From Meduza, July 11, 2024, https://meduza.io/en/feature/2024/07/11/no-exit. Complete text:
Editors’ Note. – Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine [see Vol. 72, No. 8, pp. 9‑13], Russia has been tightening conscription rules and increasing penalties for draft evasion. One amendment, passed in April 2023, bars anyone who’s been served a summons from leaving the country until they report to the military authorities [see Vol. 75, No. 15, pp. 3‑5]. To streamline enforcement of this policy, the Russian authorities are developing a new “electronic data exchange” system between the Defense Ministry and the [Federal Security Services’ [FSB] Border Service to ensure that men called up for service can’t leave the country. Here’s what we know about the new system and when it might be operational.
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On May 31, 2024, Russia’s Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Ministry posted a tender on the government procurement Web site for the implementation of an “electronic data exchange” between the country’s Defense Ministry and the FSB. The winning contractor was the Voskhod Research Institute, which is subordinate to the Digital Development Ministry.
In the spring of 2023, Russia passed new legislation introducing “temporary measures aimed at ensuring compliance with military summonses.” Most of these new measures are targeted at “draft evaders” who ignore summonses, and they can only be applied for 20 calendar days following the recipient’s failure to appear at a military conscription office. However, one of the “temporary measures” comes into force as soon as the summons is issued: a ban on leaving Russia.
Voskhod’s new project will handle the transfer of the “list of all persons temporarily restricted from leaving Russia who are subject to military conscription” from the Defense Ministry’s summons register to the FSB Border Service’s federal data processing center. This list will be updated “periodically,” although the exact frequency isn’t specified. The Border Service will then send back information that either confirms or lifts restrictions.
Officially, the system of temporary restrictions is intended for Russians conscripted for regular compulsory service. However, it’s likely to also be used for those called up through mobilization. The fall conscription in Russia typically begins on Oct. 1. (In 2022, it was postponed to Nov. 1 due to the mobilization announced in September [see Vol. 74, No. 38, pp. 3‑6].)
Voskhod is tasked with developing the software, writing its documentation and testing its functionality by Sept. 2, 2024. By Oct. 14, the institute must have systems in place “to enhance capacity for interagency information sharing.” Formally, the contract’s completion date is Nov. 29, with the project valued at 40.9 million rubles (about $462,000).
The fall 2024 conscription will be conducted using a new “unified registry” of citizens eligible for military service, as per a December 2023 presidential order. In April, the Russian government specified that the new system must be ready by Oct. 31 and that the Defense Ministry would start using it on Nov. 1. This means that as early as this fall, the FSB could prohibit anyone called up for military service from leaving the country.