The age of conscription of soldiers into the army: the legal framework

If you are over 18 years old and you are a guy, you will have to repay your debt to your homeland and serve in the Russian Armed Forces. Actually, I already knew that conscription age begins from the moment of majority, but I had no idea about some of the nuances regarding the age at which it will be necessary to join the army in 2022.

Several times I talked about this issue with friends from the military registration and enlistment office, who noted that many conscripts simply do not know at what age and at what age a man can be called up for military service. In fact, such facts as the age of conscription into the army are simply necessary to know in order to appear at the recruiting station on time and not become a violator.

A separate issue concerns the age of conscription of young people in wartime. Few soldiers know about this in general. In the presented material, I will try to consider all of the listed issues in more detail and highlight the maximum age for conscription for military service for each situation separately.

At what age do you conscript into the army?

According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, conscription age begins when a young person reaches the age of majority, that is, from 18 years of age. Before this age, they have no right to call up a young man. Only those young people who are registered with the military or who are in the reserves (having a deferment for one reason or another) are allowed to be drafted into the army.

The duration of military service is 12 months. Conscription for military service in the army begins at the age of 18 and ends at 27 years. After receiving a summons to the army, the young man must appear at the military registration and enlistment office at the appointed time to undergo a medical examination and determine his fitness or unfitness for service.

But, there are some reasons why a citizen may receive a deferment from service, or be declared completely unfit for it. These include:

• The presence of one of the diseases that are included in the list of the “Schedule of Diseases” document. Their presence may become the basis for assigning a non-conscription category, or a category that provides a deferment for some time;
• Boys who turned 18 at school have the right to receive a deferment for admission to a higher educational institution. In case of failure to enroll, the unsuccessful student will immediately be drafted by the military registration and enlistment office to serve in the army;
• Full-time students have the right to receive a deferment for the entire period of study, but if they are expelled, they will be called up for military service.

Sometimes conscripts turn to lawyers if their rights regarding conscription age are violated. There are cases when a young person received a summons before he was 18 years old or after he turned 27 years old. It is worth knowing that after turning 27 years old, a citizen is sent to the military reserve and has no right to be called up for military service. In such cases, the young man should seek help from competent lawyers for assistance in resolving all disputes with the military registration and enlistment office.

Categories of citizens liable for military service

The accounting category means the sequence of conscription into the ranks of the Armed Forces for mobilization in the event of a threat to the security of the state. Each citizen registered with the military is assigned one of three reserve categories adopted by the Law.

First category

Reserve category 1 in a military ID indicates the priority enrollment of a citizen in the ranks of the Armed Forces in the event of a military situation. The first group consists of reservists:

• men under thirty-five years of age who have completed military service in the Republic of Armenia or contract service (soldiers and sailors, sergeants and foremen, midshipmen and warrant officers).
• junior officers - captains, lieutenants, juniors. and Art. lieutenants under fifty years of age;
• senior officers - majors, lieutenant colonels (in the Navy, captains of the 2nd and 3rd rank), who have not crossed the 55-year mark;
• captains of the 1st rank in the navy, colonels of the Ground Forces and the Military Space Forces under the age of 60;
• senior officer corps - up to 65 years of age.

The first category includes combatants.

Second and third categories

Receiving the second category determines conscription in the 2nd line in the event of a shortage or combat losses of first-class reservists. Reserve category 2 is written on the military ID:

• for representatives of rank and file and officers upon reaching age limits;
• among citizens liable for military service who belong to the mobilization human resource (persons who did not serve in the army for one reason or another).

The third category of stock includes:

• reservists from the second category who have crossed the age limit;
• women liable for military service.

Age limit

Colonels (captains of the 1st rank) and representatives of senior officers are not transferred to the third category, but are deregistered due to age.

Additionally

It is possible to change the second first-class reserve category at the individual request of a citizen who has not served in the Armed Forces. To do this, you need to write an application at the military registration and enlistment office, pass the military military examination, and take part in mobilization reserve training (training).

Consecutive transfer by category is carried out automatically by military registration and enlistment office employees upon reaching a certain age.

Until what age can they be drafted into the army?

Initiatives have been taken several times to raise the age of conscription for military service, but to date they have not been approved. After the period of military service was reduced to 12 months, there were significantly fewer draft dodgers and therefore the issue of extending the conscription age lost its relevance.

