In April, Vladimir Putin signed the law on electronic summonses, which introduces new restrictions on non-appearance at the military registration and enlistment office and closes the exit from the country upon receipt of the summons. Moreover, it will be considered delivered regardless of whether the recipient knows about it. When receiving a summons, it is better to take an active position – prepare medical documents or an application for alternative civilian service , explains the volunteer of the Movement of Conscious Objectors . The Russians use these and other scenarios for communicating with the military registration and enlistment office.
Apply for alternative service
When performing alternative service, a person does not go to a military unit, but remains at a civilian job. Every year, the Ministry of Labor approves the lists of professions for which you can work in this case. Among them , for example: a road worker, a baker, a tractor driver, a seamstress, a welding engineer, a chemist, a rehabilitation specialist for the disabled, a dental technician, a medical psychologist, a choreographer and others. By law, alternative service lasts longer than military service (usually 21 months), and those people whose beliefs or religion are contrary to military service can apply for it. Among them is 22-year-old Sergei from Novosibirsk <hereinafter, the names have been changed in the interests of the heroes – The Insider> . He decided to do alternative service and get a master's degree: he will have study leaves for sessions that are not included in this period, because of which his service will generally last approximately two years.
Sergey applied at the beginning of June 2022:
“I made the statement on the model of the DSO. They have a cool video on how to fill out an application, there was a link to the template in the description. I myself entered there only a paragraph expressing my views. In short, I wrote that I consider military service a waste of time and that it is better for a modern person to spend time on self-development. The military commissar, reading his statement, said that the young man had a "UN convention of the brain" and that he "would corrupt the Armed Forces with his views."
Following the consideration of the application, Sergey was sent to serve in dentistry:
“I worked as a janitor for a month, first in the day shifts, then in the night shifts, and then became a courier at the front desk. Here the schedule is alternating: for example, from 7:00 to 14:00 on even days and from 13:00 to 20:00 on odd days. But often it turns out to leave early. Now I receive about 22,000 rubles a month.”
Despite the fact that the clause that an appeal against any decision of the commission suspends conscription was removed from the law, this provision remained in the law on alternative service, said the head of the human rights group “Citizen. Army. Right” Sergey Krivenko: “If a citizen appeals against the decision of the draft commission for alternative service, then the call is suspended.” Regarding alternative service during mobilization, there is a gap in the legislation, notes the volunteer of the Movement of Conscious Objectors. The Constitution says that a citizen has the right to it, but the details of the organization are not spelled out. They are registered only for conscription. In this regard, there were cases when people who are subject to mobilization applied for alternative service and as a result did not go anywhere, experts say.
If a citizen appeals against the decision of the draft commission on the ACS, then the call is suspended
Applying for alternative civilian service is the only safe legal path, Krivenko is sure. The expert recommends sending an application in advance and continuing to insist on your requirements for joining the military registration and enlistment office:
“In no case should you sign any documents there, appeal against the decision of the draft commission, take an active position. A person who is actively behaving and demanding alternative service will not be sent to military service and will not be sent to civilian service, because it does not exist – there is no corresponding law for mobilization, this service has not yet been created. There is no criminal prosecution during mobilization at all, and there will also be no restrictions, because a person is on a subpoena. But we must understand that this is not an easy path: in the military registration and enlistment office, a person can be pressured, deceived, threatened with a criminal case. We must prepare in advance and lead a clear line. If a person holds out, he will not fall into the war.
Egor, a 25-year-old designer from the Leningrad Region , has been trying to get alternative service for eight years: he wrote an application for almost every call, was refused, appealed in court, and then filed again. About two years ago, he nevertheless received approval, but still has not received a summons for a medical examination. While he is undergoing a medical examination on his own. He says that the summons that has not been handed over now is a problem, rather, for him, and not for the military registration and enlistment office.
The young man says that he was constantly in touch with the military registration and enlistment office, provided all the necessary information, informed about the place of residence and education. However, in 2018, police officers came to the university dormitory to pick him up, twisted him, and dislocated his shoulder. Despite a complaint about the actions of the police to the Investigative Committee, they did not bear any responsibility.
