Russia is taking new measures to curb draft dodging before its autumn call-up. A company controlled by the digital development ministry has been tasked with creating an online system to pass lists of draft dodgers to the Federal Security Service to prevent them from leaving the country.
The army has struggled to get soldiers for the Ukrainian invasion thanks to reports of poor-quality food and equipment as well as a “meat grinder” approach to assaults, using poorly trained troops.
Legislation passed in Russia in April last year made it illegal for men to leave the country once they have received their summons to serve.
It also introduced electronic call-up papers which are considered formally received once they arrive in a draftee’s inbox, and other penalties for those avoiding service, from suspension of their driver’s licence to bans on taking out bank loans and mortgages.
In April this year, the Russian government set up a universal register of men eligible for call-up.
Advertisement
The new online system is being developed by the Voskhod (Sunrise) information technology research institute in southwest Moscow. It will use the register to streamline the flow of data on draft dodgers to the FSB security service, which controls the border-guard service and can enforce exit bans.
Programmers are said to be rushing to complete the system by this year’s autumn call-up, which begins on October 1.
In April this year, the BBC said it had compiled a list showing that at least 50,000 Russian service personnel had died in Ukraine. US officials estimate that more than 300,000 have been killed or wounded.
Conscripts and mobilised troops frequently complain of maltreatment by officers, and a group of soldiers’ mothers say that their sons spend months at the front without relief. There have also been unconfirmed reports of a series of suicides in which men shot themselves or used grenades.
In a recent video circulated online, a soldier appeared to comply with a comrade’s request to shoot him in the head after he was injured in a drone strike. Both men were reported to be Russians in Ukraine.
Advertisement
In October, the US National Security Council said it had “information that the Russian military has been actually executing soldiers who refuse to follow orders”. Public records show that in March this year 684 Russian soldiers were prosecuted for being absent without leave, a record high.
When President Putin ordered a partial mobilisation of reserves in September 2022, government officials failed to share accurate data about draftees with border crossing points.
• Putin could use nuclear weapons if he’s losing, says Ukraine
Hundreds of thousands of men were able to flee Russia and avoid service as a result, although some later returned.
Men reluctant to join up have dodged service by avoiding receiving paper call-up notices, often by simply changing address without informing the authorities.
Advertisement
Many Russians avoid military service because of the danger and poor treatment, or because they are morally opposed to the invasion. Putin has said that Russians who are against the war are “scum and traitors”, and fifth columnists working for the West.
