How to avoid military conscription and pressure to sign an army contract in Russia

In September 2022, Grigory Sverdlin, the former director of Nochlezhka, an organization that helps homeless people, launched Idite Lesom (“Get Lost”). The project helps Russians avoid mobilization or desert the military. Over four years, more than 85,000 people have used its services. Meduza has already published a detailed guide to avoiding being sent to the front. Now we’ve asked the Idite Lesom team to share the advice they give people who turn to them for help.

Don’t wait for a draft roundup or pressure to sign a military contract

Gather your medical records and have your diagnoses confirmed. Check whether you qualify for a deferment or exemption. Find out how to apply for alternative civilian service (ACS). Keep copies of all applications and medical records you submit to the military enlistment office.

If your city has a network of facial recognition cameras (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod), avoid the subway and walk or take taxis. Avoid public places and, if possible, don’t live at your registered address.

Carry notarized copies of your passport and military registration certificate, along with two completed ACS applications. Save contact details for human rights advocates and our help bot on your phone.

Give someone close to you power of attorney to sign and file a lawsuit challenging administrative decisions on your behalf. Include the right to delegate that authority. If necessary, they can work with a lawyer to bring your case to court.

Start with your medical history and symptoms

Review your childhood and adult outpatient records, hospital discharge summaries, specialists’ reports, and test results. Write down the symptoms you’re currently experiencing and see the appropriate specialists.

A test result isn’t a diagnosis. An MRI, ultrasound, CT scan, or blood test gives a doctor information they can use to make a diagnosis. Once you have one, check it against the current Schedule of Diseases used to assess fitness for military service. What matters isn’t just the name of the condition but also how much it affects your ability to function, how often it flares up, and other criteria.

For students: Check whether you qualify for an education deferment and whether it has been formally granted

Being a student doesn’t always entitle you to a deferment. Before enrolling or transferring to another institution, find out whether you’ll retain that right. If you’re already studying, check both the certificate from your institution and the draft board’s decision.

Request an extract from the military register: It should list the number of the decision granting your deferment and its start and end dates. If you qualify for a deferment but it hasn’t been formally granted, submit the original certificate from your institution’s military registration office to the military enlistment office.

Alternative civilian service is possible

We hear from people facing conscription who don’t believe they can get approval for alternative civilian service: The military enlistment office won’t accept their application, they’ve missed the deadline, their family doesn’t support them, or the draft board pressures them.

But people do get approved for ACS. Applications do get considered. Rejections can be appealed. We’ve helped people facing conscription prepare applications, autobiographies, and character references, explain why they missed the deadline, and prepare to appear before the draft board. We’ve also helped them go to court to get the draft board to review their documents. Even if you’re scared and the military enlistment office pushes back, you have the right to pursue ACS.

Don’t go to the military enlistment office without a reason

A phone call, an ordinary text message, an email, or a message on a messaging app does not, on its own, count as a summons. Requests relayed through relatives to come in “just to sign something,” “check your details,” or “talk” don’t mean you’re required to go, either.

A document dropped in your mailbox or taped to your door does not, on its own, mean a summons has been properly served. But a summons may already have been sent by another method, including electronically.

Don’t go in person to clear things up. Save the message or photograph the document, check the Summons Registry, and seek advice.

If the summons is considered served under the law, that’s a different situation. Consult human rights advocates about whether you’re required to appear and what to do next.

Don’t sign anything unless you understand the document and its consequences

Be especially careful if it includes the words “contract,” “BARS,” “volunteer unit,” or “unmanned systems forces.”

You may be offered a military contract under the guise of “alternative service,” with promises of a quiet posting, a job as a cook or drone operator, or work at a computer. Signing a military contract instead of serving as a conscript is not ACS.

Don’t believe promises of a short-term contract

“For three months,” “for six months,” “for a year” — the stated term doesn’t mean you’ll be able to leave when it ends.

During mobilization, contracts remain in force after their stated terms expire. You can be discharged only on grounds specified by law. You may be told in your unit that you can terminate your contract at any time. Don’t believe it.

For conscripts: What should you do if you’re pressured to sign a contract?

Submit a written statement to your commanding officer in advance declaring that you do not plan to sign a contract and intend to be discharged when your compulsory military service ends. Keep a copy and proof of submission.

Your written refusal may remain in your personnel file. If you’re later pressured to sign, the document could serve as evidence that your decision wasn’t voluntary. It doesn’t guarantee protection from pressure. If you’re being forced to sign a contract, tell someone close to you immediately and contact human rights advocates.

Prepare in case you’re detained

Agree with people close to you on what they’ll do if they stop hearing from you. Save contact details for human rights advocates on your phone and separately on paper. Keep your phone charged and carry a portable charger.

If you’re detained, try to let someone close to you know where you are as soon as possible. Don’t get into a confrontation or try to fight the people who detained you. Don’t sign a contract, and contact human rights advocates.

If you’re already in the military and want to desert, don’t act on your own. Contact Idite Lesom first: Together, we can work out a plan and reduce the risks.

Telegram help bot: @iditelesom_info_bot. Help is free and anonymous.