Petersburg draftee who requested alternative service remains in the army, but was sent to the rear

St. Petersburg resident Kirill Berezin, who was drafted but refused to take up arms, fled his unit, and demanded to be transferred to alternative service, has been sent to the rear, says BBC’s Russian Service.

Berezin will service as a driver and mechanic on a military unit located near Luga, in the Leningrad region.

According to Berezin’s lawyer, Nikifor Ivanov, it was possible to have Berezin transferred to the rear thanks, in part, to the commander of the unit outside of Luga. Ivanov did his mandatory service on that unit, and kept in touch with the commander for some time.

“We’re very grateful that we found commanders who are willing to accept such a problematic person. It shows that the army has reasonable people, who are not indifferent to a person’s principles, and are ready to meet him halfway and find him work without weapons,” said the lawyer.

Although Berezin didn’t succeed in being transferred to alternative service, Ivanov emphasized that being sent to the rear “saved his life.”

“It’s not alternative civil service, but all the same, I don’t have to shoot people, and that’s good,” said Berezin.

• At the end of September, Kirill Berezin was drafted and sent to the 138th Motorized Rifle Brigade in Kamenka, and then on to a camp in the Belgorod region, on the Ukrainian border. He fled the unit when he learned that they would be transferred, and took a taxi to St. Petersburg, where he submitted a complaint to the Investigative Committee against an officer he says threatened him with physical violence. The Investigative Committee reviewed the case, and its findings have not yet been announced.
• Berezin tried to challenge being drafted, and to get the opportunity to do alternative service, in court. However, the court refused his request. After the trial, Berezin told BBC’s Russian Service that he would most likely “be taken back to Kamenka, sent to Belgorod, and killed there.” Berezin was in fact sent to Kamenka, but his transfer to the camp in Belgorod was delayed.