Russia Enhances Military Draft Exit Measures with New FSB Authority and Electronic Summons Tracking

Russian authorities have intensified measures to prevent conscripted men from leaving the country by giving security services direct access to military enlistment information, including electronic draft notices, as reported on Wednesday by the pro-Kremlin Telegram channel, Mash.

Men liable for conscription now face heightened scrutiny at airports and land borders, according to Mash, which allegedly has connections to the security service.

Officials are verifying whether travelers have received draft notifications, and if a summons is identified in the system, the individual is prohibited from departing the country.

As per current procedures, border guards from the Federal Security Service (FSB) must escort these individuals to a designated location, where a supervisor provides a formal explanation and a written warning that failing to report for service may lead to criminal charges.

These new initiatives come after reports in early July indicated that residents in multiple Russian regions—such as Tatarstan, Mordovia, Magadan, the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous area, and Sakhalin—began receiving notifications about their registration in the military draft database via the public services portal, Gosuslugi.

Artyom Klyga, a lawyer associated with the Conscientious Objectors’ Movement, noted that while the registry has been operational since at least September 2024, authorities began aggressively gathering personal data from draft-eligible men only this year.

This action seems to set the stage for a more widespread implementation of electronic draft notices.

In April 2023, President Vladimir Putin signed legislation that equates electronic draft notifications with traditional paper ones and imposes severe penalties for those who evade military service.

The national draft registry, by law, contains comprehensive details about conscripts, including their residential address, employment status, education, tax records, pension information, medical history, and legal background. Furthermore, all draft notifications issued through Gosuslugi are recorded.

An electronic notice is considered legally served seven days after it appears in an individual’s Gosuslugi account, at which point the person is automatically restricted from leaving Russia.

If the individual does not report to the enlistment office within 20 days, further limitations are enforced: they may be prohibited from registering as self-employed, starting a business, applying for loans, engaging in property transactions, or acquiring a foreign passport.

These enhanced enforcement measures follow previous instances of draft avoidance, especially after Moscow’s partial mobilization in September 2022, which led to a mass exodus of Russian men.