Now the age for conscription of citizens into the army in Russia ends at 27 years. But it is worth taking into account that if a young man receives a summons a week before his 27th birthday, the citizen will be sent for military service. A young man is considered unconscripted on the day he turns 27, but not earlier than that.

Military reserve document

An Armed Forces military ID is a document confirming a citizen’s military duty to the state when martial law is declared on the territory of the country. The initial issuance of the document is carried out:

• when enlisting in the active army;
• when registering citizens who did not serve in the army;
• upon transfer to the reserve of career officers and warrant officers.

For officers and warrant officers, a military ID is a replacement for a military personnel identification card.

Cover and 1st page of the document

Each page of the document on military duty contains individual data:

• Family status;
• civil specialty;
• place of service (conscription, contract, alternative service);
• accounting group;
• participation in hostilities and existing awards;
• rank and class;
• assigned weapons during the period of service;
• VVK data;
• anthropometric indicators;
• notes indicating that a mobilization order was handed over (or withdrawn);
• notes on registration with the military, removal from it, and transfer to special registration.

The RA accounting group in a military ID means the Russian Army, the Navy accounting group means the Navy. In the Ukrainian Army, reserve groups are divided into Navy (Naval Forces), NPO (Ground-Air Defense).

Where can I see the stock category? Data on the assignment of category and VUS is contained on page 11 of the Military ID. The next page provides information about training and retraining at military training camps.

Brief transcript of the VUS:

• the first 3 digits are specialization;
• second 3 digits – position;
• letter – special characteristics (belonging to a branch of the military, etc.).

When mobilization is announced, the VUS allows you to quickly identify the necessary specialists and replenish the ranks of the regular army. The list of military training specialties and decoding of the code are classified information of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Example of completed page 11

The fitness category in the military ID, according to the results of the military military examination, is indicated on the 13th page of the document and is written in capital letters of the Russian alphabet (A, B, C, D, D).

If a citizen receives an o or “D,” it means that he is exempt from conscription into the army upon mobilization.

Additionally

The document on military duty must be carefully stored. In case of violation of the rules for handling a document, the following penalties are provided:

• in case of loss - a strict warning;
• in case of damage or transfer to a third party - a fine.

A military ID, like any important document, is assigned an identifier, including a series and number.

Contract service in the army

Soldiers who are serving for health reasons are hired for contract service; it will also be a plus if they have a military education. Service occurs only on the personal initiative of the citizen. Possible age for concluding the first contract is from 18 to 40 years.

Initially, the contract is concluded for a period of three years, after which it can be extended for 5 or more years.

With the onset of 45 years of age, a serviceman retires to the reserve, but in the event of general mobilization he may be called up for war. He may also be called up for training camps. When the maximum mobilization age for conscription of a citizen for military service in Russia comes will depend on the rank and gender of the person. In addition, military personnel are sent on full rest if their service took place in difficult and extreme conditions.

The selection of candidates for contract service is carried out according to the following criteria:

• A complete secondary education or graduation from a technical educational institution is required;
• It is necessary to pass a medical commission with the award of fitness category A or B;
• You must have good physical fitness and successfully pass all the standards;
• Do not have an outstanding criminal record;
• A good level of professional aptitude is also required.

Calling up citizens in reserve

All citizens who are in the reserves of the Armed Forces must periodically improve their qualifications and attend military training. Complete removal from military registration of men occurs at the age of 50-65 years (depending on rank), and for women in the range from 45 to 50 years.

The following may be exempt from military duties:

1. Non-military women;
2. People living outside the Russian Federation;
3. Teachers and other employees of educational institutions;
4. Persons who have three or more children in their care;
5. Those who completed an alternative version of service;
6. Students from educational institutions of various forms.

Basic obligations of reserve citizens liable for military service

The main responsibilities of citizens subject to mobilization include:

• is registered at the place of registration;
• inform military registration and enlistment office employees about a change of residence;
• independently register and deregister when changing your registration;
• Be careful when storing your military ID.

If a threat to state independence arises and mobilization is announced, the person liable for military service must arrive at the military registration and enlistment office at the place of registration at the first request, fulfill the requirements specified in the military order or summons. During the period of mobilization, those liable for military service are prohibited from changing their place of residence. Failure to appear on a summons without a valid reason is equivalent to evasion.

