Russian lawmakers spend less than three minutes discussing major reforms to military conscription notices

The State Duma has passed the first reading of legislation that would shift responsibility for reporting for military conscription to individual draftees, even when the military fails to deliver a conscription summons by the time an individual is expected to come in.

Lawmakers spent exactly 180 seconds discussing the draft law. The document passed with the support of 341 deputies. No one opposed it, and just one deputy abstained.

Before this draft law arrived in the State Duma, the federal government endorsed it, while simultaneously noting that clauses in the bill contradict existing laws on military service. The maximum penalty for evading the draft in Russia is two years in prison. In the first six months of 2017, more than 300 men were convicted of draft evasion. They were all let off with fines.

What is this legislation?

It would allow the government to deliver draft summons through the postal service, and the military would consider conscripts to be notified as soon as someone signed for the parcel. Additionally, a draftee would be held responsible for appearing before his deadline, even when his conscription summons arrives late. The legislation doesn’t specify how men are supposed to know when they’re required to report for conscription without getting a summons.