Every year in Russia, several hundred sentences are passed under the article on evasion of military service under conscription: in the first half of 2021, 290 people were convicted, in 2015 - 742 people, in 2014 - 782 people. Part 1 of Article 328 provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment (up to two years) or a fine of up to 200 thousand rubles. Part 2 of Article 328 (it talks about evading alternative civil service) implies arrest for up to six months or a fine of up to 80 thousand rubles.
However, there are negligibly few “alternatives” among draft dodgers (5 people in 2021, three in 2015, seven people in 2014). One of these cases was brought in 2021 against a resident of Kostroma, who was sent to undergo AHS as a nurse at one of the regional nursing homes - after he had been absent from work for almost six months. The court sentenced the draft dodger to 200 hours of compulsory labor.
The vast majority of those convicted under Article 328 are those who received summonses to appear for a medical examination or a meeting of the draft commission, but did not appear at the military registration and enlistment office, says Alexander Peredruk, a lawyer and press secretary of the human rights organization Soldiers' Mothers of St. Petersburg.
Criminal liability for evasion of military service
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Ask a question Responsibility for evasion of military service is established by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). According to Part 1 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, evasion from military service is a failure to appear at the military registration and enlistment office for a medical examination, a meeting of the draft commission, or the place of departure for service. The citizen must be properly notified of this event by a summons received in person against a personal signature.
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The article for evasion of military service provides that failure to appear at these events for a valid reason, which is considered illness, the birth of a child, or the death of a relative, is not considered evasion of service. However, this “good reason” for evading military service must be supported by an official document.
It should be noted that by evading military service, military registration and enlistment offices mean several circumstances at once:
- failure to appear at the military registration and enlistment office of a person registered with a summons;
- failure to appear at the military registration and enlistment office for registration or deregistration within the prescribed period;
- failure to appear at the military registration and enlistment office to report information about leaving the municipality for more than 3 months;
- failure to appear at the military registration and enlistment office to report information about leaving Russia for more than six months;
- failure to notify the military registration and enlistment office of a change in place of residence, marital status, place of work or study within the prescribed period.
- independent leaving of the assembly point before departure for military service;
- illegal registration by a conscript of a deferment from the army or a military ID;
- inflicting injuries on oneself that are incompatible with military service;
- refusal to sign a summons to one of the military registration and enlistment office events described above;
- relocation of a conscript to a new place of residence without military registration.
This is also important to know:
Degrees of fitness for military service
What is the penalty for evading military service? In accordance with Part 1 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, such actions threaten a man with serious punishment. Thus, you can receive a large fine for evading military service, up to 200 thousand rubles. In addition, an article of the Criminal Code that violates the law for evading the army is subject to forced labor for two years or imprisonment for up to two years.
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Sanctions provided for evasion of service by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:
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- up to 200,000 rub. fine;
- up to 2 years of forced labor;
- up to 6 months of arrest;
- up to 2 years of imprisonment.
For those who are interested not only in what will happen for evading the army, but also from alternative service, let us explain: criminal liability is established for persons evading alternative service. According to Part 2 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, evasion of alternative service is punishable by a fine of up to 80 thousand rubles, forced labor for up to 480 hours, or arrest for 6 months.
You can apply for alternative service yourself, just as you can do military service under a contract.
Pacifist - article
In the practice of Soldiers' Mothers of St. Petersburg, there are cases of criminal prosecution under Article 328 of those conscripts who sought to replace military service with alternative civilian service, but were refused.
In 2013, a pacifist from the Voronezh region, Evgeny Plakhutin, tried to exercise his right to an AGS at one of the regional military registration and enlistment offices, but the draft commission refused him. The young man persisted and went to trial, and the military registration and enlistment office gave him a summons, according to which Plakhutin did not appear, since the end of the trial had not been set. For these failures to appear, a criminal case was opened against the ideological conscript, but in the fall of 2014, Plakhutin and his defenders managed to achieve an acquittal.
His predecessor from the Murmansk region, conscript Nikita Konev, was unable to achieve acquittal in court: in the spring of 2013, he was found guilty of evading military service and sentenced to pay a fine of 130 thousand rubles. Konev also defended the right to replace military service with an alternative one, but submitted the application in violation of the deadlines - not six months before the conscription, but with its beginning. While he was trying to sue the military registration and enlistment office, a criminal case was opened against him. The conviction was confirmed by the appeal court, Konev paid a fine, and in October 2015 he finally won the right to serve not with a weapon in his hands, but alternatively, “in civilian life.”