Very important tools are publicity and a personal anti-militarist position, he is sure:
“If they take me away, I’ll sit on the floor and won’t go anywhere. If a person decides not to go anywhere, not to sign anything, not to put on a military uniform, not to learn how to kill people and, moreover, not to put this knowledge into practice, then no one will force him.”
If they take me away, I'll sit on the floor and won't go anywhere.
Yegor considers the most dangerous situation to be a military conscription, when a person is taken to the military registration and enlistment office, despite the documents, and from there they are already taken to a collection point. He suggests that this will be the main problem of people who remain in Russia, and for this case it is very important to have a plan. Egor recommends studying the materials of the Movement of Conscious Objectors, preparing a security folder, a power of attorney for loved ones.
There is a risk of forced conscription, says Krivenko, but still there were very few such cases when people were taken away with the police, “by the hands by the legs and pushed into the buses”:
“A person is not a suitcase. For the most part, people go, they are given subpoenas, and then they appear on these subpoenas, get on the bus, go to the unit and go to the collection points. There, a person is already being formalized as a serviceman, and this status is now completely transcendental in the sense that all his rights will be violated. A soldier now has virtually no rights. If he refuses to comply with the order, then 10-12 years in prison can be.
Don't show up as scheduled during the adjournment
Faced with pressure from the military enlistment office and 20-year-old Anatoly from Kazan : materials on it were transferred to the Investigative Committee in order to initiate a criminal case on evasion. He graduated from college, after which he learned that a deferment from service is granted only once : if a person took advantage of the deferment when entering college, then when entering a university, he is no longer entitled to a deferral.
Since December 2021, summons began to come to him, despite the current deferral of studies. By law, it is impossible to serve a summons for a medical examination and a meeting of the draft board while the delay is in effect. But Anatoly did not know about this before, so he came to the military registration and enlistment office on the agenda to clarify the data and managed to pass the medical examination:
“The last summons to clarify the data (on June 20) was clearly to be sent. My friend helped me figure it out. I sent them a letter that my data has not changed. On June 21, they call me and tell me to come tomorrow at 9 am. I told them to send me a summons, to which they answered that the summons is only with the police. After that, no more summonses were sent until autumn.”
The next time, Anatoly received a summons for October 5, despite the fact that there was no conscription in October: due to mobilization, it was started a month later, in November. He ignored this summons, because it was simply thrown into the box, and not handed over as it should be. People who introduced themselves as employees of the military registration and enlistment office and district police officers came to Anatoly's mother, called her, left business cards at the door with a request to call back.
In December, Anatoly sent an application for alternative service to his military registration and enlistment office, to the main military registration and enlistment office, to the executive committee and the office of the commissioner for human rights. After that, he was sent a summons to work. He sent a complaint, in which, among other things, he indicated that the summons was handed to him not in three days, but in one. The response of the chief military commissariat stated that the deadlines for serving the summons were advisory in nature and the summons did not have to be served three days in advance.
At the meeting where it was planned to consider his application, Anatoly was summoned not by a summons, but by a letter, which he ignored. A man who introduced himself as an employee of the military registration and enlistment office, but did not give his name, threatened Anatoly that he would put him on the wanted list, called him a deviationist, and also demanded that his mother sign the summons. After Anatoly called him, he left without leaving a summons:
“The next day, another person brought the summons, it was already on April 25th. According to it, I had already decided to appear, the reason was indicated there – a meeting of the draft board. Several people went with me: my girlfriend, a friend and my aunt. This is necessary at least in order to make me calmer, because when you are alone there, they put a lot of pressure psychologically, they can literally devour you.”
When you're alone there, they put a lot of psychological pressure on you, they can literally devour you.
By law, the applicant may bring with him people who will confirm his convictions.
On the appointed day, Anatoly came to the military registration and enlistment office with a support group, but he was told that there would be no meeting, since the materials on him had already been transferred to the Investigative Committee as a deviator. The next day, Anatoly sent several complaints about the actions of the military registration and enlistment office, as well as requests to the UK:
“As an alternative worker, they consider me a deviationist, but I am not hiding, I worked at an official job that year, and I am not obliged to live according to my registration. I'm not hiding, I sent an application to an alternative service, they are obliged to consider it and refuse or agree.
