/ Česky / Русский /
Recently, our website published notes on mobilization in Russia, written by an anarchist from Russia. We continue to explore this topic through an interview with anarcho-syndicalists working in Russia. This interview provides further evidence that service in Putin’s army is often enforced and that expressions of resistance are brutally suppressed.
1) The Russian state is mobilising its citizens for war in Ukraine. How is society in general reacting to this?
First of all, you need to know that in Russia there is universal compulsory military service. The obligation applies to men aged 18 to 30 years. Formally, there is the possibility of alternative civilian service, but it is very difficult to achieve. In addition, the system of so-called “contract” service is becoming increasingly widespread: a person enters into an agreement (contract) with the Ministry of War to serve in the army and receives money for it.
At the very beginning of this war, both “regular” military personnel (conscripts) and “contract soldiers” were sent to the front. Furthermore, a “partial mobilization” was announced in the fall of 2022. Some of the mobilized troops were immediately sent to the front lines to plug gaps in the defenses where their units had suffered significant losses. The forced dispatch of people to the front caused discontent among the population. Migrants who have the right to reside in Russia are also being conscripted into the army.
There were protests in dozens of different cities, but they were suppressed.
Therefore, the authorities subsequently officially announced that only contract soldiers would be sent to the front. But in reality, back in 2024, there were reports that, for example, there were conscript soldiers at the front in the Kursk region.
The number of contract soldiers willing to fight is quite large. First of all, the authorities pay substantial sums of money for contract service, which attracts poor people who lack the means to survive. In the event of their death, their families receive the money. Furthermore, prisoners often sign contracts, promising amnesty in exchange.
However, the authorities’ claims that all contract soldiers are volunteers are untrue. There are numerous reports of conscripts being forced to sign contracts while still in the army, after which they are sent to the front. Such cases are often reported by relatives of those forcibly mobilized, and they are met with discontent. And there have already been cases of protests by contract soldiers who did not want to go to the front.
It’s notable that the mobilization was uneven across different regions. People complained that the recruitment was disproportionately concentrated in poor regions, regions inhabited by ethnic minorities, and so on. Discontent was noted in remote, poor regions of the country.
However, if we compare the situation with the one that exists in Ukraine, then in Russia there is not yet such widespread indignation about the mobilization, since the emphasis is on contract soldiers, not on those forcibly mobilized. However, overall, one can notice that there is growing weariness among the population about this war.
2) Are there many people in Russia who refuse to be mobilized into the army and go to war?
Nobody knows the exact number. According to various publications and sources, between several hundred thousand and approximately 700 thousand people have left Russia since the announcement of partial mobilization in September 2022. The authorities are taking measures to prevent those subject to conscription from leaving the country.
The recently deceased German pacifist Rudi Friedrich, a member of an organization Connection that assists military service objectors and deserters worldwide, cited the following figures this spring: Around 250,000 conscripts left Russia to avoid being forced to fight in the war, and more than 300,000 fled Ukraine.
Moreover, in 2024 alone, the Russian war Ministry recorded 50,500 cases of desertion and unauthorized abandonment of a unit in a warring army.
3) How can people in Russia defend themselves against mobilization?
The oldest methods of evading military service date back to the days of the Soviet Union. There are three: 1) obtaining a medical certificate diagnosing a condition that makes one unfit for military service (including feigning illness); 2) paying a bribe; 3) evading the draft notice. The second and third ways are, of course, illegal. The third option was made easier by the fact that, according to the law in effect until recently, the summons had to be delivered to the conscript in person and against signature. Therefore, people often simply pretended they weren’t home or changed their place of residence. Thus, according to official data, in 2010, almost 200 thousand Russian citizens evaded military conscription.
By law, a citizen may choose such service instead of military service if military service is contrary to his beliefs or religion, and also if he belongs to an indigenous minority people, leads a traditional way of life, carries out a traditional economy, and is engaged in traditional trades. In November 2022, a clause was added to the law on mobilization stating that during the mobilization period, the government may send those who are undergoing alternative civil service in civilian positions at regular budget organizations to civilian positions in the armed forces. Although the constitution provides mobilized personnel with the right to alternative civilian service, there is no specific law on this, which has led to several conflicts. In some cases, mobilized personnel were able to secure the right to perform alternative service through the courts.
In practice, however, obtaining alternative service can be difficult for a conscript. This requires a thorough knowledge of the law, the ability to prove the “justification” for one’s inadmissibility to military service, and good contacts with relevant lawyers or groups that specifically assist conscripts. In the first half of 2025, only 2,722 people completed alternative civilian service.
4) What specific methods for defence against mobilisation used by Working class?
Unfortunately, the generally low level of proletarian class consciousness in the countries of the former Soviet Union precludes any instances of specifically proletarian resistance to conscription or mobilization, such as strikes. Draft evasion occurs primarily on a purely individual level.
5) How the state reacts against those who do not want to be mobilized into the army?
According to current criminal legislation, evading military conscription can result in a fine of 200,000 rubles (94 rubles = 1 euro) or imprisonment for up to two years. Desertion from the army is punishable by imprisonment for up to seven years, and in cases of group desertion or desertion with a weapon, up to ten years.
Since beginning of the war, the authorities have tightened controls and repression against those who evade military service. Since November 2024, a unified register of persons liable for military service has been in place, which includes all citizens subject to military registration. In addition, there is a register of summonses to the military registration and enlistment office.
The practice that allowed a conscript to claim that he did not receive a summons because it was not handed to him personally has been abolished. Summons can now be sent by registered mail or electronically. If send by mail, summons are considered delivered on the day of delivery of registered mail, or, if receipt is refused, on the day of refusal. An electronic summons is automatically considered to have been delivered 7 days after it is posted in the online summons registry. It doesn’t matter whether the conscript saw it or not.
From the moment the summons is delivered (whether electronic or paper), a temporary ban on leaving the country takes effect. This ban remains in effect until the individual appears at the military registration and enlistment office or is provided with a valid reason for not appearing. The law provides for the possibility of imposing other restrictions (for example, on driving, registering property, or obtaining loans) if the individual fails to appear within 20 days of being delivered.
According to official data, the number of people convicted of draft evasion is approximately 1,000 per year (1,121 in 2022, 958 in 2023, and 918 in 2024). However, most of these people were sentenced to fines. Repression against deserters is harsher. By the summer of 2025, the total number of people convicted of desertion from military units since the beginning of the war was at least 18,500. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the number of criminal cases for desertion and unauthorized abandonment has increased sharply. However, even here, a significant portion of sentences for unauthorized abandonment are conditional, in order to send the convicted person back to the front.
Finally, mass raids and roundups of conscripts are periodically conducted. These raids are targeted efforts to identify men who evade military service or fail to report to the military registration and enlistment office. They are carried out by riot police (OMON) or the Russian National Guard in full gear at airports and train stations, dormitories and markets, even religious sites and recreation areas. Raids on clubs are becoming increasingly common. Men are subject to document checks and are given summonses to the military registration and enlistment office, or sometimes are taken there directly. During raids, security forces may be particularly interested in migrants.