Russian State Duma passes bill to legalize electronic military summonses in effort to curb draft evasion

The Russian State Duma has approved the third and final reading of a bill that legalizes electronic military summonses and makes it illegal to ignore them.

Under the new legislation, summonses issued through Russia’s government services portal, Gosuslugi, will now carry the same weight as draft orders issued by mail or through a person’s employer. Electronic summonses will legally be considered to have been issued as soon as they appear on a person’s Gosuslugi account.

After a summons is served (or appears online), its recipient will be required to report to a military conscription office within 20 calendar days. Anyone who fails to do so will be legally prohibited from driving vehicles, buying or selling real estate, and applying for loans.

The amendments will also ban “citizens liable for military service” from leaving Russia from the moment they receive a summons until they report to the military authorities.

Additionally, the legislation provides for the creation of a unified registered of citizens liable for military service, which will receive information about draft-eligible Russians from the Federal Tax Service, medical institutions, the Federal Pension Fund and Social Insurance Fund, the Central Election Commission, high education institutions, and other agencies.