At the top of a metro escalator in Moscow, Alexandre and Piotr were discussing the follow-up to the Kremlin's "special military operation" in Ukraine: "We have to go. We have to defend our country!" It was one of the most unlikely places in Moscow for two young men – who wish to remain anonymous – to be discussing the new recruitment drive launched this fall, heavily promoted on the streets to attract volunteers for the front.

Recruitment information booths have now been set up at the entrances to major metro stations such as Kiyevskaya – the station named after the Ukrainian capital – where Alexandre, seated at a table covered with glossy green and blue army leaflets, was replying to the standing Piotr, a well-built passenger in transit, with resolute eyes and who was not much of a talker. The exchange between the two self-assured men in their thirties lasted barely a minute. The first had fulfilled his informative mission. The second left with the promise of a fabulous income: He could earn 5.2 million rubles (about €50,000) in one year.

"They sign up for both patriotism and the money!" said Alexandre, smiling ironically. In teams of two, he and dozens of other metro employees take turns throughout the day sitting at the recruitment tables. "The metro is the city. And the city is the state. We're all rallying for victory," he said between two comments about the "Kyiv's fascist regime," and the hiring of "French mercenaries" to help NATO against Russia. Those few words, in the middle of the crowd, encapsulated the narrative that has been repeated for the last two and a half years by the Kremlin, adding a link to the chain of its various propaganda outlets: television, schools, theater and now the metro.

The service prospectus, like the posters plastered all over the city – on benches, at station exits, store entrances and on the front of buildings – lays out promised salaries and bonuses, co-financed by the defense ministry and Moscow's city hall. It offers a signing bonus of 2.3 million rubles, followed by a monthly salary of at least 260,000 rubles. According to Bloomberg, Russia's annual military spending in 2025 will increase by 25%, making up 40% of total state spending, or 6.2% of its gross domestic product – a record for the post-Soviet period.

'It could be very profitable'

At the information booths, metro staff explain additional benefits for volunteers. The program offers a path to upward mobility, with incentives like vocational training for wives, free school meals, direct university entrance for students, medical aid for grandparents and psychological support for the entire family. There is also a guaranteed three million rubles in the event a husband returns in a coffin.

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