A Kyrgyz employee of a Russian government agency, an employee in the Osh mayor’s office, and two others were detained on April 19 on suspicion of recruiting Kyrgyz citizens to fight for the Russian army in Ukraine.
The case became known on April 22, when a court in Bishkek filed to keep the suspects in pre-trial detention through June 17. Although the suspects are identified only by initials in the court paperwork, two of those detained have been identified by the media as Sergei Lapushkin and Natalia Sekerina.
Lapushkin is reportedly an employee of the press service of the Osh mayor’s office. RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service, Radio Azattyk, reported that the mayor’s office confirmed the arrest but declined to provide further details.
Sekerina has been reported as a local employee of Rossotrudnichestvo – formally, the Russian Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation. She worked at the Russian House in Osh, a branch of Rossotrudnichestvo in Kyrgyzstan, and formerly as a journalist.
The Rossotrudnichestvo’s Office in Kyrgyzstan confirmed the arrested and expressed concern. In a statement, the office said, “Sekerina is a citizen of Kyrgyzstan, a local employee of the branch, and has been working at the Russian House since July 2024. She is responsible for media relations at our Osh branch. We know her as a conscientious, open, and responsible employee.”
The Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security (SCNS) is leading the investigation, but has not commented publicly on the case.
According to the court filing, the four individuals are being charged under Article 416 of the Kyrgyz Criminal Code, which pertains to “Recruitment, financing, material support, training of mercenaries for the purpose of using them in armed conflicts of other states or violent actions aimed at overthrowing state power or violating territorial integrity, as well as the use of mercenaries in military conflicts or actions.” If convicted, the four could face up to 15 years in prison.
Although a handful of Kyrgyz citizens have been prosecuted for participating in the Russian war in Ukraine, this appears to be the first case in Kyrgyzstan alleging Russian recruitment on Kyrgyz territory. The involvement of an employee of a Russian government agency – albeit one focused on cultural exchange and aid – only heightens the sensitivity of the case.
Like neighboring Uzbekistan, Kyrgyz authorities have issued repeated warnings to their citizens since the onset of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine that participating in the foreign conflict would be viewed as a crime at home. Initial Russian efforts to recruit Central Asians focused on migrant workers already in Russia, and those serving time in Russian prisons. Although Central Asian governments have loudly warned their own citizens against joining the Russian war – and jailed those that have returned from it – they have been far more quiet in dealing with Russia itself.
Earlier this month, an Uzbek taxi driver from Andijan was sentenced to a little more than seven years for attempting to recruit passengers into working for the Russians on the Ukraine front. In that case, a prior connection from the taxi driver’s years working in Russia reached out via WhatsApp and offered money if the man could recruit others to come to Russia.
Kyrgyz authorities have not shared details of the alleged recruitment effort in Osh, but the case has explosive potential depending on whether it has been successful in recruiting Kyrgyz into the war and if there was any direct Russian government involvement in the scheme. Even absent such involvement, the reality is that on this question the Russian government and the governments of Central Asia are diametrically opposed, and yet the latter have been arguably meek about pushing back.