Evasion from the army, consequences
For those who once practiced evading the army, the consequences will not be very pleasant. Since December 26, 2014, men who did not serve and did not have legal grounds for exemption, in other words, evaded military service, instead of a military ID, receive a certificate, the form of which is approved by Order of the Minister of Defense of July 18, 2014 No. 495.
This is also important to know:
Deferment from the army: who can get it and how
Obtaining a military ID after 27 years old occurs in the same way, depending on whether you served or not.
Chances of acquittal
In February 2015, investigators in Mari El opened a criminal case against the coach of a children's sports school, Samvel Asatryan. Asatryan was already 27 years old at that time, but according to investigators, he evaded conscription earlier - in November 2014. During the trial, it turned out that the teacher received Russian citizenship when he was 26 years old, and in his youth he managed to serve in conscription in Nagorno-Karabakh. However, Asatryan was acquitted not because he had already paid his military debt to another country: it turned out that it was not he who broke the law when he did not appear on the summons, but the military registration and enlistment office when he sent it. The fact is that teachers are not subject to conscription in the fall - only in the spring. In September 2015, Samvel Asatryan was acquitted, and later they even apologized and paid him compensation.
“It is important to remember that when considering cases under Article 328, the court is obliged to establish whether the conscript had illnesses that prevented conscription or other reasons not to serve - even if he did not officially receive a deferment and did not notify the military registration and enlistment office. And if they were, the criminal case is terminated for lack of corpus delicti,” points out Alexander Peredruk.
Evasion from military service is a continuing crime, and it ends when the conscript reaches 27 years of age. If a criminal case was not opened earlier and the accused did not hide, then the statute of limitations expires after two years, since this crime is classified as not serious.
Additional examination
In some cases, a medical examination alone is not enough to determine the diagnosis or issue of a citizen’s suitability for military service. Then the military registration and enlistment office sends the conscript for an optional examination. You can refuse this if you write a corresponding statement. However, you need to understand that it is not considered an evasion of medical examination and conscription in general.
If a person does not come for examination, then, depending on the intent, the punishment for evasion will be administrative or criminal.
Good reasons
The obligation of young people to appear at the military registration and enlistment office on time and provide all the necessary information about themselves is prescribed by law. But there are cases when, due to certain circumstances, the future conscript could not do this. The law provides a list of valid reasons that exempt guys from liability. This list includes the following circumstances:
- The serious condition of close relatives , or participation in the funeral of one of them. In this case, you will need to present documents confirming these facts.
- The incapacitated condition of the conscript himself , which is also confirmed by a medical document.
- Circumstances that arose as a result of force majeure, which did not depend on the will of the conscript, and he could not resist it.
- Other circumstances recognized by the commissariat as valid.
The law allows the military registration and enlistment office employee to independently determine how valid the reasons for the conscript’s violation were. If they consider this violation to be frivolous and the young man subsequently corrects this situation, he may be released from administrative liability.
Duty
Most countries require their citizens to serve as regular soldiers so that the country can defend its independence if necessary. Russia is no exception to this. Therefore, all young males aged 18-27 are required to serve 1 year in a military unit.
Alternatively, they can complete civil service during the same period. But to receive such an indulgence, a person must have serious circumstances that do not allow him to serve in a military unit. Such circumstances are determined by Russian legislation.
In addition, the state provides its citizens with:
- the opportunity to receive a deferment if the conscript has certain circumstances established by law;
- the opportunity to be completely released from this obligation, also only if there are legal grounds.
Along with the opportunities provided, the state also provides for measures of responsibility for citizens for evading their civic duty.
Certificate and ban on official career
But since 2014, in addition to the threat of criminal prosecution, military registration and enlistment offices have another tool for putting pressure on conscripts - the ability to issue a certificate, rather than a military ID, to those who “did not complete conscription military service without legal grounds.” The decision to issue such a certificate is made by the draft commission - as a rule, on the basis of “search files” stored in military registration and enlistment offices, which indicate numerous but unsuccessful attempts to serve the conscript with summonses, or about his evasion of appearing on summonses.
