According to the head of the State Duma Defense Committee, Andrei Kartapolov, electronic notifications and paper summonses from the military registration and enlistment offices will hold the same legal weight. However, Kartapolov adds that electronic alerts will serve as a backup to traditional agendas. The State Duma is set to review a bill on a unified register of persons liable for military service on April 11.
A number of measures are set for evaders, and those who fail to appear at the military registration and enlistment office within two weeks of receiving the summons will be banned from traveling abroad. They will also face other restrictions, such as being unable to manage transport or conclude real estate transactions, among others.
In March, various regions across Russia started to distribute subpoenas “to clarify military registration specialties and streamline documents.” Electronic notifications will be introduced in the spring 2023 draft campaign, but currently, they hold no legal value according to the law. Citizens are summoned to events linked to conscription for military service by the summons of the military commissariat.
Electronic notifications and paper summonses from the military registration and enlistment offices will have equal legal force. This was stated by the head of the State Duma Defense Committee Andrei Kartapolov, his quotes TASS.
At the same time, electronic alerts from military registration and enlistment offices will “duplicate traditional agendas,” Kartapolov noted. He also said that on Tuesday, April 11, the State Duma will consider a bill on a unified register of persons liable for military service.
In addition, the head of the committee said that a number of restrictive measures would be provided for evaders. If, following receiving the summons, a person does not appear at the military registration and enlistment office within two weeks, then he will be banned from traveling abroad.
“If a person does not receive a summons or pretends that he does not receive it, then he will be obliged to voluntarily appear at the military commissariat within two weeks during the next call. If he does not do this, then he will receive a notification with the digital signature of the military commissar that exit restrictions are introduced and other restrictive measures will follow. If he does not appear once more, then following 20 days this person liable for military service may lose the ability to manage transport, conclude real estate transactions, register an individual entrepreneur, take loans, and so on.
In March, several regions began distributing subpoenas “to clarify military registration specialties and streamline documents,” including the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, Voronezh, Lipetsk, Yaroslavl and Penza regions. According to the head of the Agora human rights organization Pavel Chikov, in fact, such agendas distribute already in 43 regions of Russia. At the end of March, it became known that the Russian military registration and enlistment offices for the first time will begin sending out alerts in electronic form as part of the spring 2023 draft campaign. Now, according to the law, “electronic notification” has no legal value, lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov said in a conversation with The Insider. According to part 3 of Art. 26 “On military duty” for events related to conscription for military service, citizens are summoned by the summons of the military commissariat.
In conclusion, the equal legal force of both electronic and paper summons from military registration and enlistment offices is a significant development in streamlining the conscription process. The introduction of a unified register of persons liable for military service, alongside restrictive measures for those who evade their summons, further emphasizes the importance of fulfilling one’s duty to their country. As electronic alerts become increasingly prevalent, it will be interesting to see how they impact the conscription process in the years to come.