In late 2024, a snow-covered Friday evening saw a young man detained on the metro for draft evasion, a stark illustration of how Russia’s conscription system has intensified amid the conflict in Ukraine. Within three days of his arrest, he was dispatched to a military unit near Moscow for his mandatory year of service. His experience, shared on condition of anonymity due to security concerns, mirrors that of other Russian conscripts who have detailed the mounting pressure to sign contracts for combat roles in Ukraine, despite official assurances that draftees are not deployed to the front lines.
Hardened Conscription System
For years prior to 2022, evading the draft was often achievable through legal avenues such as medical exemptions, alternative civilian service, or by continuing one’s education. However, legal experts note a significant shift. “Now very few legal ways remain,” stated Artyom Klyga, a lawyer with the Movement of Conscientious Objectors. The government has since implemented year-round conscription, increased the maximum age for draftees from 27 to 30, tightened medical exemption criteria, and introduced an online summons system, making it more difficult to avoid service.
Institutions monitoring conscription, such as Shkola Prizyvnika (School of Conscripts), report a sharp increase in individuals seeking ways to circumvent military service. In major cities like Moscow, advanced technology, including facial recognition cameras and a centralized recruitment database, facilitates quicker identification and processing of potential conscripts.
Pressure to Sign Contracts
Once conscripted, the push to sign a formal army contract often begins within days. “They are without means of communication, without access to parents, right groups or journalists,” Klyga observed, highlighting the isolation faced by new recruits. Tactics employed to encourage contract signing are varied.
One common approach, according to Timofey Vaskin of Shkola Prizyvnika, is to present military contracts as a standard employment opportunity. Conscripts are reportedly offered positions with regular working hours, significantly higher pay, and exemptions from routine duties. Promises of roles as drivers or clerks, or assurances that the contract is for a limited term of “just one year,” are also reportedly used. In reality, these army contracts are effectively open-ended.
“It is a major success of the Russian authorities that they have convinced many people that conscripts simply serve for a year,” Klyga commented. “As a result, conscripts are now ending up in the war in record numbers.”
Contract Signings and Deployment
Last year, official figures indicated that 422,000 Russians signed voluntary contracts to serve in Ukraine. Concurrently, approximately 295,000 individuals were called up for mandatory military service. If conscripts agree to sign a contract, they can be deployed to the front lines within a month, according to Klyga.
The former bank worker, detained on the metro, recounted his experience in a detention center for three days without basic amenities. While he stated no one physically forced him to sign, the suggestion was pervasive. He recalled being told, “You’re a good fit, we need people like you,” and superiors suggesting, “You could get a decent role, earn money and not do the usual duties.” Some individuals in his unit reportedly signed contracts immediately, and he himself considered the offer.
Seeking Release and Difficult Conditions
A DJ from Moscow who attempted to avoid service found that obtaining essential documents like a driving license or international passport was contingent on having proper military papers. He eventually complied and was assigned to a medical unit for a year, where he encountered contract soldiers actively seeking ways to leave their service. “None of them want to serve,” he reported. “They all want out.” He also mentioned hearing some commanders advise against signing, saying, “Don’t sign anything. Don’t ruin your life.”
Reports have emerged of extreme measures used to compel contract signings. In one documented instance, a prohibited phone was allegedly planted on a conscript, who was then given a choice between detention or signing a combat contract. Organizations supporting conscripts have gathered accounts of recruits being deprived of sleep for extended periods while wearing heavy protective gear, forced into repetitive manual labor, and in some cases, having their signatures forged on enlistment documents.
“Under constant pressure they break a person,” Klyga stated. The psychological toll is significant, with one conscript recounting an incident where a fellow unit member ingested a needle in an attempt to secure a discharge. The individual survived and was eventually released from service.
Family Discoveries
For those who end up fighting, whether through pressure or coercion, communication with families often ceases. “They simply leave, and the family only finds out later,” Klyga explained. In tragic cases, parents only learn of their son’s involvement in combat after he has been killed on the front lines.
