The recruitment and dispatch of young people for compulsory military service does not take place all year round, but in two stages: in the spring (and partly in the summer) and in the fall (and partly in the winter). The autumn conscription does not apply to teaching staff - they are recruited only in the spring. But there are also conscripts who will never join the ranks of the Russian army. These include men of military age who have a number of diseases.
Military age
First of all, let’s determine who exactly the draft deadlines concern. According to Russian legislation, our conscription age is set at 18-27 years. This means that the summons can only come to those young people who fall within a given time period. Only a young man can be drafted into the army, starting from the next day after he reaches adulthood until his 27th birthday.
By the age of 27, according to the law, you may already be in the army. This means that the main thing is not to be 27 years old at the time of the summons.
Moreover, if there are valid reasons for deferment and exemption from military service, the military registration and enlistment office must provide them and release the conscript for the required time.
Are there summer and winter calls?
According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, there are no summer and winter conscription. Formally, there are only two campaigns: the first begins in the spring and lasts until mid-summer, and the second begins in the fall and lasts until winter. That is, the sending of recruits to the army occurs both in the summer and winter months.
Basically, the recruitment of conscripts occurs long before the end of the conscription campaign, but sometimes there are cases when the recruitment is carried out until the New Year, especially if the military registration and enlistment office does not have time to fulfill the established plan.
Freed from the army
There are several groups of people who are not affected by the autumn conscription 2021, its timing, as well as the timing of other conscriptions. First of all, these are those who have already served in the army, ours or foreign. In addition, the following are exempt from military service:
- Those who have completed alternative civilian service;
- Persons whose close relatives died while fulfilling military obligations;
- Citizens whose close relatives have died as a result of injury or injury received during military service or the performance of military duty;
- Criminals who are serving sentences, as well as citizens with an outstanding criminal record;
- Citizens with an accredited academic degree.
It is important to note that in this case the father or sibling is considered close relatives. In such circumstances, the conscript has the right to ask to join the army himself. If you want to serve, you don’t have to use the exemption due to deceased relatives.
Where and for which troops are conscripts being recruited?
Recruitment of soldiers for compulsory service in the autumn conscription is carried out for health reasons in 3 groups of troops:
- infantry;
- navy;
- aerospace forces.
Depending on the category of health, the following are assigned to the service:
- category A is awarded to absolutely healthy men who can serve in space, submarine, naval and airborne forces;
- category B1 also implies service in the troops described above;
- category B2 has restrictions, therefore they are recruited for service only in the navy and to operate heavy military equipment;
- category B3 is sent to infantry troops (guard, air defense systems, chemical troops);
- Category B4 involves serving in engineering, cargo, radio engineering and communications troops.
Call-up dates
The autumn conscription 2021 has not changed its terms compared to other years. As before, for the vast majority of young people aged 18 to 27, it takes place from October 1 and lasts until December 31.
There are citizens for whom this time period has been shifted. First of all, these are residents of the Far North. For them, the autumn conscription begins only on November 1. For those citizens who permanently live in the village and are busy harvesting, the summons can only arrive from October 15.
There are also those who, in principle, cannot receive a summons in the fall. These are young teachers. For citizens of this profession, the autumn conscription has been cancelled. They can only be called up in the spring.
As for the spring conscription, its dates start on April 1 and last until July 15. Again, there are exceptions. For teachers - from April 15, and for residents of the Far North - from May 1. For agricultural workers permanently residing in rural areas, there is no spring conscription.
They can only be drafted into the army in the fall.
WHEN DOES THE AUTUMN ARMY RECRUITMENT END?
The autumn conscription ends on December 31. By this date of deployment to the army, medical examinations and draft boards for conscripts must be completed. It is important to know: you can send subpoenas with the wording “to clarify military registration data” at any time, and not only during the conscription campaign. From our experience, we can say that this is often used by military registration and enlistment office employees. Before the start of the conscription, they call conscripts to clarify the data and during their appearance they hand over a summons to undergo a medical examination and be sent for tests.
Call-up dates
A huge amount of information is circulating around the news about the change in the draft period. In fact, this is untrue and false information. As before, the conscription period for the Russian army is 12 months. Neither an increase to one and a half years, nor a reduction by 45 days is envisaged in the near future. This means that if a conscript left to serve on October 25, during the autumn conscription, it means that he will return on October 25 of the next year.
Summoning procedure
According to the law, no one takes a conscript into the army on the first call. There is a clear recruitment procedure. It doesn’t matter whether this happens in the fall or in the spring.
A conscript, at the age of 16-17, is called to the military registration and enlistment office for the first time to register for primary military registration. After this, the young man is given a light blue registration certificate. It will later be replaced with a military ID. Then, already at conscription age, they are invited by summons to a medical commission.
The medical commission consists of several specialists, each of whom conducts an examination and assesses the health status of the conscript. This is a surgeon, otolaryngologist, ophthalmologist, psychiatrist, neurologist, therapist, dentist. Each doctor puts his own health group, from “A” to “D”.
The final result is based on the smallest group.
After the medical examination, the young man is invited to a meeting of the military commission, which consists of:
- Military Commissariat;
- Military registration and enlistment office employees;
- Administration representative;
- Representative from internal authorities;
- Member of the employment service.
In addition, there is a secretary who keeps minutes of the meeting. The final result is made taking into account all family circumstances, health conditions, and valid reasons for delay. The result of the meeting may be one of the following decisions:
- Sending to military service with the determination of military branches;
- Decision on alternative service;
- Deferment from the army;
- Exemption from military service;
- Enrollment from stock.
