By Olha Chepil | 2025-10-15

Marching straight from the battlefield to the halls of power, participants of Russia's war in Ukraine are being tapped as the country's next political class.

The Kremlin has launched a new path for social mobility, inviting veterans of the so-called "special military operation" to become deputies and officials.

"We must seek, find and promote people who are not afraid of anything in serving their homeland and who are willing to risk their health and their lives. And such people need to be promoted to leadership positions. They will be our successors," President Vladimir Putin said on September 19, according to the Kremlin's press service.

He has previously described veterans as Russia's "new elite."

Upward social mobility

Experts say the Kremlin is legitimizing the war by turning veterans into heroes and promoting them as a path to social mobility for those with little administrative experience. Loyalty, they argue, now outweighs competence, reinforcing President Putin's power vertical.

"Putin also uses special military operation officers to pressure old officials, creating a controlled conflict where he acts as the supreme arbiter. This only strengthens his central role in the system," Igor Petrenko, director of United Ukraine think tank, told Kontur.

President Putin's goal is to create a new group of elites who are unconditionally loyal and will help legitimize the war.

"Special military operation veterans are a resource for consolidating Putin's power. They are a crucial but also very complex and controversial resource," Petrenko noted.

In practice, most veterans receive low-level or symbolic posts in regional governments, according to Igor Reiterovich of the Ukrainian Center for Social Development. At most, some may rise to governor.

"For Putin, this is primarily PR, a distraction, an attempt to placate [veterans of the special military operation] and show that it makes sense to die 'for the motherland'," he told Kontur.

Forceful management

Analysts say the influx of war veterans into Russian government posts is reinforcing repression and militarized practices. Combat experience, reliance on force and an "enemy" worldview risk carrying into civilian life.

"The general trend toward increased repression, xenophobia and a militarized society will only intensify," said Petrenko.

He added that the new elite embraces a "besieged fortress" ideology and is accustomed to force.

The September 14 elections highlighted the veterans' political rise. Of 1,616 candidates with military backgrounds across 81 regions, 830 -- all from United Russia -- won seats.

Olga Romanova, head of Russia Behind Bars, told Kontur that veterans faced competition from former convicts, who submitted nearly 3,000 applications. The number of convicts on the ballot was more than double that of returning soldiers.

Romanova said many veterans are being placed in symbolic roles as "ceremonial generals." She pointed to former Sparta Battalion commander Artem Zhoga, appointed presidential envoy to the Ural Federal District, as an example.

"He has a position that is of no use to anyone, has no authority, and is of no interest to anyone," she noted, adding that such figures "will sit on presidiums, in positions where they are told, 'Don't touch anything with your hands.'"

Analysts say the integration of veterans is systematic.

Reiterovich argued President Putin values them for following orders, just as they did in the army, and will fold them into the political system the same way.

The party of war

Analysts say veterans' influence extends beyond domestic politics, reinforcing militarization and confrontation with the West. Many view NATO and Ukraine as permanent enemies, a perception that locks in hostility.

"The foreign policy course toward confrontation will be put into cement once and for all," said Petrenko.

He added that this new "party of war" ensures any real de-escalation with the West would undermine their power.

Promoting veterans mirrors the reality of combat, analysts say.

Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets has reported more than 167,000 war crimes since Russia's full-scale invasion, with over 45,000 civilians killed or wounded and more than 625 children dead. Observers argue such figures show the "expertise in violence" veterans now carry into politics.

"The war never ends. More and more are mobilizing. There will be more and more of these veterans. The survivors, that is. They will mostly all die. So, the problems with them are still ahead," said Romanova.

Analysts warn that bringing veterans into power will harden militaristic attitudes, deepen confrontation with the West and make Kremlin policy even more rigid and unpredictable.