Enlistment ads that promise 'better life' send Russian men to their deaths

TBILISI, Georgia -- Ads urging men down on their luck to enlist in the Russian army have a deeper message, analysts say.

Two metres deep, to be precise, and just as long, and a bit narrower. That is all that will remain of many of these enlisted men on this earth -- or more precisely, in the earth.

Russia is desperately seeking fresh cannon fodder to join its troubled invasion of Ukraine as its casualties mount.

Of course, the ads do not talk about the sad reality, but rather they highlight the delights of military service -- first and foremost in monetary terms.

"The Kremlin is trying to entice into the war men whose death will have no effect whatsoever on the country," said Giorgi Molodini of Tbilisi, founder of Stratcom Georgia, a disinformation-fighting non-governmental organisation (NGO), after viewing some of the video ads about volunteers that have popped up online lately.

"These are men with low social status. Even if you just analyse these videos superficially, you can see the propagandists' goal: to find men between the ages of 20 and 50 with financial problems, a difficult situation in the family and at work, or even depression," he said.

As many as 10 videos are online celebrating the allure of signing up for the Russian army.

But given the crudity of the ads, the Russian advertisers might have gone downhill professionally, or instead, the opposite is true -- they know their target audience and are hitting it spot on: the entire campaign comes down to money. If you join the army, you will earn big bucks, unimaginable in civilian life.

'A real man' status

In one video we meet Sasha, a woebegone cartoon character in every sense, and his friend Petya. Petya proves to be smarter. According to the ad, he "broke out of a vicious cycle and changed his life -- Petya enlisted".

Sasha listened to him, and "now he's earning more money than he ever dreamed of, and he has a new career, new friends, opportunities for advancement, free health care and benefits. He also has the status of a veteran and the respect that comes with that," the video says.

This heartwarming story of the transformation of a sad sack ends with the central message: "[Sasha] is a real man!"

Then there is Grisha, pursued by loan sharks who vow to break his arms, but he shakes them off with a little piece of paper: an army contract.

This video targets men who are up to their ears in debt. They are told up front that according to a new law, anyone who signs a contract with the Russian army will get a guaranteed repayment holiday.

"If you enlist in the army, you can escape the bottomless quagmire of debt," the ad says.

In other words, while you are risking your life in a war of aggression, no one may come after you to repay a debt or interest.

The rest is implied: if you do manage to make it out alive, you will still need to pay up. If you die, your family will inherit your debts but will have generous compensation to help pay it off.

At least one video, rather than playing on dreams of enrichment, appeals to personal values.

In this ad, a young banker absconds to Georgia "forever" to escape the mobilisation that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered in September. His wise female neighbours comment, "The boys have left, but the men have stayed."

The message is that "real men" do not dodge a war. They do not move to Georgia, Kazakhstan or Mongolia to work remotely. And tomorrow their homeland will send them to earn combat medals, as well as lifelong memories of the "special military operation".

Those who do not expect to survive the euphemistic war can at least take comfort knowing that their families will receive a white Lada -- if the government will acknowledge that they died rather than declare them "missing".

Russian vs. Soviet propaganda

Russian propaganda has not always been primitive.

Those who lived under the Soviet regime remember the scale and power of its propaganda machine, especially when it was glorifying the military.

For example, the iconic World War II poster that declares, "The motherland calls" still packs a punch among certain so-called patriots.

Many in the post-Soviet sphere have heard of the poster's creator, a Georgian artist named Irakli Toidze (1902-1985).

His nephew, David Amirejibi of Tbilisi, director of the Centre for Communication Resources, an NGO, viewed the new Russian army ads for Caravanserai. The overall attitude of the campaign did not surprise him.

"The Soviet Union won't fall apart for good until its elites cease to exist, both in Russia and in the other former republics," he said.

None of the video ads has any information about who commissioned them, but it is hard to imagine that the Russian government was not behind an uncredited ad urging its viewers to go to their deaths, he said.

"Modern Russian war propaganda is distinctive for its infinite cynicism when it comes to its own population," said Amirejibi, a professional psychologist.

"[Such advertising] will lead them to slaughter in a war whose only goal is to save the Soviet elite. It's an attempt to revive the evil empire."

An ad to suit the audience

The simplicity of the ads is telling, said Molodini.

"The audience of these ads isn't looking for creativity," he said. "There's no need to offer arguments or go deep into social psychology. It's all simple: you'll get money and prestige if you stay alive."

"There's also another aspect: a good ad requires time and money," he said. "Ukraine's military successes are taking this advantage away from Russia."

An enlistment contract gives you the chance to boldly state an opinion or bare your soul, the ads imply.

"Sergeich, there's something I've been wanting to tell you for a long time: you're a greedy bastard!" the hero of another ad tells his manager.

Still, there are some controversial heroes in these ads. One example is Seryoga, who blithely sells his flock and father's house. After returning from the front, he buys a decidedly un-Russian Ford, making him the envy of his childhood friends.

Another ad tells the story of a father who yet again is not paid at his factory and who places his chest in the path of NATO bullets solely to buy his daughter the latest iPhone.

Incidentally, both iPhone and Ford announced that they were pulling out of the Russian market a few months ago.