By Sultan Musayev | 2025-05-01

BISHKEK -- A convicted murderer tied to the Wagner Group, a city hall public relations employee and a Russian cultural center employee are among four people Kyrgyzstan has jailed for allegedly trying to recruit local men to fight in Ukraine, marking a public pushback against Moscow's influence in Central Asia.

Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security (GKNB) arrested the four earlier in April on charges of recruiting mercenaries to fight in foreign wars, a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Although the GKNB has not released full names or details, media reports have identified three of the suspects.

They include Nataliya Sekerina, a Kyrgyz citizen employed since July 2023 in the media relations department of the Russian House in Osh, and Sergei Lapushkin, a staffer in the Osh mayor's press office. The Russian House, a "soft power" and propaganda arm of the Kremlin, confirmed Sekerina's arrest on April 17.

The third suspect named by media is Viktor Vasilyev, a Russian political strategist linked to late Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin. Vasilyev, whose real last name is Lukovenko, is a member of the nationalist group Russian Verdict, investigative outlet Dossier Center reports. In 2011, a Moscow court convicted him of murdering a Sri Lankan native in 2009 during the Russian March demonstration. He served five years in prison.

Dossier also links Lukovenko to Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU, citing his past involvement in recruiting pro-Russian activists in Ukraine.

The identity of the fourth suspect remains unknown. All four are being held in pre-trial detention until at least June 17.

The arrests anger Moscow

Observers found the arrests to be no surprise, noting that Rossotrudnichestvo's activities abroad have long gone beyond cultural outreach. The agency, which oversees Russian Houses worldwide, promotes Russian culture and soft power overseas but is widely viewed as a tool of Kremlin influence and intelligence operations.

"These 'Russian Houses', under the guise of cultural exchange, have been carrying out special missions abroad together with Russian intelligence agencies for many years," Askat Dukenbayev, a Bishkek-based political scientist, told Kontur.

Incidentally, in February Azerbaijani authorities closed the Russian House in their capital, Baku, citing the defense of national interests and opposition to foreign interference. Moscow responded cautiously to that decision. In contrast, it has peppered its reaction to the arrests in Kyrgyzstan with threats and indignation.

Mikhail Matveyev, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Regional Policy, proposed blocking money transfers to Kyrgyzstan, saying "a great power has a million ways to put a small, insolent organization that is acting brazenly in its place."

Nina Ostanina, who chairs the Duma's Committee for the Protection of the Family, called the move "deep ingratitude and betrayal."

"I hope that those who initiated the arrests of the people connected to the Russian House will bitterly regret their action," she added.

Rossotrudnichestvo director Yevgeny Primakov threatened to draw "effective and unpleasant" conclusions about Kyrgyzstan, declaring, "We don't abandon our own!" -- a slogan closely associated with Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Recruitment process is 'systemic'

In a Facebook post, Semetey Amanbekov, a Bishkek-based journalist and editor-in-chief of Exclusive.kg, described Russia's recruitment of Kyrgyz citizens as a "threat to national security" and argued that Kyrgyzstan's real enemy is not the West, as Kremlin propagandists claim, but Russia itself.

Public discontent over such recruitment has been simmering for some time. Three earlier cases sparked widespread reaction.

In one, Askar Kubanychbek-uulu received a seven-year prison sentence for fighting in Ukraine but fled to Russia while on probation, according to Radio Azattyk. In another, a man from Aravan village in Osh province got five years for participating in the so-called "special military operation." A third case involved Beknazar Borugul-uulu from Naryn province, who had fought with the Wagner Group and was later released under an amnesty after serving time.

While no official data exist on the scope of recruitment, the practice is "systemic," Bishkek-based attorney Islam Baigarayev, director of the city's bar association, told Kontur.

"Most often, it is our migrant workers, representatives of the unprotected, vulnerable segments of the population, who end up on the front line. Russian officials see them as cannon fodder," he said.

Deception, promises, threats

Earlier this year, Ukraine's "I Want To Live" project published lists of 360 Kyrgyz and 661 Kazakh citizens who had fought or were still fighting for Russia in Ukraine.

Russia recruits Central Asian men through deception, threats or promises of high pay, the site said.

"Some are [falsely] offered jobs as security guards at some business, others are promised a huge ... monthly salary and Russian citizenship, and others are threatened with prison or deportation. The outcome is the same for everyone," "I Want To Live" added.

In December 2023, Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubayev said the Foreign Ministry had helped repatriate the bodies of 213 citizens who died abroad that year. He did not specify how many were killed in Ukraine.

Kyrgyz law prohibits citizens from participating in foreign wars. Those who fight in Ukraine, like those who recruit them, face up to 10 years in prison. Russian authorities, however, have shown little concern for the legal status of such recruitment.

The use of coercion, false promises and the targeting of vulnerable migrant workers reflects the "ordinary Ruscism," or Russian fascism, that has permeated the Russian state, said Dukenbayev.

"It's time for Kyrgyz citizens and those of other countries considered allies of Russia to realize that [it] is neither an ally nor a friend. It is a dangerous state governed by a fascist regime," he said.