Service life in the army of the Russian Federation: history, when it begins and ends

The main provisions regulating military service in the Russian Federation are established by the Federal Law “On Military Duty and Military Service”, adopted in 1998. Amendments are periodically made to it, but regarding the period of compulsory military service the situation has remained stable since 2008. However, the issue of revising the term of military conscription is constantly raised in the Russian media. Most often, this is due to a deliberate desire to attract the attention of the audience on the part of individual media resources. The position of the country's top leadership and the Ministry of Defense has remained unchanged in recent years: the length of service in the Russian army will neither be reduced nor increased for a very long time.

Duration of military service today and earlier

How many serve in the army today? Conscripts fulfill their military duties prescribed by law for twelve months after conscription. That is, for exactly one year a young man aged 18 to 27 years undergoes training that can be useful in the event of military conflicts.

But the deadline was not always one year. This duration was established more than ten years ago: by government decision, it was reduced only from January 1, two thousand and eight. Before this period, soldiers served for two years.

Good to know! The current period of military service is prescribed by law: it is indicated in Federal Law-53, called “On Military Duty and Military Service.” This law was adopted by the State Duma back in 1998, but has been amended several times.

Let's delve a little deeper into the history of the service. Initially, the service was of an indefinite nature, that is, it was for life. In 1793, the duration was reduced to twenty-five years, and by the 74th year of the eighteenth century - to seven years. After the reform, they served in the ground forces for fifteen years (nine years in reserve), and in the navy for ten years (seven in reserve). In 1906 the term was three years. Then it was reduced to two years and remained so until the Great Patriotic War. After the Second World War, citizens liable for military service in the ground forces served for three years in aviation and in ground units, and in the navy for 4 years.

In the 67th year of the last century, according to the new law, the service life was reduced to one and a half years in the aviation and ground forces and to two years in the water forces. In 1996, in connection with the events that took place in Chechnya, the terms again increased to two years for aviation and ground forces, becoming equal to those of the navy. Then, at the beginning of the 2000s, a reform began, as a result of which in 2007 conscripts served for 1.5 years, and since 2008 - only a year. These terms remain to this day.

Why might deadlines increase?

Why are there rumors about a possible extension of military service? Over the past decade, they have arisen more than once, since several times State Duma deputies made proposals to extend the period of military service in the army.

The initiators of the changes explain their proposals by the fact that a year is not enough to fully train soldiers. During this period, conscripts do not have time to study military affairs. They are just learning the basics: they practice handling simple weapons and master minimal combat skills. According to some politicians, this is not enough to form an equipped, strong and highly qualified army.

Not everyone supports the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the military reform he is carrying out: the head of state has repeatedly emphasized that he intends to set a course for the formation of a qualified army consisting of well-trained and sufficiently experienced soldiers. And for this purpose, the emphasis is on contract service: in this case, young people make an informed choice, take military duties more responsibly and receive material rewards for their efforts. The practice of other states has proven the effectiveness of such measures.

Helpful information! In the foreseeable future, it is planned to achieve a ratio of contract soldiers and conscripts of 80:20, respectively. And in the future, the number of soldiers serving under contact will increase to 90 percent. But such tactics will not cancel military service.

The government led by Putin is confident that a one-year period is quite enough. During this period it is impossible to achieve high qualifications and get an experienced fighter: it is difficult and expensive. But in a year, young people will be able to show their talents, show themselves and make a deliberate decision to continue serving, but on a contract basis.

Can the spring conscription be canceled?

In view of recent events, there is no reason to assume that in the coming year, President V. Putin will sign a decree on the complete refusal of conscription for military service. From an economic point of view, such a solution is not advisable. The full maintenance of a professional army is much more expensive than escorting conscripts. The timing of the coronavirus also cannot affect the processes associated with conscription for compulsory service.

It was also never possible to recruit a sufficient number of people willing to serve under a contract. Conscripts are needed for positions that do not require high qualifications. And in today’s realities, these are the majority. They act as a reserve for replenishing the ranks of contract soldiers.

Ivan Golubkin

Legal specialist and manager. Experience in the legal field - more than 10 years, in the field of assistance to conscripts - more than 3 years. Writes useful articles for conscripts.

Will conscripts expect changes?

Will those included in the 2022 draft expect changes? Despite numerous rumors and proposals from deputies, so far not a single initiative has received government approval or even received the status of a bill. That is, we should not expect any global innovations or revisions of existing rules in the coming years.

The current Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian state, Burdinsky, officially stated that in the near future the Ministry of Defense absolutely does not plan to change the current terms of service, so they will remain the same in 2022 and, most likely, in 2022.

The representative of the Russian General Staff also clarified that the country’s defense department is currently focused on strictly defined and different from past principles of manning the armed forces, namely contract service. And since there are more than enough contract soldiers today (their number has doubled in just a few years), conscripts can serve less without harming the army.

Interesting fact! According to official statistical data presented by Burdinsky, the number of persons evading military duty has been reduced by almost 4 times, which is probably due precisely to the reduction in terms of military service in the army.

How long do they serve in the AGS and under contract?

Some citizens of the Russian Federation are given the opportunity to replace military service with an alternative option. This primarily concerns small residents of remote areas of Russia, as well as those young people whose religious beliefs contradict military laws.

Alternative civil service (ACS) involves other conditions for persons of military age. In this case, young people are enlisted in specific troops for 21 months. This privilege is explained simply - alternative fighters are not subject to strict discipline and do not participate in combat exercises.

