A soldier from Kabardino-Balkaria was convicted of leaving his unit.
A court in Nalchik has again found Mukhamed Bavokov, already convicted of two desertions, guilty of draft evasion. The serviceman's sentence has been increased to seven years in prison.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," in November 2025, a military court in Nalchik sentenced Mukhamed Bavokov to six years in prison, finding him guilty of two counts of deserting his unit—on October 30, 2023, and March 13, 2025.
On September 24, 2022, Parts 2.1, 3.1, and 5 of Article 337, concerning unauthorized desertion of a unit or place of service during mobilization, were added to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The amendments provide for imprisonment for up to 10 years. Tightening of legislation after the announcement of mobilization led to harsher sentences for absence from a military unit and desertion.
Mukhamed Bavokov, a serviceman from Kabardino-Balkaria, was convicted again for abandoning his military unit during mobilization. He was previously sentenced to six years in prison for two counts of evading military service; he has now been sentenced to seven years in prison, according to the newspaper Gazeta Yuga.
Bavokov was charged under Part 3.1 of Article 337 of the Russian Criminal Code , the Nalchik Garrison Military Court reported on its VKontakte page.
According to the court, "on August 28, 2025, that is, during the mobilization period," Bavokov voluntarily left his military unit in Mozdok without good reason.
"On September 25, 2025, Bavokov voluntarily reported to the military investigative department stationed in Nalchik, and from August 28 to September 25 2025, he spent his time at his own discretion," the publication says.
In court, Bavokov pleaded guilty. The court noted that the first sentence handed down to Bavkov on November 18, 2025, came into force on December 4, 2025.
"Considering the factual circumstances of the case and the defendant's personality, Bavkov was sentenced to a final sentence for multiple offenses in the form of seven years of imprisonment in a general regime penal colony, with the period served under the previous sentence counted toward the final sentence," the court stated.
According to the case file on the court's website, Mukhamed Bavkov's case was received by the court on January 14, and the sentence was handed down at the first hearing, on January 21.
As a reminder, on September 21, 2022, Vladimir Putin announced partial mobilization. On October 28 of that year, the Minister of Defense reported to the president on its completion, but no corresponding decree followed. Lawyers have concluded that a presidential decree is not needed to end partial mobilization, Putin's press secretary explained.
Moreover, on December 12, 2023, a military court in Maykop, in its verdict against a mobilized soldier who left his unit in June 2023, emphasized that "a partial mobilization was declared in the Russian Federation, which was not completed at the time the crime was committed."
Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/420198
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