Conscription in case of war

The age for conscription of reserve citizens for military service in the Russian Federation in the event of the outbreak of war is from 18 to 50 years. For mobilization, the military is divided into categories according to their age: the first - from 18 to 35 years, the second - from 35 to 40 years, and the third - from 45 to 50 years.

In the event of a war, the first rank will be subject to conscription first, then the second, and so on as needed to recruit troops.

As for officers, the conscription age limit will be:

• For junior officers - 55 years old;
• For senior officers - 60 years;
• The maximum age for mobilization of senior officers is 65 years.

According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, first of all, it is not ordinary citizens who are called up for service, but people with military training who are in the military reserve. And so that they do not lose their skills, they are required to periodically undergo military training, which lasts two months.

After 65 years of age, citizens are not subject to mobilization in the event of a threat of war.

What is conscription age and how is it determined?

Within the framework of Russian legislation, it is quite clearly defined when and until what age a young man is required to undergo military service. Federal Law No. 53 dated March 28, 1998 states that from 18 to 27 years old, young men are subject to military service, and we are talking about full age. Even if a week is not enough to turn 27, the guy will still be drafted into the army and sent to serve.

This rule applies only to soldiers and potential conscripts. This clause does not apply to officers. Moreover, the conscription age of such citizens is much higher, and certain categories of military personnel have very clear and strict restrictions.

Could the age limit for conscription for military service be increased in Russia?

Quite often in the press there are reports about the imminent increase in the conscription age for military service, for example, to 30 or 32 years. But these rumors are born out of conscripts’ fear of serving in the army or come from people who want to join the army, but for health reasons or other reasons cannot do this, due to the age limit for being in military service.

Therefore, such reports are only speculation. In order for the conscription age to be increased, it is necessary that appropriate amendments be made to Federal Law No. 53, but there are currently no such amendments. Thus, we can conclude that an increase in the draft age is not expected in the near future.

Could the conscription age be revised in the future?

Reports that the age of a conscript may be increased arise with enviable frequency. Moreover, the authors of such messages are officials and so-called experts. The most active rumors that the maximum age of a conscript could be increased to 30 years old were circulated in 2022, but no steps were taken in this direction. The rumors remained just rumors.

Yes, amendments to laws regarding military service are periodically made, but no changes regarding conscription age have been adopted. The prospects for revising these indicators are also negligible.

Grounds for which a conscript may receive a deferment from service

Whatever the age of a citizen’s conscription for military service, there are certain legislative reasons why he can receive a deferment from military service:

• State of health – injury or disease;
• The need for ongoing care for a sick relative;
• Guardianship of a sibling;
• Presence of two or more children in the family;
• Presence of a disabled child aged 3 years or older;
• Full-time study at a higher educational institution;
• Having a pregnant wife with a second child who is at least 22 weeks pregnant;
• Taking part in direct elections.

Thus, the age for conscription of young people into the army in Russia in 2021 is from 18 to 27 years old and it is not expected to increase in the near future. Military service is an honorable duty for every citizen who loves his country and is ready at any time to defend it from attack by enemy forces. But if a conscript has health problems or other compelling reasons for not being in the military, then he can count on a deferment from service or complete release.

Potential of the Russian Army

The legislative framework that regulates the armed forces of the Russian Federation outlines clear lines between conscription in peacetime and general mobilization in case of war. Regular conscription outside martial law applies to men between 18 and 27 years of age who are fit for service.

“Fitness” is determined by an expert commission based on a general study of the young person’s health status. He can be released from the army due to illness. Citizens who have received an order with the letter “A” or “B” from the medical expert commission are subject to military service. Doctors use these symbols to indicate the absence of significant deviations in the conscript’s health. The designations “B”, “D” and “D” in the medical record indicate serious health problems.

At the same time, complete removal from military registration implies only “D” health category, “B” and “G” are categories temporarily exempt from service, which do not allow a man to sit at home in case of war.

In peacetime, the ranks of the Army are replenished by conscript and contract servicemen. All those liable for military service in the reserve represent additional potential of the armed forces. General mobilization is announced only after the signing of documents on the introduction of martial law, and continues as long as the Army needs people.