Year-round conscription campaign and other innovations

In recent years, the Russian military conscription system has undergone significant changes. Existing rules and instruments have been refined, and new ones have been introduced. A law introducing further innovations is currently undergoing all necessary stages. A number of measures have been proposed to optimize the work of military commissariats and improve their performance.

Current regulations

The conscription procedure for the Russian Armed Forces is determined by the current Federal Law No. 53-FZ "On Military Duty and Military Service." It was adopted in 1998 and has been amended several times since then. For example, in the late 2000s, the length of service was reduced to 12 months, and in 2023, new mechanisms such as electronic summonses were introduced.

According to current law, the conscription campaign is conducted twice a year and is launched by order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. The spring conscription begins on April 1 and continues until July 15, while the autumn conscription runs from October 1 to December 31.

During these periods, military commissariats summon conscripts, determine their fitness for service, and prepare the necessary documents. Those new recruits fit for service are then sent to their units. Decisions regarding alternative service are also made.

New initiatives

On July 22, 2025, a new bill was introduced to the State Duma, amending the existing Federal Law "On Military Duty and Military Service." The bill was authored by deputies A. Kartapolov and A. Krasov. The document received the number 973851-8 and the subtitle "On the timing of events related to conscription."

Over the course of two months, the bill completed preliminary preparations and received the necessary approvals from various agencies. The document was then submitted to the State Duma for consideration.

On September 24, the Duma held the first reading of the new bill and unanimously adopted it. The document was then sent back for revision, and the table of amendments was ready in mid-October. The updated bill, No. 973851-8, was reviewed on October 21 and adopted in the second reading with no votes against or abstentions. The third reading took place on October 28. Deputies again voted unanimously for the amendments.

On the same day, the law, approved by the Duma, was submitted to the Federation Council for further review and approval. On October 29, the Federation Council adopted a positive decision.

The law amending the Federal Law "On Military Duty and Military Service" and "On Alternative Civilian Service" will soon be signed by the president. After this, the new conscription regulations will come into force, and military registration and enlistment offices will begin preparing to implement them.

Major innovations

Bill No. 973851-8 proposes several changes of varying scope. They affect the overall organization of conscription campaigns and also adjust certain rules and mechanisms. The bill's authors believe these measures will simplify and improve the work of military recruitment offices.

The main innovation that has attracted the most attention is the elimination of two conscription campaigns per year. Now, conscription and work with conscripts will be ongoing and uninterrupted. Military enlistment offices will be required to invite potential conscripts year-round, conduct military medical examinations, and prepare the necessary documents.

At the same time, the existing schedule for dispatching new recruits to their duty stations will remain in place. These events will continue to be held in April-July and October-December. Special deployment periods are also provided for citizens living in the Far North and equivalent areas, and those employed in teaching or agriculture.

The new bill clarifies the deadline for appearing for an electronic summons. Citizens must now visit the military registration and enlistment office within 30 days of the document being posted in the Register of Summons.

Furthermore, a requirement to appear in person at the military registration and enlistment office for verification of data is introduced in the event that grounds for deferment are lost or a summons is not received. Citizens must report to the military registration and enlistment office within two weeks of the start of the deployment period, i.e., in the first half of April or October.

Military commissariats will now be able to issue extracts from the Register of Military Personnel in electronic form.

The procedures for draft boards have been adjusted. These bodies now have the authority to decide on deferments or exemptions from military service without the conscript's personal appearance.

Causes and consequences

The bill's authors immediately clarified its goals and desired outcomes. Overall, the goal is to optimize the work of military recruitment offices, reduce their workload, and improve their efficiency. All of this should have a positive impact on the existing conscription and staffing system for the armed forces.

The current system of two conscription campaigns imposes certain limitations. Military enlistment offices have six and a half months to complete all necessary activities, from data verification to dispatching recruits to their units. The remaining half of the year is also used for various activities, but at a significantly lower intensity.

The new procedure won't change the overall workload of military registration and enlistment offices, but it will allow for its optimal distribution throughout the year. This will also eliminate periods of peak workload. This is expected to somewhat simplify the work of military registration and enlistment offices and reduce the likelihood of errors.

Furthermore, it can be expected that conscription processes will become easier for citizens as well. The new operating mode should lead to a reduction in the number of visitors to military recruitment offices at any given time, shorter queues, etc.

