the right to leave. Innocent Russians have as much right to live freely as people lucky enough to be born in freer countries.
The nations now facing a tide of fleeing Russians should welcome those seeking a life of freedom away from Putin’s regime. At the same time, a legitimate case can be made for increased screening of Russian immigrants to protect against the risk of spies, infiltrators, and false-flag agents.11 But those fleeing Russia will, by and large, add value to the countries they move to through their labor and expertise—value that the Russian regime will lose as they leave. Why forbid talented, resourceful people from pursuing and producing rational values in one’s country? Why not invite the brain drain and thereby help Russia cripple itself?
Although the Ukrainian government has moved to restrict fighting-age men from leaving the country, thus violating their rights, the extent to which ordinary Ukrainians have rushed to volunteer and defend their homeland demonstrates that people will choose to fight when the cause is just. Russians, on the other hand, are fleeing in droves, uninterested in fighting for Putin’s unjust cause.
Of course, many potential conscripts will not be able to escape. Some have taken drastic action. One man opened fire in a recruitment office, killing a commander, and another attacked a recruitment office with Molotov cocktails.12 Others have protested, and many have been arrested. Still others are simply resigned to their fate, feeling powerless to resist the regime demanding that they sacrifice their lives.
The sooner Putin’s regime falls, the better, not just for Ukraine and Europe, but for Russians as well. In the meantime, let’s hope that as many Russians as possible can find their way to a life free from the oppressed country they were born in—a life of liberty such as all rational men deserve.