If the young man does not agree with the verdict, he has the right to appeal it.
If the conscript is declared fit, must go to serve and there is no reason for a delay, then the following summons is issued - a combat summons, which indicates where and with what things, as well as when to arrive.
WHEN WILL THE FALL RECRUITMENT TO THE ARMY BE CANCELED?
There are no plans to cancel conscription into the army in the foreseeable future. Indeed, there are plans to gradually abolish conscription and transfer the army to a contract basis, however, politicians note that this will take several years. In the meantime, conscripts will still receive summonses, undergo conscription procedures and be called up for military service.
In addition, in recent years there has been a continuing trend towards tightening the rules for conscription into military service. A bill has been submitted to the State Duma that would require conscripts to independently appear at the military registration and enlistment office to receive a summons. Refusal to independently appear for a summons will be equated to an attempt to evade military service.
Recently there has been news about the cancellation of the autumn conscription due to the coronavirus pandemic. Please note that this is not true and all events are taking place as planned.
Reasons for delay
For current conscripts, it is important to prepare as thoroughly as possible for the autumn conscription. All documents that may confirm your right not to serve at the moment must be collected in advance. If there is a reason why a deferment is given, then you need to take advantage of it. This is especially true for those conscripts who know for sure that they have health problems. To confirm your diagnosis, it is advisable to prepare all possible results of examinations, tests, as well as extracts from hospitals.
There are several groups of valid reasons why the military registration and enlistment office is obliged to grant a deferment. These could be family circumstances, work, study, or health conditions.
Married men with many children have the most reasons not to join the army. If a young man has more than two offspring or one and his wife is in late pregnancy, then this is a reason for delay. The same circumstances include raising a disabled child until he is three years old. Single fathers are also exempt from the army. Also, those young people who provide care and examination for disabled relatives can count on a deferment during conscription, if no one else can take on these responsibilities.
Guardians of minor brothers and sisters who are left without parental care are another group of people who, for family reasons, are not subject to conscription.
As for work, firefighters, police officers, investigators, drug control officers, customs officers, and rescuers receive exemption from the army for the duration of their service. Duly elected deputies of local and state authorities, as well as persons participating in elections to government bodies for the duration of the election campaign, are also released for the duration of their term. That is, while elections are ongoing, even if they coincide with the deadlines for the autumn draft, a candidate cannot be drafted until the counting of votes is completed and the result is announced.
During their studies, full-time students at state universities are completely exempt from military service.
Until the age of 20, full-time college students have the same right.
WHEN WILL THERE BE PLANS FOR THE AUTUMN RECRUITMENT?
Plans for conscription in the fall are approved and become known only in September on the day of publication of the Decree of the President of Russia on the start of the conscription campaign. Often, in pursuit of fulfilling the plan, military commissariats violate the rights of recruits: they call up citizens with health problems, resort to forced conscription, and hand over summonses to the conscript’s parents for signature. If your rights as a conscript have been violated, we strongly recommend that you immediately consult with a lawyer in order to appeal the illegal actions of the military registration and enlistment office employees and protect your right to exemption from the army for health reasons and a deferment from service.
Rights and responsibilities of a conscript
The autumn conscription into the army 2021, as well as the terms of conscription, do not differ from previous years. But it is necessary to understand that conscripts have their own responsibilities, and if they are not fulfilled, sanctions will follow. You should not run from the military registration and enlistment office all autumn and spring, this is fraught with consequences.
Starting in 2021, a law has been introduced that obliges you to appear at the military registration and enlistment office, even if the young person has not received a summons. Now, if you are of conscription age, and there are no reasons for a deferment, you must appear at the commissariat yourself during the autumn or spring conscription campaign in order to pass the commission.
Dodgers will first receive a verbal warning, and then an administrative penalty in the form of a fine of 500 rubles. Malicious evaders already face criminal prosecution with a fine of 200 thousand and possible imprisonment for up to 2 years. In any case, the lack of a military ID can create problems in later life in many areas.
As for rights, a conscript can appeal the decision of the draft commission. To do this, be sure to request a copy of the minutes of the meeting and write a statement to the court. It may be necessary to conduct an independent examination to obtain accurate health data. In any case, you can consult the hotline with specialists from the Ministry of Defense, who will be able to accept complaints and answer any question the conscript may have.
It is advisable to keep all documents in the originals and submit only copies to the military registration and enlistment office. This guarantees their safety.
Procedure for joining the service
Young men who have turned 16 must register with the military and receive an important document called a registration certificate. The age when boys are drafted into the army is only 18 years old. It is then that the young man will be given a summons indicating the time to appear at the commissariat.
Many do not know that hiding from the military registration and enlistment office is pointless and fraught with dire consequences.
Draft evaders face administrative, and in special cases, criminal liability for evasion, so it is necessary to take seriously the fulfillment of their obligations when the next call comes, so as not to risk the future.
Recruits will undergo a medical examination and be assigned a fitness category designated by a letter.
A specially created medical commission conducts a survey, examination, and studies the documentation submitted by the conscript. If a previously established diagnosis, incompatible with the army, raises doubts among doctors, the guy is sent for additional examination.
When going to the military registration and enlistment office, it is better to prepare certificates, photographs, diagnostic results, extracts and other evidence of existing pathologies before the start of army conscription.
The final stage is a meeting of the draft commission, where a verdict is made based on the assigned category, considering various circumstances that could affect the immediate future of a particular conscript.
Read more about how the draft commission functions at the military registration and enlistment office on our website.