Interestingly, the new regulations will only affect the selection and data verification process. Recruits will be deployed to the armed forces according to the old principles and schedules. This will eliminate the need for units to revise existing schedules and timetables, reorganize training, combat duty, and so on.

Bill No. 973851-8 also proposed several additional measures to improve the new electronic subpoena system. The electronic registry has already begun operating, but time is needed to identify and correct any potential deficiencies. Some of these issues are being addressed through federal legislation.

Course towards optimization

The Russian Armed Forces maintain a mixed personnel structure. A significant portion of the army is made up of conscripts, along with hundreds of thousands of contract soldiers. The country's military and political leadership considers this system optimal and plans to maintain it in the future.

The recently adopted draft amendments to the Law on Military Duty and Military Service do not envisage any fundamental or radical changes to the armed forces recruitment system. However, measures are proposed to restructure existing processes with the aim of streamlining them.

The new law is expected to be signed by the president and enter into force soon. Military recruitment offices will then transition to the new operating mode, and the first results will become clear in the coming months. It will also become clear then whether the conscription process has been optimized and other positive results have been achieved.

Comments

[Uncle lee]

The first results of this will become clear in the coming months. At that time, it will also become clear whether the recruitment process has been optimized and other positive results have been achieved.

[media = https: //vk.com/video-61200858_456239848]

[Ross xnumx]

The country's military and political leadership considers this system optimal and plans to maintain it in the future.

I won't offend anyone by distrusting it, but such a system must pursue certain goals. What goals does the proposed one pursue? And how can people who haven't served in the Armed Forces create an optimal recruitment system?
Previously, I published material about the military manning systems in various countries. For example, I liked the Austrian one:

The Austrian Armed Forces conscript male recruits between the ages of 17 and 36. The service term is six months, regardless of branch of service or specialty. After completing his mandatory service, a former recruit can sign a contract and remain in the army.

Given the specific nature of the Russian Armed Forces, the length of service could be extended, and recruits could be recruited similarly to hiring, with a senior officer assigned to a senior officer for 1-3 months with appropriate compensation for mentoring. This is feasible, and it's time for the military and political leadership to come down to earth and examine the issue of service from the inside, to gain a full understanding of how precious service hours are being spent and to what benefit.

[dragon772]

I prefer the Swiss one:

According to Swiss law, young men between the ages of 18 and 21 are subject to conscription. Upon receiving a summons, they must undergo a medical examination to determine their full or partial fitness for military service, or their unfitness. Citizens deemed fit are subject to military service until age 34 (upon reaching this age, they are transferred to the reserves; at 65, military service is completely lifted). Those deemed partially fit are assigned to civil defense service, while those deemed unfit are exempt from service, but are subject to an additional tax of three percent of their income until age 33. This tax is intended to compensate for the citizen's absence from the armed forces. Swiss citizens residing outside the country and therefore also exempt from military service are also required to pay the same tax.

Swiss citizens cannot refuse military service—evasion of military duty carries a criminal penalty of eighteen months' imprisonment. However, since 1996, conscripts deemed fit for military service have been able to apply for alternative service in civil defense, hospitals, the reconstruction of historic buildings, or in elderly care. Alternative service can be chosen, for example, for religious reasons. An average of 40 people are subject to military conscription in Switzerland annually, of whom approximately 70 percent are deemed fully fit for service in the armed forces. After this, conscripts undergo basic military training, which lasts from 18 to 21 weeks, depending on the military rank the conscript intends to attain—from private to sergeant major (senior non-commissioned officer). If The conscript expects to achieve the rank of lieutenant, and training will take 30 weeks.

Upon completion of their training, military personnel are sent home. However, they are required to take their military uniform and weapons assigned to them. It's believed that in the event of military action, this will allow for the rapid assembly of a fully combat-ready army. Swiss conscripts up to age 33 are called up annually for military training, which lasts two to three weeks. Avoiding the training is prohibited, as it would be considered criminal desertion. However, in Switzerland, men don't avoid it; in fact, most even look forward to it. Participation in it officially exempts them from work with full pay. At the same time, young men have the opportunity to expand their network of useful contacts, as everyone is called up for training: they can run into fellow soldiers, managers, and city officials.

[Ross xnumx]

Quote: dragon772

I prefer the Swiss one:

I won't deny the rationale behind such mobilization, but is the Swiss Army capable of fulfilling the tasks assigned to the Russian Armed Forces? Furthermore, as I've already stated, the experience of private military companies shows that a good soldier can be trained in a short time if they aren't burdened with drill and chores...
But judging by the responses to the first post, there are STILL ENOUGH Shoigu supporters on the site... Learn the science of winning, and don't spend your time taking notes on speeches by people with only a passing connection to military service...

