State Duma to reconsider a bill that permits delivery of military summonses by registered mail

The State Duma voted to return a bill from 2018 to consideration in a second reading. The draft legislation, if passed, would change the current procedure for conscription for mandatory military service.

The bill would allow military enlistment offices to send summonses by registered mail with a receipt. According to the document under Duma consideration, a summons will be considered delivered when it the conscript himself, an adult member of his family, or another authorized person signs for its receipt.

The Faridaily media project noted that the bill assumes that if a conscript doesn’t receive the letter, or doesn’t even know it was delivered, he would be considered notified and would be responsible for appearing at a military enlistment office within two weeks of a summons’ delivery.

BBC News Russian notes that the bill was passed in a second reading on the eve of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The fact that the Duma has returned the document to a second reading means that it can now be amended.

Andrey Kartapolov, the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defense, said that “the date [the document] will take effect needs to be corrected” (it was assumed that the law would take effect on April 1, 2022).

Russia’s spring draft for mandatory military service began on April 1 and will run until July 15. The authorities plan to call up 147,000 people during that period.