The military commissar, in response to Anatoly's appeal, sent a letter in which he said that his application could not be considered, since the materials on the case were transferred to the Investigative Committee – it will decide whether to initiate a criminal case under Part 2 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code (Evasion from alternative civilian service of persons exempted from military service). That is, Anatoly can be prosecuted for evading alternative service, which he has not yet been assigned. A similar response was sent from the city municipality, specifying, however, that a case could be initiated under Article 238 of the Criminal Code (Production, storage, transportation or sale of goods and products, performance of work or provision of services that do not meet safety requirements).
If a person appears on the agenda, then the restrictions do not apply to him and he does not face criminal liability, Krivenko explained:
“If the conscription commission denies a person the right to alternative service, he goes to court, sues, and before the next call he again submits an application, demanding that he be considered again. Such a practice exists, sometimes a conscript is forced to apply for several calls, to sue the military enlistment offices. This is a path for persistent and active conscripts, but it is reliable and legal.”
It seems to be a common thing to send out subpoenas during the current deferment for military registration and enlistment offices: this was the case with 18-year-old Evgeny from Chelyabinsk . He was called for a medical examination in April, but he came to the military enlistment office and refused to undergo a medical examination during the delay. They tried to persuade him, but then they handed him a summons for June:
“According to the law, you cannot be called for a medical examination until the end of the program, which ends on June 30 for college students. But if the defense of the diploma takes place earlier, then the program will be considered completed. At the military registration and enlistment office they told me that they would agree that my diploma defense would take place earlier – on June 15, and they wrote out a summons for June 16.
Employees of the military registration and enlistment office told Yevgeny that otherwise they would not have had time to call up anyone in the two weeks that remain from the end of the deferment to the end of the draft. Spring conscription in Russia lasts from April 1 to July 15. Eugene plans to apply for alternative service, and in case of refusal, to appeal this decision and submit a new application:
“One way or another, I understand that I will not join the army, no matter what it costs me, even after the end of the war. Apart from the simple danger to life, it would be simply disgusting to me. If necessary, I will leave Russia, since Kazakhstan is not far away. If they close the exit, I’ll probably open up.”
If necessary, I will leave Russia, since Kazakhstan is not far away. Close the exit – open, probably
He does not believe that the new restrictions will work: “It doesn’t fit in my head how these women in the military registration and enlistment office will enter some data into some registers. I doubt that there is at least one computer for the entire military registration and enlistment office, the building of our military registration and enlistment office looks more like an abandoned one.
The young man does not plan to leave the country: he needs to finish his studies. In addition, it is difficult for Evgeny to imagine how he will live alone in an unfamiliar country: “I used to want to leave, in general, there were a lot of different ambitions. Now all my ambitions are not to go to war, cool.
If we talk about military service, then you can delay the process of sending to the unit by filing a petition with the court for interim measures so that the conscript is not sent to serve during the proceedings, the volunteer of the “Movement of Conscious Objectors” recommends. In case of refusal, you can file a complaint against the court’s ruling: “Even if nothing happened, you still don’t have to go to the army. Because it is very possible that the whole process will be delayed until the end of the call. In this case, the decision to call up will be canceled as unrealized, because it is impossible to send a person to the place of service when the call has already ended.”
During the postponement, 22-year-old Mikhail from the Altai Territory also received a summons. He graduates from high school and is engaged in producing: his agency helps young talents in music and art. He and all his classmates were summoned to the dean's office, without giving a reason, where they were handed the summons.
According to him, employees of the military enlistment office threaten the police, and the latter, in turn, fulfills the illegal requirements of the military registration and enlistment office:
“All this is illegal. And this goes on for years. I'm trying to resist this, but it's useless, because the military registration and enlistment office and the police are working together. On my part, there were several complaints to higher authorities, and this helped. They do all this under the guise of the fact that this is not a type of recruitment event, but simply the establishment of a category of fitness, despite the fact that there is no such thing in the law at all.
Mikhail said that they left him alone for a while, but then they called again and demanded to appear, threatening the police. When he reminded the recruiter that it was illegal, he agreed.
