Conscription and mobilisation

The guides below are drafts: a lawyer has not reviewed them yet. This is not legal advice.

Whom to contact

4 organisations

Call to Conscience

Helps people refuse military service: advice for conscripts, mobilised soldiers, contract soldiers and their families, court defence, conscientious objection.

The only official bot is @agsnowarbot. It never asks for money or SMS codes.

Other ways to reach them: Delta Chat · agsnowar@gmail.com · website

online contact matched to the organisation's site 26 September 2026

Message the bot @agsnowarbot

Soldiers' Mothers of St Petersburg

Free legal and social help for service personnel, conscripts and their families, with separate lines for soldiers and for conscripts.

The only official bot is @smline_bot. It never asks for money or SMS codes.

Other ways to reach them: for soldiers: +7 906 263-17-17 · for conscripts: +7 911 772-34-40 · website (a call stays in the phone log and with the operator)

in Russia contact matched to the organisation's site 26 September 2026

Message the bot @smline_bot

Go by the Forest

How to avoid conscription and mobilisation; helps servicemen leave the country and find asylum.

The only official bot is @iditelesom_info_bot. There are fakes with lookalike names: @iditeiesom_info_bot, @lditelesom_info_bot. The real bot never asks for money or codes.

The only official bot is @iditelesom_info_bot. It never asks for money or SMS codes.

Other ways to reach them: website

abroad foreign agent contact matched to the organisation's site 26 September 2026

Message the bot @iditelesom_info_bot

Conscientious Objectors Movement

Legal ways to avoid military service: exemption from conscription, alternative civilian service, reserve status.

The website is blocked in Russia; open it via a VPN.

Other ways to reach them: info@stoparmy.org

in Russia and abroad foreign agent contact matched to the organisation's site 26 September 2026

Get in touch stoparmy.org

Draft What human rights defenders advise

Call-up papers from the military enlistment office

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').

Ready-made templates and tools

Alternative civilian service: how to apply and defend your right (in Russian) · Call to Conscience · link checked September 26
Sample application for alternative civilian service (in Russian) · Soldiers' Mothers of St Petersburg · link checked September 26
Sample applications and complaints for conscripts (in Russian) · Soldiers' Mothers of St Petersburg · link checked September 26
Templates for complaints and applications (in Russian) · First Department (foreign agent) · link checked September 26

current as of 25 September 2026. More: Get Lost: official bot (foreign agent); Conscientious Objectors Movement (foreign agent)

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