The contract serviceman was convicted in Nalchik for being absent from service.

The court in Nalchik sentenced contract serviceman Zolotorev to 10 years in prison, finding him guilty of being absent from service for more than a month.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on September 24, 2022, parts 2.1, 3.1, and 5 of Article 337 on desertion or absence without leave during mobilization were introduced into the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The amendments provide for imprisonment for up to 10 years. The tightening of legislation after the announcement of mobilization led to harsher sentences for absence from military units or desertion.

Vladimir Putin announced partial mobilization on September 21, 2022. On October 28 of the same year, the Minister of Defense reported to the president about its completion, but no corresponding decree followed. Lawyers concluded that a presidential decree is not needed to complete partial mobilization, explained Putin's press secretary. At the same time, on December 12, 2023, a military court in Maykop emphasized in the sentence of a mobilized individual who left the unit in June 2023 that "partial mobilization has been declared in the Russian Federation, which was not completed at the time of the crime."

According to the case materials, serviceman Zolotorev was absent from service in the military unit from February 17 to June 22. The investigation believes that during this period he spent time at his discretion, including at his place of residence.

In March 2024, Zolotorev signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense and was conditionally released. Since he did not serve the sentence from the last conviction, the Nalchik garrison military court sentenced Zolotorev to 10 years of imprisonment in a strict regime colony, finding him guilty of being absent from service for more than one month.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that earlier the court in Nalchik sentenced serviceman Islam Guchev to six years in prison, finding him guilty of desertion.