Conscription and mobilisation

Draft. Compiled from human rights groups' guides but not yet reviewed by a lawyer. This is not legal advice — check the linked sources and consult a lawyer.

• Call-up papers count as served in person, by registered post, in your Gosuslugi account, or 7 days after appearing in the Summons Register. Deleting your Gosuslugi account does not change this.
• A ban on leaving Russia applies from the moment the summons is in the register. 20 days after a missed appearance date: a driving ban, no car or property deals, and limits on loans and self-employment.
• Since 1 January 2026 conscription runs all year: summonses and medical boards in any month; dispatch to units 15 Apr–15 Jul and 1 Oct–31 Dec.
• Human rights groups usually advise not going to the enlistment office because of a phone call, checking your register entry and preparing papers for a deferral or alternative civilian service in advance.
• Where to turn: Go by the Forest (Idite Lesom) — only the @iditelesom_info_bot bot (there are clones), the Conscientious Objectors Movement, Call to Conscience, Soldiers' Mothers of St Petersburg, Conscript School (a 'foreign agent').

current as of September 25. More: Get Lost: official bot (foreign agent); Conscientious Objectors Movement (foreign agent)

Draft. Compiled from human rights groups' guides but not yet reviewed by a lawyer. This is not legal advice — check the linked sources and consult a lawyer.

• If contact is lost, human rights groups advise writing straight away to the unit, the enlistment office, the military prosecutor and the human rights ombudsman. Keep copies of every request and reply.
• After 6 months without news a court can declare the person missing. Searching, getting the status and giving a DNA sample are free — anyone asking for money is usually a scammer.
• A contract or mobilised soldier can state in writing that they refuse to bear arms on grounds of conscience and push for a medical board. Human rights groups advise doing this with a lawyer.
• Leaving a unit without permission is a criminal offence (art. 337 CC), and those prosecuted are often sent back to the front before any trial. Get advice before taking any step.
• Where to turn: Call to Conscience, Soldiers' Mothers of St Petersburg, Our Way Out, Go by the Forest (Idite Lesom). Relatives' public appeals sometimes lead to pressure, so talk the risks through first.

current as of September 25. More: Call to Conscience: review of persecution of soldiers who refused to fight; Our Way Out: a soldier has stopped getting in touch (foreign agent); T—Zh: who helps conscripts and soldiers in 2026

Draft. Compiled from human rights groups' guides but not yet reviewed by a lawyer. This is not legal advice — check the linked sources and consult a lawyer.

• In advance: carry a notarised passport copy instead of the original, an alternative civilian service (AGS) application and copies of deferment papers. Give family a power of attorney and Gosuslugi access.
• If stopped: don't hand over your passport, write down names and positions, film. Sign nothing except a summons for another date.
• At the police station, ask for the detention and transfer records, refuse to be taken to the enlistment office, stay in touch with family and share your location.
• At the enlistment office or assembly point, human rights groups advise refusing the medical board, filing an AGS application with a receipt stamp and objecting in writing to the draft board's decision.
• Family: appeal the draft decision (can be done online), complain to the military prosecutor, report violence to the military investigators. Where to turn: Call to Conscience, Conscientious Objectors Movement, Soldiers' Mothers.

current as of September 25. More: Call to Conscience: raids; Call to Conscience: same-day conscription; First Department: what to do during a raid (foreign agent)

Draft. Compiled from human rights groups' guides but not yet reviewed by a lawyer. This is not legal advice — check the linked sources and consult a lawyer.

• Refusing to sign carries no penalty. In practice the contract is open-ended — until mobilisation ends — and the posting is decided by the Defence Ministry, not the recruiter.
• Signed but not yet in service: immediately file a withdrawal statement at the enlistment office in two copies with a receipt stamp — a representative with power of attorney can do it.
• A conscript being pushed or forced: submit a withdrawal report to the commander before the contract order is signed; parents can write to the unit commander and the ministry. Collect evidence of pressure.
• If the contract is already in force: complain to the military prosecutor and sue in the garrison military court within three months of signing, asking for interim protection.
• If there is violence a conscript may leave the unit but must report to military investigators within 48 hours, or risk a case under art. 337 CC. Where to turn: Call to Conscience, Soldiers' Mothers, COM.

current as of September 25. More: Call to Conscience: contract recruitment; Call to Conscience: a conscript forced into a contract