Pressured or forced to sign a military contract

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

Pressured or forced to sign a military contract

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 this is a last resort. If there is any way to get in touch, first ask Call to Conscience for advice, and keep evidence of the violence. After leaving, you 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 25 September 2026. More: Call to Conscience: contract recruitment; Call to Conscience: a conscript forced into a contract

Need a lawyer

In Russia, First Department and Solidarity Zone find lawyers. Lawyers abroad known for defending political cases: list of lawyers →