AGS soldiers live at home, plan their free time taking into account personal preferences, and even study by correspondence. The only thing that is required of a young man is to come to work on time and perform his job duties efficiently.

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Men who decide to connect their lives with contract service do not fall under the conditions described above. The length of stay in the armed forces will depend on the specific agreement.

A young man has the right to enter into a contract with the army or navy for the following terms:

• 3 years;
• 5 years;
• 10 years;
• up to the maximum period of military service or 45 years.

Military service dates in 2022

So what will the terms of military service be in 2022? No innovations, as you have already understood, are not planned: the legislation will remain the same, and accordingly, the duration of the period of military service will remain unchanged. Below are the exact deadlines for different service options.

Emergency service

The term of conscript service in Russia is twelve months, that is, exactly a year. Moreover, it does not matter which troops the ordinary soldier is sent to: the Navy, the ground forces or the aviation forces. For all types, the duration of the period is the same. And it won't change anytime soon.

Contract service

Contract service lasts longer than fixed-term service, as it requires completion of a full course of combat training, mastering complex types of weapons and equipment, as well as obtaining high qualifications.

The timing of military duties for contract soldiers depends on the ranks provided for by the staff of the troops. This:

• 2 years or three - for sailors, soldiers, foremen and sergeants entering into a contract for the first time (if the person entering service is a foreign citizen, then for him the period increases to five years).
• Five years - for officers, midshipmen and warrant officers at the initial conclusion of contracts.
• One, three years, five years, ten or an unlimited period (until retirement due to age) - for any military personnel entering into repeated contracts.

Alternative service

Alternative service eliminates the need to undergo military service, which is impossible due to religious, political, moral, ethical, peacekeeping or other principles and beliefs. This opportunity has been provided to young people in Russia since 1993.

From January 1, 2008 to this day, the terms for completing alternative service are:

• 21 months – for employees, alternatively, in organizations subordinate to the subject or federal executive authorities;
• 18 months - for citizens serving an alternative type as civilian employees in organizations of the Russian Armed Forces, as well as other military formations and structural units of the Armed Forces.

What you need to know

There are a number of popular questions regarding this topic:

1. How many years do they last? Up to 27 years old with urgent care. Until retirement, or until the end of the contract, in the case of a contract.
2. Is there a salary? It is present only among contract soldiers.
3. If there is a child? A citizen is exempt from service if his wife is pregnant, his child is under 3 years old, and also if the conscript is raising him alone.
4. Is being in the army included in your total length of service? For some professions, for example:
   firefighters;
5. state drug control;
6. bodies of the criminal executive system.
7. When can I get an apartment? First of all, if a soldier, as well as his family, moved to the locality where the unit is located, then he must be provided with housing for 3 months. For military personnel with more than 20 years of service, their mortgage is paid off.

Countdown

The term of service in the army begins to count for conscripted male citizens who do not have ranks and are not in the reserve from the moment of assignment to the rank of private, which the young man receives upon arrival at the collection point (not at the time of receipt of the summons, as some believe). For those entering specialized military educational institutions, the start date is the day of enrollment. If a person has a rank, then the period begins to count for him immediately after the issuance of the corresponding order to be sent to the place of duty.

The end of the term will be considered the date on which the serviceman is officially excluded from the personnel of the unit. But this day cannot come later than the expiration of the period of military duties. That is, twelve months are counted from arrival at the collection point (the same date and the same month of the next year).

Alternative

For some categories of people, alternative civilian service may be assigned, for example:

• those who are not allowed by religion;
• citizens whose profession is related to art;
• representatives of small indigenous peoples.

Its duration, unlike the urgent one, is 21 months. The bottom line is that the conscript is assigned to any profession from the list of established ones. It is impossible to resign or leave an assigned position, since such an offense is punishable by law.

Range of professions:

• gardeners;
• cleaners;
• locksmiths;
• carpenters;
• cooks;
• rural industry employees;
• cultural workers;
• educators;
• programmers;
• paramedics.

In what cases will the service life be reduced?

In some situations, the term of service may be prematurely interrupted and terminated legally. These are the following situations:

• death during armed conflicts of a soldier’s closest blood relative, that is, his father or brother;
• the need and willingness of a conscript to become a guardian for a minor blood relative - sister or brother;
• illness of a relative requiring constant care (if a serving citizen will take care of him);
• the appearance of a second child;
• the presence of a disabled child under three years of age, whose care will be provided by a citizen serving in the army;
• the death of a current or former spouse, as a result of which the child (or children) were left without supervision (if the soldier is ready to educate).

Such grounds for reducing service life are provided for in Article 51 of the law on military service. These changes came into force in the early fall of 2019, but they will certainly be in effect in 2022.

Will the service become exclusively contractual?

There is talk about a complete transfer of the entire army to a contract basis. The Minister of Defense recently commented on all issues regarding the possibility of such a reform. He said that a complete transition to contracts in the coming years or even decades is not possible for sure, primarily for financial reasons.

If all those liable for military service become exclusively contract soldiers, then this will require hundreds of billions of rubles. Firstly, there is no such huge money in the Russian budget. Secondly, the allocated funds are spent on rearmament of troops and equipping them with new equipment.

Now you know all the latest news about service life in 2022. No changes are planned yet, but there is always the possibility of innovations in the event of emergency situations, for example, the threat of military conflicts.

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