Now Mikhail is collecting documents for exemption from health service. If the recruiting office refuses, he will sue. Mikhail is sure that "they are afraid of the court like fire." He considers the new law on restrictions on absenteeism as unconstitutional and says it will make his life as difficult as possible: “This is military serfdom. I am an entrepreneur and this is the loss of everything for me. We have already been deprived of our rights and freedoms, and now we simply cannot earn and live. I also often travel abroad for work. And we were deprived of this opportunity.”
Collect medical records
Alexey from the Novosibirsk region is finishing his bachelor's degree. The extension is valid until the end of August. Previously, Alexey planned to continue his studies at the magistracy, but he would not be able to enter the budget, and there was no money to pay for tuition. He recalls that at some point he was seized by a panic – his close friend died in the winter, who was mobilized in the fall: “Immediately after school he was taken away for an “urgent”, he served as a driver. He graduated from high school right before mobilization, in October they immediately pulled him. In the winter I got under the arrival.
Since adolescence, Alexei has been suffering from chronic depression against the background of the fact that his identity (agender asexual) is most often either not understood or ridiculed. The young man was looking for any opportunity to escape the war, was ready to get into debt to leave Russia, but decided to overcome fear, defend the right to exemption from military service and joined the "Movement of Conscious Objectors":
“I learned how with depression through PND <psycho-neurological dispensary – The Insider> you can achieve release. I was advised to prepare for the hospital. I confess I'm afraid of it. State psychiatry for LGBTQ+ people… I’m afraid that they will start treating me for my orientation and will try to stuff me with pills.”
In addition, Aleksey wants to help his younger brother, who is finishing the 10th grade, and his friends “so that they can survive” with the release from service.
Aleksey says that he not only found support, but was also inspired by the example of other people who are ready to fight for their rights: “I found like-minded LGBTQ+ people who, unlike me, did not lose their stamina and determination. I realized that I want to be like that. That I want not only to survive, but to defend my rights. I'm definitely not a hero. I am weak. I'm afraid. But now I am not alone, and therefore I will fight.
Ignore the recruiting office
Kirill from St. Petersburg is 24 years old, he works at a school in St. Petersburg: “We have a private school, it is a little liberal: we try not to raise flags, not to attract attention, we don’t sing the anthem, and we have “talking about important things” , of course, our own – about what is truly important for us. A few days ago, he first received a summons. She was brought to the registration address in the Kemerovo region.
In such a case, Kirill and his parents had a plan of action: do not open the door, say that they do not know where their son is, do not give any information. However, Kirill's mother gave the representatives of the military registration and enlistment office a phone number and said what city he was in: “After the move, I decided that I would not give her my exact address, because I did not trust her. And he did the right thing, as it turned out. Such a small betrayal on the part of the parents happened. At the same time, Cyril's parents were always against him serving and tried to protect him. Now my mother insists that going to the draft board is his male duty: “We had long dialogues about this for the first six months or a year. I tried to explain something, but it's just like talking to a wall."
So far, the young man's strategy is "to be quieter than the water below the grass." He issued a power of attorney for another person with the right of substitution, so that documents could be submitted and collected for him. And in case of a meeting with representatives of the military registration and enlistment office or the police, he has already written an application for alternative service.
Kirill does not plan to leave the country, because he does not know languages and does not have the skills that would allow him to work remotely: “I have a favorite job in Russia, and, to be honest, I am afraid to leave. And it just infuriates me that I live in my beloved city, which I have been striving for for so many years, and I am forced, due to some stupid circumstances, to drop everything and leave my homeland. Kirill says that the restrictions that may be imposed on him due to non-appearance on the agenda will not complicate his life too much: he is not afraid of a ban on traveling abroad, because he is already afraid of showing himself to the border guard once again, making real estate deals he had not yet planned how to drive a car. He assumes that, if necessary, a loan for him can be taken by one of his friends in his name.
If a person chooses for himself the path of hiding from the draft board, he must remember about safety and how he will behave if he is caught, the volunteer of the Movement of Conscious Objectors notes:
“It is important that there is a plan B and documents are prepared. Right now you need to think about what you want next in your life. If you plan to stay in Russia in the coming years and you are satisfied with living with such restrictions, which will be, if you do not come according to the agenda, then it’s good. If not, then you need to leave before this all comes into force.