“In addition to this stigmatizing factor, obtaining a certificate imposes a number of restrictions associated with entering the civil service,” Fr. Indeed, in 2013, while “implementing measures to increase the prestige and attractiveness of conscript military service,” deputies introduced changes to the law “On Civil Service”, which boil down to the fact that candidates who have not served in the army without good reason cannot enter government positions. And in the law “On Military Duty” a clause on the issuance of certificates appeared.
In the fall of 2014, members of the Chechen parliament tried to challenge these legislative changes: the fact is that there was no conscription at all in the republic for many years - and from the legislative innovations it followed that young residents of Chechnya could not enter the civil service at all.
The Constitutional Court recognized the very practice of restrictions and the issuance of certificates instead of military tickets as legal, but indicated that the restriction should not be indefinite: otherwise it turns out that not serving in the army is worse than committing an administrative offense or a criminal offense (in the first case, the ban on holding public office is not may exceed three years, in the second - five). The Constitutional Court ruled that the State Duma should pass a law limiting the period of ban on civil service for draft dodgers. Two years have passed since this decision was made, but such a document has still not appeared.
When are they not punished for failure to appear on a summons?
Federal Law No. 53 in force in Russia provides for a number of grounds that are considered valid for failure to appear at the military registration and enlistment office. The reasons are listed in Article 7 of this law:
- Loss of ability to work due to illness or injury.
- Natural disasters, catastrophes and other force majeure circumstances.
- Caring for close relatives (spouse, siblings, children, adoptive parents and grandparents).
- Other reasons and circumstances recognized by valid representatives of the draft commission and judicial authorities.
The presence of legal grounds does not exempt from liability for failure to appear at the military commissariat. Any of the above reasons must be confirmed by an official document. Illnesses and injuries are confirmed by medical reports and extracts from the hospital, the death of a relative by a death certificate, natural disasters by certificates from the local administration.
For forgery of documents and simulation of illnesses, those liable for military service are subject to criminal prosecution.
How to avoid being included in the list of “draft dodgers”
The desire to screw up in any way most often leads to punishment. There is no point in hiding from the military registration and enlistment office; the young man’s personal file will be transferred to the investigative committee for further investigation, and the guy will be called in for an interview.
In case of failure to appear, the conscript is put on the wanted list; it will not be possible to avoid criminal liability, outlined in Article 328 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, as evasion from the army.
A guy can be detained when applying for a job, presenting a passport, bank card, or other documents.
It is also not wise to hide until you reach the age of non-conscription.
If there is no desire to comprehend military science, it is worth considering more competent, safe options by turning to specialists.
In what cases is punishment applied to evaders?
From everything it follows that evading the army is quite dangerous and strictly punishable. Every young person must be aware of his actions, and even more so bear responsibility for them.
It is important to understand that any secret place when a guy is put on the federal wanted list will be revealed and he will be put on trial. Upon receipt of the case, the Investigative Committee will do everything possible to bring the young man to justice and prove his guilt.
And if, due to his age, the child is arrogant, parents should take this point into account and prevent him from becoming responsible. In addition, the stamp of a criminal record will ruin the young man’s reputation forever, and it will be difficult to realize one’s career and social potential.
Important: when falsifying documents, such as a medical examination report, you should remember that they will be thoroughly examined, and when proving a criminal case, responsibility will be appropriate.
If the realization of what was done came late and the deed has already been done, you should try to alleviate your guilt, to do this you need to turn to a lawyer for help and come to the military registration and enlistment office with repentance.
If you receive a verdict, you should also not despair; every citizen has the right to dispute the court’s decision. There is a standard 10 days for this after the verdict is announced.
Advice: the participation of a specialized human rights activist in the case and personal repentance in most cases leads to a suspended sentence for the evader.
"Combat" agenda
The relationship between the conscript and the military commissariat ends with the delivery of the so-called “combat” summons to him. The citizen signs for receiving this document, thereby committing to arrive at the specified date and time with things at a certain point. From there he will go on military service.
If he fails to appear, in most cases a criminal case is initiated against him for evasion.
Failure to appear at the recruiting office (without the already mentioned valid reasons) is only possible if a citizen tries to appeal the commission’s decision in court. Ten days are given for this.
