Spring draft 2025: dates, deadlines, who gets to serve
In 2025, the spring conscription traditionally begins on April 1. This will be the second spring campaign, which will take place taking into account the new law on raising the military age. In addition, the rules of conscription may change from April 1. For more information about this, as well as about who is entitled to a postponement, see the Izvestia article.
Spring Draft – 2025: when it starts and ends
Conscription campaigns are held twice a year: from April 1 to July 15 (spring conscription) and from October 1 to December 31 (autumn conscription). However, there are categories of citizens who are subject to other terms of conscription. Thus, representatives of the small peoples of the Far North and equivalent areas are sent to serve from May 1 to July 15 and from November 1 to December 31. At the same time, teaching staff are called up only in late spring, starting on May 1, and rural residents engaged in sowing and harvesting work are called up only in autumn from October 15.
Every year, the decree on conscription of citizens is signed by the President of Russia. The document also notes the number of people who are planned to be drafted during the spring campaign. According to statistics from recent years, slightly more citizens were usually called up for military service in the spring than in the fall: 147 thousand in the spring of 2023 and 150 thousand in 2024, compared to 130 thousand in the fall of 2023 and 133 thousand in the fall of 2024.
As part of military training, a conscript soldier learns a specialty in the first half of the year of service, and in the second half he takes practical classes. If a conscript has distinguished himself by exemplary behavior and has not violated the Charter, he is entitled to leave once a week. Furloughs can only be given after taking the oath. The employee also has the right to leave, 10 days plus travel time. After completing their military service, military personnel are demobilized and sent to the reserve, from where they can be called up for reserve exercises or to protect the country if appropriate circumstances arise.
Recent changes for conscripts
The period during which the draft decision is valid may increase to a year by April 1. The day before, the State Duma unanimously adopted the relevant bill in the first reading. It is planned that it can be adopted in three readings before March 31.
It concerns persons who did not join the army due to the decisions of previous conscription campaigns. Currently, such a decision is valid for one draft campaign, but it can take up to a year.
Features of the spring draft in Russia in 2025
As in 2024, the 2025 spring draft will be held according to the new rules. Now, according to the legislative framework in Russia, men between the ages of 18 and 30 should be eligible for military service. The changes will not affect citizens who turned 27 years old before January 1, 2024, as well as people who have deferrals or exemptions from military service of category B ("limited age"). Initially, it was planned to shift both age levels and draft citizens into the army not from 18 to 27 years old, but from 21 to 30 years old. The deputies of the State Duma motivated their proposal by the fact that it is important to attract mature people into the army who have education and life experience. Nevertheless, in the end, it was decided to raise only the upper limit of the military age.
Spring draft – 2025: how long to serve, penalty for failure to appear
Recruiting men to serve in the army is called a recruitment campaign. The terms of military service in 2025 remained the same. The young men who will be drafted into the army in the spring will serve, as before, for 12 months (one year).
A summons is a document that notifies you of the need to arrive at the military enlistment office. They can be called both to clarify military registration issues and to carry out procedures related to preparation for military service.
In case of failure to appear at the military enlistment office for a valid reason, a fine is imposed, the maximum amount of which is 30 thousand rubles.
Failure to notify an organization of departure from Russia for more than six months is subject to a fine of 15,000 rubles.
If a conscript is considered a shirker, the punishment will be more serious.:
a fine of up to 200,000 rubles or in the amount of income for a period of up to 18 months;
forced labor for up to 2 years;
arrest for up to 6 months;
imprisonment for up to 2 years.
In 2025, draft dodgers will not be able to take the driver's license exam or renew their driver's license. In addition, car registration, loan processing and real estate transactions will be temporarily unavailable.
Who doesn't get to serve in 2025: types of deferral
The legislation prescribes cases in which citizens can receive an exemption or a postponement from the army. These concepts are often confused, but legally they have different meanings. Exemption from the army, for example, for health reasons, means that a citizen does not have to undergo military service at all. Liberation is put forward once and for all.
A postponement is given for a time, and when it ends, the citizen will be called up for military service. The most common reason for this type of exemption is to receive a secondary specialized or higher education. They also receive it:
- for health reasons;
- in the case of caring for a sick relative;
- if there is a disabled child under three years old or two healthy children;
- if the wife is pregnant for at least 22 weeks.;
- if the conscript is a single father;
- if the conscript is an elected deputy, etc.
After the initial visit to the military enlistment office, a citizen must undergo a medical examination, following which the draft board decides whether to send him to service, release him from the army for health reasons, or call for a second medical examination after six months. The medical board consists of seven specialists. In addition to the therapist, they are an optometrist, a neurologist, an otolaryngologist, a dentist, a psychiatrist and a surgeon. The decision of the medical board largely depends on the health of the recruit, which corresponds to one of the categories of fitness.
Category A includes absolutely healthy conscripts who are sent to the army during the next draft, if they do not have legal grounds for release or the right to delay.
Category B means that a conscript cannot serve in the Airborne Forces (Airborne Forces) or special forces, but can serve in other types of troops.
After being assigned category B, a conscript is released from military service. But in the future, he may be called up for military training or be mobilized if hostilities begin.
Category G is assigned to a citizen who needs short-term treatment or rehabilitation, for example, after surgery.
Category D means that a conscript is released from military service and is removed from military registration. It is not subject to mobilization even in wartime.
At the same time, in February 2025, the Ministry of Defense submitted for consideration a draft according to which the shelf life categories may change depending on the disease. If the project is approved, conscripts diagnosed with syphilis will be classified as "eligible with minor restrictions." The Ministry of Defense also proposes to add a new stage of hypertension to the regulation on military medical examination. Conscripts with these diseases may also be required to undergo military service.
Today, the official list of diseases, called the "Schedule of diseases," allows you to determine a citizen's fitness for military service. The list was approved by a government decree dated July 4, 2013, and is regularly updated. In total, the "Schedule of Diseases" lists more than 2 thousand diseases with an indication of the expiration date. All diseases are divided into thematic chapters, which consist of several articles. Here are some of the diseases that will not be accepted into the army.:
- schizophrenia and other mental disorders;
- severe visual impairment;
- hypertension;
- flat feet;
- stomach ulcer;
- HIV;
- scoliosis;
- asthma;
- epilepsy;
- fatness.
Conscription and military training for reservists: what is the difference
Conscription military service (also called conscription) is the performance of military duty by citizens of military age during the year. Citizens who have not served before are called up for it, and for the first time they receive their military specialty.
Unlike conscription, military reserve training is called planned activities aimed at improving the combat training of reservists. On March 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on holding annual training camps. However, the timing and number of reserves that are planned to be called up is still unknown. Depending on the age and military rank, citizens are divided into categories. In accordance with the new law, the age limit for military ranks below officers has been increased by five years. The promotion affected Russians holding the positions of soldiers, sailors, sergeants, petty officers, ensigns and midshipmen.
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