Partial mobilization has been announced in Russia since 21 September 2022, under terms of which several citizens can be called up for military service1. However, the law, and subsequently explanations of representatives of authorities, established cases when a deferral from conscription is granted.
Deferral is a release of citizens from military service for a certain period of time. It should be distinguished from other forms of release from military service, which do not depend on any terms – for example, some citizens are not subject to conscription due to age, health status and other reasons.
Thus, in accordance with Federal Law No 31-FZ of 26 February 1997 “On mobilization training and mobilization in the Russian Federation” (Article 18), a deferral from conscription for military service on mobilization is granted to the following citizens:
- reserved in accordance with procedure determined by the Russian Government;
- recognized as temporarily unable for military service due to health reasons – for up to 6 months;
- engaged in constant care of their father, mother, wife, husband, sibling, grandfather, grandmother or adoptive parent, who are in need of outside constant care (assistance, supervision) for health reasons, or who are disabled of group I, in the absence of other persons who are required by law to support these citizens;
- being a guardian or trustee of a minor sibling and (or) a minor sibling in the absence of other persons legally obliged to support these citizens;
- having 4 or more dependent children under the age of 16 or having a dependent and raising 1 child or more under the age of 16 without a mother (female citizens having 1 child or more under the age of 16, as well as in the case of pregnancy, duration of which is at least 22 weeks);
- having a wife whose gestation period is at least 22 weeks, and having 3 dependent children under the age of 16;
- whose mothers, apart from the citizen in question, have 4 or more children under the age of 8 and raise them without a husband;
- members of the Federation Council and deputies of the State Duma;
- other citizens or certain categories of citizens who have been given such a right by a decree of the Russian President.
With the introduction of mobilization, Presidential decrees No 647 of 21 September 2022 and No 664 of 24 September 2022 also established additional deferral grounds:
- employment in organizations of military-industrial complex in positions of managers, specialists and workers involved in performance of tasks of state defense order;
- receiving education for the first time in full-time and part-time forms of education:
in educational and scientific organizations on state-accredited educational programs of secondary vocational and higher education (including residency programs and internship assistant programs);
in educational and scientific organizations on programs of training of scientific and scientific-pedagogical personnel in postgraduate studies;
in organizations that carry out educational activities under educational programs of secondary vocational and higher education (including programs for training scientific and scientific-pedagogical personnel in postgraduate studies, residency programs and internship programs) located in the territories of innovative scientific and technological centers;
in spiritual educational organizations on educational programs aimed at training ministers and religious personnel of religious organizations, educational programs of secondary vocational and higher education.
After that, according to information from the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation of 23 September 2022, the following grounds were provided for deferring citizens with higher education from mobilization2:
- employment in accredited IT companies, while new rules for accreditation of IT companies3 and procedure for applying for exemption from conscription have been approved;
- employment in Russian telecom operators that ensure stability, safety and integrity of functioning of communication facilities, data processing centers, as well as public communication facilities and lines of the Russian Federation;
- employment in system-forming media, radio and television broadcasters;
- employment in organizations that ensure the stability of the national payment system and financial market infrastructure, bank liquidity management, cash circulation.
At the same time, all grounds for deferral established by decrees of the President of the Russian Federation and introduced by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation do not reflect timing of such deferrals, as well as grounds for their cancellation.
Moreover, if some grounds for deferral are officially established – for example, they are fixed by decrees of the President of the Russian Federation above, then other grounds, including those established by the information of the Ministry of Defense, have not found their official regulatory consolidation yet (except for the deferral of employees of IT companies).
Subsequently, the Ministry of Defense also decided to grant a deferral to men who have 3 or more dependent children under the age of 16, but this norm is also currently contained only in informal explanations on a special page on the Telegram social network[4].
1 For general information about the announced partial mobilization please refer to our update of 21 September
2 https://function.mil.ru/news_page/country/more.htm?id=12439143%40egNews
3 For new rules for accreditation of IT companies please refer to our update of 07 October
4 https://t.me/obyasnayemrf/3749