On April 1, Russia began a new draft drive with the goal of enlisting 160,000 military men between 18 and 30.
This is the biggest call since 2011, and aims to meet last year’s executive order to strengthen its 2.5 million staff.
And that is causing 21-year-old Bogdan, who is in the outskirts of Moscow.
Some young men often try to avoid forced military service. However, Russia’s war against Ukraine is particularly urgent in the matter when the rival side of its desperate attempts to win in peace negotiations, and it is at a critical time.
“Despite high blood pressure, I received a subpoena drafting the subpoena in the spring of 2024. And by the fall, the police were searching to force me to recruit,” Bogdan told Al Jazeera, demanding that he withhold retaliation for fear of his last name.
He is currently hiding from the authorities.
“I hope to register for military service in St. Petersburg and receive a new medical check-up there and receive the troops. [exception] Due to high blood pressure. This is because complaints and court hearings have not resulted in Moscow and the Moscow region. In Moscow, they do not allow me to undergo a new medical examination and would like to recruit me according to my summons. ”
Rights advocates warn that while the cracks that may have slipped past are tightened, conscription is increasingly at risk.
“A year ago there was an age revision, but now a subpoena has been issued to young people aged 18-30,” said Ivan Chuviliaev, a spokesman for the organization, who will help people escape class.
Previously, the maximum age for conscription was 27.
“Now, the draft committee’s decision will be valid for a year, not until the end of the draft, which means it’s not easy to get away by not showing up when you receive the subpoena. [Another] The big change is that they are revising the list of illnesses for people who are not suited to military service,” Chubiliaev said.
“The conditions they didn’t accept before are now embraced. It’s clear that this is simply an artificial creation of chaos, so doctors simply stamp their categories on everyone without digging into the paper. [Thirdly,] Various sanctions are imposed for not appearing in response to a summon, such as a prohibition of taking loans, a prohibition of opening individual businesses, and a prohibition of leaving the country. ”
More than 100,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since 2022, according to an open source tally compiled by the BBC and the independent Russian outlet media Zona.
Although drafting should not technically be deployed at the forefront, “conscriptions can be deployed in areas adjacent to Ukraine, including the Belgorod and Kursk regions, and therefore can theoretically participate in combat operations in these regions.
“The conscription has been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian attacks in border areas,” he said, adding, “I have never seen any information in Donetsk or Luhansk that conscriptions have been sent to occupied areas.”
Since the start of the full-scale war in 2022, the Russian Kursk and Belgorod regions have been subject to bombing and cross-border attacks.
“If someone comes into contact with the Ministry of Defense, they will probably find themselves sooner or later in the midst of hostilities,” Chubiliaev said. “It goes without saying that the deployment of a draft can always turn out to be a contract, even without your own knowledge.”
He pointed to a recent incident in the Chelyabinsk region of Russia. There, the local prosecutor’s office recognized that at least 13 conscriptions had illegally signed contracts and ordered them to be discharged from the hospital.
In that case, the commander simply ignored the court’s order.
Mikhail Liberov of the conscientious opponent movement told Al Jazeera that the chances of a summoning that actually ends in battle are “less than one percent… At any time, conscription can be forced to one or another form of obsession, sign a contract, become a formal soldier, and be sent to that hell right away.”
“The practice shows that even the prosecutor’s office helps the commander’s actions to be forced. [conscripts] To sign the contract illegally,” he continued.
“The prosecutor’s office doesn’t really care about protecting citizens’ rights and does not file lawsuits for profit. Sometimes the signatures regarding the contract of conscription are simply forged.”
There is a way to avoid military service, or otherwise. These include health grounds and ineligibility to provide services. Court appeals; higher education; specific family circumstances; pretending to be mental or physical illness; go in hiding; leave the country; or apply for an alternative civil servant. Politicians and members of certain occupations (for example, in military industrial facilities) are also exempted.
“Each of these postponements requires you to take action — the draft board does not do that automatically,” Chubiliaev explained.
“I need to go [to the office]Bring all the necessary documents, [or] For your relative, create a power of attorney, if possible. This will allow you to present these documents to the enlistment office rather than the draft officer himself. ”
Liberov listed many other complications that could occur.
“[Educational] Deferrals are not available to anyone, and simply postponing the issue. Completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees face the same challenges at ages 22 and 24, respectively,” he said.
“Not everyone can afford to leave the country. In many cases, the lack of overseas passports is a hindrance. Registration is mistakenly deemed impossible without a military ID or military registration and visit to the enlistment office.”
Liberov said alternative civil servants, for example, to work in state-run services such as hospitals and libraries, is an option for conscientious opponents whose religious or personal beliefs are incompatible with military service, but in reality, authorities reject such requests.
Then there are people, like Bogdan, who simply go on a run.
However, in Moscow, hiding in Liberov is useless.
“You can stay home,” he said. Considering the “full digitalization and surveillance system” of the Russian capital.
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