Russia cancels deferments of conscription for fathers with large families

Nina Ostanina, Member of the State Duma [the lower chamber of the Russian parliament – ed.] and the Head of the Committee for Family, Women and Children, has stated that Russia will stop granting deferments from conscription to fathers of three minors.

Source: Latvia-based Russian news outlet Meduza; Ostanina on Telegram 

Details: Ostanina has said that Irina Kirkora, a member of the Human Rights Council, has notified her of the cancellation of these grounds for deferral. Kirkora referred to a certain document sent to military enlistment offices in December, as well as a source in the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia. 

Ostanina says that fathers with three children will not be drafted now because "partial mobilisation is over". Nevertheless, she thinks that the document was issued because it "is very hard" to bring back those Russians who are already at war. 

Meduza outlet has reported that the Chita.Ru outlet had also written about the cancellation of deferrals for fathers with large families, citing Yury Shuvalov, the military enlistment officer for Zabaykalsky Krai. 

A military enlistment office has told the outlet that these grounds for deferral, stated in the document from 4 October, were cancelled by a decision by the Chief of the General Staff from 21 December. 

Pavel Chikov, Head of the Agora International Human Rights Group, has also posted about military enlistment offices ignoring the right to deferment of conscription for fathers with large families.

In particular, he reported on 12 January about such a case in Dagestan, but it was about a resident of the republic who was sent to war at the end of September (before the General Staff announced the right of deferral for fathers with large families) and is not allowed to go back home from service now. 

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