Russia: a digital spring conscription campaign

Parade of Russian soldiers, in Volgograd, July 11, 2022 (illustration image). AP - Alexandr Kulikov

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Kicks off today, Saturday, April 1, of the spring conscription campaign in Russia, which is scheduled to last until July 15. It is one of two annual waves, the other takes place in the fall. This 2023 campaign begins with a novelty: electronic convocations. The chaos of the partial mobilization of autumn 2022 has passed by there; Russia is putting its information on citizens subject to military service in order and wants to show that it is moving fast.

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With our correspondent in Moscow, Anissa El Jabri

Military summonses for disabled people in wheelchairs or for fathers of large families, it's over, at least on paper for very soon. Since November 25, the date of a decree by Vladimir Putin, Russia has been preparing a centralized database for Russian citizens liable for military service. Among the information recorded: level of education, place of residence, mobile phone numbers and emails.

Admiral Vladimir Tsimlyansky, Head of Organization and Mobilization at the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, said: "In the future, this information will be used as much as possible in registration and conscription operations, including in order to avoid cases of unreasonable conscription of citizens for military service.

« The General Staff's plans do not foresee a second wave of mobilization »

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I would like to assure you all, he also said, that the plans of the General Staff do not foresee a second wave of mobilization. Those who have already been called up for military service, as well as citizens who have voluntarily expressed the desire to participate in the special operation, are more than enough to fulfill the assigned tasks. »

According to the daily Vedomosti, many other information could be attached to this military database: criminal record, taxation, sports practices; all to be completed by April 1, 2024 at the latest, a clarification that appears in a decree of Vladimir Putin dated November 25, 2022.

Until then, it is promised, said the head of the Duma committee on defense, the conscripts will not be sent to serve in the "new regions of Russia", the territories annexed in September 2022.

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