Conscription began in the spring in Russia. Who can be called for military service? Can a conscript soldier be sent to fight?

From April 1 to July 15, 134,500 people were to be called up for military service with Russian troops. Who can draft into the army? Can a conscript soldier be sent to war? Are there legal ways to refuse military service?

The DW asked these questions to Alexander Peredruk, an attorney for the international human rights group Agora, which specializes in protecting the rights of conscripts and military personnel.

DW: Recently, the State Duma postponed the final consideration of the bill on army subpoenas until April. Therefore, from the beginning of the spring draft, the conscript, as before, must give the summons in person. What will change with the enactment of the new law, and when it can take effect?

Alexander Peredruk: Consideration of the bill on the third reading agendas, in fact, was postponed until April. Moreover, even if it is approved, for it to take effect it is necessary that it be considered by the Federation Council and then signed by the president. Thus, at the beginning of the draft, the rule for serving subpoenas will not change – an employee of the military commissariat will still have to give them to the conscript in person and under his or her signature. Or it can be done through the employer or at the conscript’s place of study – through the military registration desk. On the other hand, it is undeniable that the changes will be adopted in April and will take effect, for example, from early May.

The new bill involves some major changes. The first is, of course, the possibility of notifying conscripts with subpoenas sent by registered mail. If this bill is passed in its present form, persons receiving a summons after the date of conscription stated herein will be required to appear alone at the military commissariat, where they will be issued a new summons with the current date. .

Another change is that young people who have reached military age, who, for some reason, did not receive calls during the current draft, but without any delay, if a new law is adopted, they will have to arrive. to the military commission within the first two weeks after the start of the next call.

– And who is eligible for deferment of conscription?

– All categories are listed in Article 24 of the Federal Law “On Military Duty and Military Service”. But in general, delays can be divided into several types. The first has to do with health. If, during a medical examination, a conscript is found to be ill from the list of diseases approved by a government decree, he or she is designated a fitness category “G” (temporarily ineligible for in military service.— Pula.) and provide an extended period of up to one year.

The second type of delay is associated with education at different levels. It can be secondary general education (in case of successful completion of the education process, another delay is shown until October 1, so that a person has the opportunity to enter a university or college), secondary specialist or higher education. There are so -called social delays. They are accepted, for example, by people who continue to care for parents or other close relatives, guardians of minor brothers or sisters, fathers of two or more children, or fathers of children with disabilities under three years of age.

There are deferrals for those who enter the service of internal affairs bodies or are elected to the State Duma. One of the most discussed changes today is a deferral for IT specialists, the introduction order which the President signed on March 2, but it says the categories of people eligible for the deferral are it should be established by the government of the Russian Federation, so far no one has enjoyed. Recently, the government published a press release on the adoption of a regulatory legal law, but it has not yet been published.

– In peacetime, the army can be drafted from 18 to 27 years old. Has the age of conscription changed due to the fact that Russia has already begun war in Ukraine?

– The age of conscription was established by the Federal Law “On Military Duty and Military Service”, and it remained the same: from 18 to 27 years. In Russia, there is still a separate performance of military duty for those registered in the military and in reserve. It may have been a call for military training or mobilization, but so far no one has expressed mobilization, and military training is still significantly different from military service by conscription.

– Pwedeng sundalo–send conscripts to war?

– Law (Decree of the President of the Russian Federation “Issues of military service” – Ed.) does not prohibit the sending of conscripts for military service to areas of military operations. But it provides two conditions: it can be done only four months after the start of service, and the conscript must receive a specialty in military registration. After that, a person can perform military service, including combat conditions.

– What awaits the soldier–a conscript who refuses to participate in battles?

– In this case, the serviceman may be criminally liable under Article 332 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation – non -compliance with an order. The penalty under this article provides for arrest for up to six months or detention in a military disciplinary unit for up to two years. In this case, the serviceman is in a unit with a special regime, where corrective measures are applied to him, for example, labor participation. At the same time, time spent in a military unit of the discipline is not included in the term of service.

– What to do if the conscript does not want to serve in the military?

– If we are talking about a major refusal to hold a weapon, you can exercise the right to alternative civilian service. This right has two categories of citizens of the Russian Federation. The first category is small indigenous people engaged in traditional trade, and the second category is people with beliefs opposed to military service. It can be absolutely any belief – religious, secular, and so on.

– How should act conscript who refused to join the army because of conscience?

– In this case, the recruit must apply to the military commissariat with a statement describing his beliefs and motives in choosing the alternative civilian service. The application must be accompanied by an autobiography and a reference from the place of study or work. The military commissariat submits an application to the draft commission, which makes a decision to replace military service with the conscription of an alternative civilian or refuse to satisfy this application.

– conscript should provide some evidence that the conviction of conscience forbids him to bear arms?

– In accordance with the decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, internal beliefs do not have to be proven, but they must be proven. If someone on the draft board just says he’s a pacifist, it won’t be enough – you have to explain your value system, which prohibits military service. That is, checking the sincerity of beliefs is quite acceptable.

– Putin’s order on conscription in the spring refers to the dismissal of military personnel whose term of service on conscription has expired. Are there legal or semi-legal ways to re-register conscripts as contract soldiers and thus extend their stay in the army?

– The very concept of “re-register” is not entirely legal. A conscripted soldier can enter into a contract of military service and become a professional soldier, no matter how long he or she serves. This can happen on the very first day of military service or even before entering military service by conscription. And this could happen on the last day of military service. The contract is terminated at any time, but it must be signed exclusively voluntarily – this is the main condition stated in Russian law, and this voluntarily is fixed in the text of the contract.

– Do you know the cases when they tried to keep a conscript in the army, to convince him to sign a contract using blackmail, bribery or some–done another way?

– I have no such cases.

– Has it become more difficult for lawyers to protect the rights of future and current conscripts?

– It depends on what period of time and what rights should be discussed. As a lawyer, I specialize in protecting the rights of conscripts and military personnel and deal with the widest range of cases – from illegal conscription, when the fitness category is ignored, to death cases of military personnel due to hazing, and each other. case very individual all. The new call will start on April 1, so it’s too early to know if anything has changed or not. So far, I would not say that it has become more difficult to protect military personnel.