Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The current system of drafts twice a year is about to come to an end.
The current system of drafts twice a year is about to come to an end.
What is happening?
Russia’s parliament has taken the first step toward scrapping its traditional biannual draft cycles.
On September 24, lawmakers passed a bill in its first reading that would allow military conscription to take place year-round, The Kyiv Independent reports.
End of Spring and Fall drafts?
If enacted, the reform would replace the long-standing spring and autumn draft periods.
Instead, conscription would be continuous, reshaping how the Russian military recruits and processes new soldiers.
What the new bill proposes
The proposed legislation allows enlistment offices to carry out medical exams, psychological evaluations, and draft board hearings at any time of year.
Draft notices would also be sent out on a rolling basis, rather than tied to seasonal schedules.
Conscripts may still be heading to Ukraine
Officially, conscripts cannot be deployed to fight abroad.
However, multiple reports suggest that many are pressured into signing contracts with the Defense Ministry—effectively turning them into professional soldiers eligible for deployment, including to Ukraine.
A move to ease bureaucratic pressure
Andrei Kartapolov, head of the parliamentary Defense Committee and author of the bill, said the reform is aimed at reducing strain on local military commissariats, which currently operate under high pressure during limited draft windows.
The broader context
Russia typically calls up young men twice a year for one year of compulsory military service.
The new bill doesn’t change the length of service, but it does shift how and when draftees are processed and enlisted.
Fallout from 2022’s mobilization
The move comes two years after President Vladimir Putin’s partial mobilization in 2022—the first since World War II.
That decision triggered widespread protests and led over 261,000 Russian men to flee the country.
Mobilization “complete” but never officially ended
Though the Kremlin later declared the mobilization over, it has never issued a formal decree to end it.
The ambiguity has fueled anxiety among eligible draftees and their families.
Shifting focus to volunteer and contract soldiers
Since 2022, the Russian government has leaned heavily on contract-based recruitment.
Authorities have boosted incentives for volunteers, including offering generous financial rewards to avoid a repeat of mass conscription backlash.
A quiet but strategic restructuring
While not as dramatic as 2022’s mobilization, this new conscription bill signals a long-term shift in Russia’s military recruitment strategy—one that favors a steady, less disruptive approach to maintaining troop levels.
This article is made and published by Jens Asbjørn Bogen, which may have used AI in the preparation
