On October 28, the Russian House of Representatives officially passed an important new law on military service. This law allows military service procedures to be conducted continuously throughout the year, instead of focusing on only 2 periods of spring and fall as before.
The new law was proposed by Chairman of the National Defense Commission Andrey Kartapolov and his deputy on July 22. Before being last passed, the bill had been read and approved twice on September 24 and October 21.
The most important change of the new law is military service-related activities such as medical examinations, professional psychological assessments and military service council meetings that will now be held continuously throughout the year.
However, according to the bill, the actual sending of new soldiers to military units will still take place twice a year as before: the spring period from April 1 to July 15 and the fall period from October 1 to December 31.
This initiative also provides special deadlines for some specific target groups. For example, rural residents participating in farming will be called up to join the army from October 15 to December 31. Education staff will be drafted from 1.5 to 15.7. Residents in some areas of the Northern Arctic will have 2 separate military enlistments: from 1.5 - 15.7 or from 1.11 - 31.12.
The new law also includes additional amendments to modernize the process. Notably, the regulation on electronic summons: The date of presence at the military recruitment office stated on the electronic summons must not exceed 30 days from the date it is issued on the registration system.
The Military Service Council will also have the authority to issue a letter of deferment or exemption from military service without the direct presence of a person called for military service, based on valid documents. The military recruitment offices also have the right to issue extracts from military registration books to citizens, including in electronic format.
According to the explanation attached to the bill, the main purpose of this change is to help military recruitment centers work more effectively.
Instead of having to handle a huge amount of work in 2 peak periods of the year, now jobs such as health check-ups and approval of documents will be spread out all year round. This is expected to reduce pressure on the centers, giving them more time to select more carefully, thereby improving the quality of new recruits joining the army in Russia.
If the law is signed by the President, the new regulations will take effect from January 1 of the following year.
