A report published by Vyorstka says that Russia’s war against Ukraine has become, for some Interior Ministry employees, a way to speed up their careers, sharply raise their income, or return to the system after criminal trouble. At the same time, the ministry continues to discuss staff shortages, although experts differ on their causes and real scale.
A former officer from a regional economic crimes unit, Nikolai, whose name was changed, told the outlet he signed a contract not for ideological reasons. According to him, without going to war he saw no further path for promotion. He said he remains formally tied to the Interior Ministry and views frontline service as a tool for later advancement inside the system.
“To move any further, I had to go there,” the source told a Vyorstka correspondent, explaining his decision.
The story of another participant in the war, Andrei, was recounted by his friend, a former police officer. After the first and second Chechen campaigns, Andrei served in the police but, the account says, constantly feared recertification because he lacked formal education for the job. After the full-scale invasion began, he decided to sign a contract, seeing it as his only way to earn money. After a year at the front, he was killed; in August 2025, his body was brought back to Kazan. He was survived by his wife and his 18-year-old daughter.
The article also describes cases in which the war became an outlet for police officers facing criminal prosecution. One example is a 39-year-old police major from Alapayevsk charged under Article 134 of the Criminal Code after a relationship with a 15-year-old girl. According to State Duma deputy Andrei Alshevskikh and the family’s lawyer, the case was classified under a lighter article, allowing the accused to sign a military contract. The report also mentions Moscow police officer Alexander Matyukhin, who appeared in a case involving the beating of Tamerlan Marzoyev.
Researchers Vladimir Titayev and Ekaterina Khodzhaeva, interviewed by Vyorstka, argue that the staffing shortage in the Interior Ministry cannot be explained by the war alone. In their view, low salaries, uneven service conditions, and competition from the civilian labor market have had a stronger effect, especially since wages outside the police have risen more noticeably than police pay after 2022.