Three levels of decay: how russian army personnel went from workers to prisoners to the hopeless

Estonian milblogger Teet Kalmus has highlighted new posts from Russian “z-bloggers” revealing what they describe as the worsening quality of recruits joining the Russian army.

One of them, writing under the pseudonym Vault-8, detailed from personal experience how mobilized soldiers have gone from capable working men to prisoners and, most recently, desperate alcoholics.

Vault-8, who was himself mobilized three years ago in September, said the early wave of recruits formed the backbone of Russia’s forces. But since then, the quality has steadily declined — with each new stage marked by weaker and less prepared men.

The decline unfolded in three stages:

1. The first half of 2024. Mostly men aged 40–60, often working-class and with limited understanding of the war beyond state television reports. “They didn’t know what kind of hell they were going into,” Vault-8 wrote.

2. August–September 2024. Mostly prisoners, described as thin, sick, and in poor health. Their commanders, in contrast, appeared strong and well-fed — “like bodybuilders next to them,” he said.

3. January 2025. Now the main addition was alcoholics, whose physical condition was even worse than that of ex-prisoners. With the last addition, the problem arose that these people simply started to die, even before going into battle! They were not even able to walk in full gear, yet somehow they signed a contract. Most likely someone simply took the large lump sum given when signing the contract.

Other Russian “z-bloggers” discussing the issue say the only reason Russia can still push offensives is that Ukraine faces its own manpower shortage. Ukrainian officials, for their part, emphasize their focus on preserving infantry lives — relying on drones to destroy Russian forces before they reach Ukrainian positions.