Yandex Displays Over 1 Billion Military Recruitment Ads to Russians in 2024

The Russian government intensified online military recruitment ads in 2024, with the Ministry of Digital Development generating over 1 billion impressions in the Yandex network in a report by the Russian media outlet Verstka .

Yandex, Russia’s leading tech company, is often compared to Google due to its dominance in search, advertising, and AI-driven services. In the report, the company allegedly facilitated these campaigns using its extensive ad network.

Verstka’s analysis found recruitment ads surged fivefold by the end of 2024, led by the Russian Ministry of Digital Development and Russian regional governments, including Moscow and Tyumen. Local Russian administrations and Russian private firms like Websellers also placed ads.

Recruitment ads extended beyond Russia, with over 12.6 million views in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Azerbaijan. In Bishkek and Tashkent, they appeared more often than in most Russian regions, excluding Moscow and Krasnodar.

The Russian Ministry of Digital Development increased military recruitment ads online from 171 million to 1 billion impressions in 2024, directing users to a streamlined Russian State Services application. Following Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region, Moscow intensified recruitment efforts, doubling or tripling the frequency of military enlistment ads.

Labeled as “social advertising,” these ads were placed for free under quotas managed by the Russian Institute for Internet Development (IRI) . In 2023, the Russian Ministry coordinated directly with the IRI to distribute recruitment ads.

Regional ads emphasized financial incentives, with 86% featuring payment offers, such as Tyumen’s  “2,000,000 immediately” and Tula’s  “5 million rubles per year.” By contrast, the Ministry’s ads focused on patriotism (73%), social status (55%), and benefits (39%).

In August 2024, slogans like “Defending the Motherland is the job of real men” were replaced with direct appeals to individuals, incorporating phrases like “support the country” and “provide for your family.” Despite this shift, financial incentives still appeared in a third of ads.

Earlier, on February 8, it was reported that Russian forces in Luhansk are closing and merging schools due to declining student numbers and teacher shortages, with some buildings repurposed for military use.