[dragon772]

The Swiss army will carry out the assigned tasks.
The experience of PMCs differs from the training of motorized riflemen and even marines and airborne forces.
Regular reservist gatherings are the right decision.

[Ross xnumx]

Quote: dragon772

The Swiss army will carry out the assigned tasks.

As of 2025, the Swiss army will have a strength of 101,600 personnel.
There aren't even enough of them for the district...
And this army will handle the tasks of the Russian Armed Forces in the same way that a doorman handles the Cosmos Hotel...

Quote: dragon772

Regular reservist gatherings are the right decision.

Who would doubt that...

[Alexey RA]

Quote: ROSS 42

Due to the specific nature of the Russian Armed Forces, the length of service can be extended, and new recruits can be recruited in the same way as they are hired, assigning them to an experienced employee for 1-3 months with appropriate additional pay for mentoring.

The problem is that the concept "A combat-ready army of professionals + a reserve of conscripts trained in case of a major war"It doesn't work for us. Because traditionally there's no money for a contract, combat-ready unit of the army.
As a result, our conscripts are the ones who serve. Along with the double bass players in combat units. Conscripts aren't sent beyond the old border, and within it, they even fight.
And for such a mixed-composition army, conscription should last two years. The first year is training. The second year is service.

[Ross xnumx]

Quote: Alexey RA

Because there is traditionally no money for a contract combat-ready part of the army.

But there is money for a contract army of officials, television, bloggers, media, politicians, and other parasites of society, the benefit of whose activities is highly questionable...

[Alexey RA]

Quote: ROSS 42

But there is money for a contract army. officials, television, bloggers, media, politicians

What you guard is what you have! ©

[Li17]

Quote: Alexey RA

As a result, our conscripts are the ones who drag out their service.

A soldier can only really perform his duties in his second year of service! So, to be trusted with anything, a soldier needs to understand that the army isn't a summer camp where an afternoon nap is mandatory, and that completing a duty or combat mission isn't like playing a computer game!

[Alexey RA]

Quote: lithium17

A soldier will only be able to carry out his service in reality in his second year of service!

And I about it!
The current length of conscript service corresponds to the Makarov reform, under which they were trained solely as reservists: a year of training away from combat units, followed by discharge. And now they're assigned tasks similar to those of classic two-year military personnel.

[cast iron]

Let's not be petty here. In Russia, conscription should be for ages 16 to 60. For two years. Or better yet, forever. Let the Russians serve, and let Uzbek, Kyrgyz, and Tajik physicists, nuclear scientists, and chemists study at universities.

[AdAstra]

Electronic subpoenas are, of course, brilliant (or not), especially now, when mobile internet is being jammed everywhere, and some places still don't even have wired internet. I live in a regional center where there's absolutely no mobile internet, and many of its privately owned neighborhoods don't have wired internet. It's either unprofitable for providers or they charge so much that the people living there can't afford it. But still, yes, the sheriff doesn't care about the problems of black people. The state doesn't owe you anything; you not only owe it, but are obligated to it.

[Gunther]

AdAstra, I agree about the availability of the Network, both on the availability of money to pay for it and on its availability itself.
But does the law actually mandate a conscript's constant combing through the "summons register"? Doesn't the mere fact of a conscript's receipt mean a lack of accountability? Well, that's how it should be, in my opinion, in a state governed by the rule of law, not a digital concentration camp.

[AdAstra]

Yeah, right, but in Russia it's like, "Laws? No, we don't know." So read what's written there about it.

[Des]

"The new operating mode should lead to a reduction in the number of visitors to military registration and enlistment offices at any given time, shorter queues, etc."
I've been to our military recruitment office many times, but I've never seen a "number of visitors," much less a "line." Everything is calm, as usual with the conscription process. The people are normal. Maybe I was lucky; the city is small (50).
P.S. Until next time.

[Russian_Ninja]

Well, when I went to the military registration and enlistment offices in Krasnodar, there were always lines, but perhaps this is due to the fact that students are forced to show up at the appointed time, even if they just came to register.

[Curious]

Greetings to all. I served in the Soviet Army for two years, my son served in the Russian Army for one and a half years, and my nephew recently served for one year. We all agree that one year of service is not enough.