Russians Subject to Draft Now Finding It Almost Impossible to Be Allowed to Do Alternative Service, Activists Say

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Mar. 18 – Russian law gives potential draftees the right to perform alternative service on grounds of religion or personal conviction, but rights activists say that since the start of the expanded war in Ukraine, it has become virtually impossible for anyone to be approved for that on any but religious grounds and is increasingly difficult on those.

            That change reflects Moscow’s need for soldiers and the situation in this regard as well as others is likely to get worse this year as draft quotas increase and a possible mobilization looms, these activists say (newizv.ru/news/2024-03-18/v-moskve-sozdali-edinyy-punkt-prizyvnikov-chto-eto-znachit-i-kak-on-budet-rabotat-428230).

            But that is not the only way that the authorities are tightening up. In Moscow, they have replaced the district draft processing centers with a single one, a step that will make it more difficult for potential draftees not only to seek deferments but more likely that those who should be deferred for medical reasons will be in fact be approved for that.

            The larger center, which is slated to be fully operational in time for the start of the spring draft in April, will process more men more quickly and mistakes are going to be more likely as a result, the activists say. That will give Moscow more cannon fodder, but it will also increase anger in the capital and anywhere else where a similar strategy may be adopted.