Reformed

The proposal for the so-called radical reform of the military conscription system, where young men of conscription age are supposed to be required to appear in person at the structural units of the military registration and enlistment office within two weeks after the publication of the presidential decree to receive a summons against a receipt, I personally assess with skepticism.

Without eliminating the cause, legislators and officials from the executive branch are once again trying to hit the tails, waving a whip at the young men in the form of a threat to apply Article 328 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Evasion of military and alternative civil service”).

For decades, through their actions and inactions, fostering aversion to the army in society, the government is actually trying to move on to the next phase of blackmailing conscripts. I can say that, apart from increasing confrontation in society, such initiatives from above will not lead to anything good.

The laws of nature and society cannot be changed - if you want to get an influx of something (in this case, conscripts), create conditions of attraction, due to which there will be no end to those willing to serve.

In principle, the reform of the armed forces implied the creation of a contract army, eliminating the problem of conscription.

If the leadership of the ministry had already reported to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief that the reform was almost complete, then it means that no significant problems should have remained by that time. (By the way, this applies not only to the Ministry of Defense, but to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other “reformed” structures).

What is being proposed today for conscription reform is reminiscent of the old song in which a girl dreams of her prince:
“...didn’t drink, didn’t smoke and always gave flowers,
He gave his salary to the house and called his mother-in-law mom.
He was indifferent to football, but was not boring in company
And besides, he should be both handsome and smart.”

It was these fantastic dreams that led to the fact that the girl, unlike her friends, never got married.

In the case of the Ministry of Defense and conscription, it’s about the same fantasy. Only the words are a little different - “so that you come for the summons yourself.”

I am, of course, not a lawyer, but I do not rule out that conscription “reform” may contradict the principle of the presumption of innocence.

But if we are going to experiment, then I would start not with conscripts, but with officials. Well, for example, which of them voluntarily and on time did not submit a truthful income statement or admitted that they had failed the reform? And most importantly, did any of them suffer any punishment?

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