At least 1,305 participants in the war against Ukraine have already obtained or retained positions, mandates, and public roles in Russian state and quasi-state structures. That is according to an investigation by Meduza.
The outlet says the systematic promotion of so-called “veterans of the special military operation” accelerated after the launch of the Time of Heroes program in 2024. While 45 such appointments were recorded in 2023, the number rose to 201 in 2024 and 754 in 2025, with another 311 registered in January through May 2026 alone. The leading regions were the Moscow region, Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, annexed Crimea and Sevastopol, as well as the Samara and Novosibirsk regions and Yakutia.
Who gets these roles
Meduza says participation in the war has become a social elevator primarily for people who were already connected to the state. Of the 1,305 people covered in the study, at least 848 had previous experience resembling public service, while ordinary military personnel remain a minority among those who entered government.
Sources interviewed by the outlet said war participants are more often appointed to positions that do not involve major budgets or significant administrative power. These are usually in youth policy, patriotic education, and work with veterans. Almost half of all new appointments and mandates fall at the municipal level: 656 out of 1,311. Another 570 positions were regional and 85 federal. The most common role for these “veterans” is that of deputy.
How the promotions work
According to the investigation, the main channels have been the Time of Heroes program and its regional counterparts, through which at least 446 people received appointments, as well as elections, mostly at the municipal and regional level. A third route is the continuation of an existing career.
Meduza separately highlights “deputies’ battalions” and volunteer formations such as BARS, through which officials and politicians can obtain war-participant status without necessarily serving on the front line. The outlet found at least 113 serving officials who had been with BARS: 22 later received new posts, while 91 kept their existing ones. In Meduza’s assessment, the Chechen battalion Akhmat plays a similar role.
The report also says that for some officials and politicians, participation in the war has become a way to avoid criminal prosecution or delay it. By March 2026, at least 1,100 people convicted on corruption charges were serving in the war zone. As of spring 2025, about 100 convicted politicians or civil servants were at the front, though the exact number is unknown. Ahead of the 2026 elections, the outlet counted 1,326 people who had declared plans to run or had gone through party primaries, with United Russia described as the main political elevator for them.