Yury from Tatarstan received three agendas in autumn. He is 26 years old, he is in the reserve and works as an electrician in a small town. His employer assured him and other employees that, due to his work in critical infrastructure, he would book them. To do this, he asked to inform him if they receive summons. A few days after the start of the mobilization, a summons was placed under the door of Yuri. He informed the chief about the agenda and went with him to the military enlistment office. There the chief said that they would make a reservation for Yuri. Then he was released. But in October, employees of the military enlistment office came with a summons to Yuri's home. He signed it, being sure that he had a reservation from the enterprise.
Yury told about the summons to the chief, who again went to the military enlistment office with him and another officer who received the summons. However, this time they unexpectedly organized a draft board. At that time, Yuri had a six-month delay in health due to vision correction surgery, while his colleague did not have a delay:
“I told him to leave the draft office, otherwise he would be sent to war. He stayed. Following the results of the draft commission, he was mobilized and taken away that same evening. About a month later he was sent to the war zone, he is still there, but no one knows exactly where. At first, colleagues often called him up, even extortions at work were arranged to “support” him. There has been no news from him lately, but I think if he died, I would know.”
At the end of October, Yuri discovered another summons:
“I realized that it’s better for the employer not to report this, because he himself will take me by the arm and send me where I need to go. So far, they don’t seem to bother me, but I have a folder with documents for an alternative service at the ready. I made powers of attorney, I am engaged in the privatization of the apartment. I will not leave yet – for this I will have to spend all the money that I wanted to send for education. I plan to leave later – in the fall of 2024, I will enter a European university.
If a person ignores the decision of the draft board, the military commissariat can submit a report to the investigative department that the person did not appear for dispatch, and that, presumably, the person evaded, says a volunteer from the Movement of Conscious Objectors: “Then the investigator will conduct a pre-investigation check, but you explain that you did not appear because you will not be able to fully defend yourself in court if you are in the army, which in this case will violate your right to judicial protection. If the investigator nevertheless decides to initiate a criminal case, we will look for a lawyer and defend our position further.”
Elena and her husband from the Far East are liable for military service. Her husband is 31, his specialty is related to work with MANPADS, and he has an order on his military ID obliging him to appear at the military registration and enlistment office during mobilization, but he did not do this. Elena is 27, she has a medical education and a military registration specialty – a paramedic. Almost immediately after the announcement of mobilization, they left for the outback in the north-west of the country. After the move, her husband does not work, but takes care of the house and cooks.
Elena works at a local medical institution, but she cannot quit, as she studied under the system of targeted education at the expense of the budget – she is obliged to work there for another 2.5 years. Otherwise, you will have to pay the university money for the training you have completed: “We thought about leaving for Kazakhstan. But this plan required my pregnancy: in this case, I would be able to leave on maternity leave. It probably sounds crazy … Getting pregnant for such purposes. But I don’t know other ways without courts.” Elena’s boss sought armor for all the doctors after the orderlies were mobilized in the fall: “I work with local security forces, and everyone promised me that neither the police nor the Investigative Committee would ever touch me and my husband. Otherwise, they will be left without me, and there is no one but me here.”
We thought to go to Kazakhstan. But this plan required my pregnancy. It probably sounds crazy … Getting pregnant for such purposes
At the place of residence of Elena's husband, they came from the military registration and enlistment office – they were looking for his brother. He has combat experience in the Donbass (in 2016) and in Syria, where, according to him, he simply had to drive through abandoned settlements. According to Elena, he did not tell anything about this business trip. Employees of the military enlistment office never found him, but if they find him, he is going to go to war, “because he has nothing to lose,” Elena recalls their conversation. After working off, Elena plans to leave with her husband for Kazakhstan, but for now she is saving money for the move.
According to the volunteer of the Movement of Conscious Objectors, not a single person has been imprisoned under the article for evading conscription for military service. There were cases when the court imposed fines, according to her experience, these can be amounts from 5 thousand to 200 thousand rubles:
“These fines are not paid one-time, they are deducted from the salary if the amount is large. All this time, a person lives with an outstanding criminal record, and he cannot be drafted into the armed forces. This is not for long, but then the person takes a more sensible position and prepares more carefully for communication with the military registration and enlistment office. The law does not work if it is simply written on paper. But you can force him to follow."