Russian students forced to sign consent to pre-term conscription

The Russian military commissariats, together with the management of educational institutions, force students to sign consent for early conscription. This will make it possible to conscript young people in April, instead of  doing so in summer, when they finish their studies.

Source: Verstka publication

Quote: "Military commissariats, in cooperation with college administrations, began to require graduating students to write applications for early medical examination and draft board meetings."

Details: In particular, students are told that they will be able to take exams early if they sign such statements. Then the students receive  summons with an obligation to show up at a military commissariat. At the military commissariat, they pass a medical examination and join the army.

According to Russian law, students receive a deferment from conscription until graduation; however, in 2021, military commissars first began to persuade young people to enlist early.

Human rights activists say that, in particular, Moscow universities and colleges arrange meetings with the military commissariat, where students are handed out summons with an obligation to show up with a passport and a registration certificate.

The military commissars used similar tactics during 2022, and on the eve of the spring draft of 2023, they resorted to it again.

"They make fools of eighteen-year-old boys, who, of course, do not understand the legal consequences of such statements. Under various pretexts, with the help of persuasion and threats, they force them to sign statements," – stressed Aleksey Tabalov, the head of Conscript School, a human rights organisation.

Background: 

• In November 2022, The Federation Council [the upper chamber of the Russian Parliament – ed.] has decided to hold consultations with law enforcement agencies regarding bringing back two-year service in the army.
• On 12 January, it was reported that Russia decided to raise the conscription age – citizens under the age of 30 will be drafted in the military as early as this spring.
• On 18 January, The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine claimed that Russia was preparing for a new mobilisation wave, during which Moscow residents would be targeted in particular.

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