17.11.2004 - Source: Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers

Child soldiers: forcible conscription was reported, and the possibility of under-18s being among the conscripts could not be ruled out. ("Child soldiers global report 2004") [#27189],  [ID 11782]

"Forcible conscription was reported, and the possibility of under-18s being among the conscripts could not be ruled out. Voluntary recruits in military training schools were considered to be on active service. Tens of thousands of orphans aged 14 to 16 were “adopted” by military units, receiving military training in school and many of them living in army barracks. Military training programs were provided in some secondary schools. In the Chechen Republic, boys were involved with a number of armed political groups and girls were reportedly used in suicide bombings."

Document(s): Open document

06.01.2004 - Source: Prima News

Putin issued decree that reservists may be enlisted to the military in peacetime ("New Year gift from the Ministry of Defence") [#18616],  [ID 11783]

Document(s): Open document

21.11.2002 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Conscription Process ("Conscription through detention in Russia's armed forces") [#9618],  [ID 11784]

"Russian law gives detailed guidelines for the various stages of the conscription process. These guidelines, found in the 1998 law on military service and a 1999 implementing regulation, are applicable without exception to all young men of conscription age. In the year he turns seventeen, a male citizen is entered into the military registry (in Russian: voinskii uchet). At
this time, a preliminary determination is made as to whether he is fit for military service or has grounds for a nonmedical exemption. When he turns eighteen, a Russian male receives a summons to appear at his local draft board for conscription proceedings. According to the regulation on conscription, he must be directly handed the summons and must sign it. If a young man is handed a draft summons and signs but subsequently does not appear for conscription
proceedings, he is considered to be a draft dodger and is prosecuted under the criminal code. If officials are unable to physically hand a young man a summons, the military recruitment office may request the local police
precinct in writing to help “ensure” his presence at conscription proceedings. Human Rights Watch did not find any cases in which a man delivered with a summons refused to sign, and it is unclear what consequences ensue in such cases. Conscription proceedings ordinarily consist of a medical exam by physicians to determine a candidate’s fitness for military service, and a determination by the draft board (in Russian, prizyvnaia komissia) as to whether he should be exempted from military service, given a deferral, placed in reserve, drafted, or sent to perform alternative service. It also assigns the candidate to a specific branch of service. Once the draft board has reached a decision to conscript, it informs the draftee, who is entitle d to a copy of the conscription order upon request. The draft board then allows him to go home to await a service summons to appear at the collection point (in Russian, sbornyi punkt) from which he is to depart to his military base. This
waiting period typically lasts from one day to about three months. During this time, the young man may appeal the draft board’s decision. At the collection point, the municipal or province draft board reviews the decisions of
the local commission, and a panel of medical doctors once again examines his fitness. After these procedures, representatives of military units meet the new conscripts and arrange for their departure."

Document(s): Open document

04.2002 - Source: UK Home Office

UK Home Office: Military service is compulsory for male citizens of between 18 and 27 years of age and lasts for two years ("Country Assessment - April 2002") [#7107],  [ID 11785]

"Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, with its armed forces of more than 4 million, the Russian army has been reduced to about 1.2 million persons. Persons subjected to the draft can be divided into two groups: draftees and reservists. All draftees, after six months of serving in the army, can be sent to areas of armed conflict. Reservists consist of reservist officers (those who have completed the military academy) and reservist soldiers (those who have completed their military service). A presidential decree, adopted on 10 April 2000, provides for the possibility of mobilising 15,000 reservist officers, who are currently on the reserve list; another, adopted on 27 January 2000, provides for the possibility of mobilising reservist soldiers for two months of military training, before sending them to areas of armed conflict. The age limit for reservists to be mobilised to serve in areas of armed conflict is 50 years. Meanwhile, military service is compulsory for male citizens of between 18 and 27 years of age and lasts for two years, one year in the case of university and college graduates. Certain categories of women, for example the medically qualified, are also liable for military service, although in practice there have been no cases of women being called up. Postponement may be allowed for students, and exemption for medical or domestic reasons. Those with criminal records, members of the police or security forces, individuals working abroad, university or college graduates working for the state or graduate programmes, and teachers or doctors working in small villages may also be granted exemption. The armed forces have difficulty in getting the requisite number of recruits. Only about 20% of liable conscripts are actually enlisted, while the remaining 80% are granted either postponement or exemption, or else have not responded to call-up."

Document(s): Open document

21.02.2001 - Source:

Jamestown Foundation: Conscription of Chechen men into Russian military ("The Jamestown Foundation: Chechnya Weekly, Vol.2, Issue 8, 21 February 2001") [ID 11787]

"The presidential envoy to the Southern Federal District, Viktor Kazantsev, has announced that the conscription of young Chechen men into the Russian military will commence during the first half of 2001; they will undergo military service only on Chechen territory (Ekho Moskvy Radio, February 9). Major General Ivan Babichev, the military commandant of Chechnya, has elaborated on Kazantsev's statement, explaining that Chechen youths will be drafted into "construction battalions," to be formed within the ministries of Defense, Emergency Situations, and the Railroad Corps. The plan will allegedly "give work to thousands of youths, who will be able to help their families" (Glasnost Foundation-Chechnya, February 16)."

Document(s): The Jamestown Foundation: Chechnya Weekly, Vol.2, Issue 8, 21 February 2001

19.09.2000 - Source:

IWPR: Paying for exemption ("IWPR: Racist Violence Plagues Russian Army, 19 September 2000") [ID 11788]

"This scenario is being repeated across the North Caucasus. Parents unwilling to let their children serve in the Russian armed forces are paying for exemption. There is even an unofficial price-list - 10,000 roubles ($350) for a certificate stating that army service has been completed and 5,000-7,000 roubles for a medical exemption.

And applications to colleges of higher education have soared in recent years since young men of call-up age are granted a stay of execution for the duration of their studies.

But the documents aren't obtained clandestinely from black-marketeers or underground counterfeiters - they are bought straight from officers at the Military Commissariat, which regulates the call-up system.

Now, avoiding conscription is not only socially acceptable, it is even encouraged. And most military commanders admit privately that the ranks of the Russian army have been severely weakened as a result."

Document(s): IWPR: Racist Violence Plagues Russian Army, 19 September 2000