Russia Moves to Year-Round Military Draft Amid Wartime Manpower Needs

Russia’s lower-house State Duma passed a bill on Tuesday that would move the military toward a year-round conscription model starting next year amid the Kremlin’s efforts to expand manpower for its war in Ukraine.

Under the legislation, draft boards will be able to conduct medical exams, psychological screening and other enlistment steps any time from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 each year.

However, conscripts will still be sent off to service during the traditional spring and autumn draft campaigns between April 1-July 15 and Oct. 1-Dec. 31.

A key amendment sets a 30-day expiration date for electronic draft notices, replacing the previous unlimited time span. Military authorities explained that this would prevent draft boards from holding men in limbo by keeping them on notice for months without deployment.

The bill passed its third and final reading in the State Duma and now requires approval from the Federation Council before being sent to President Vladimir Putin for signature.

Supporters of the reform say it is designed to ease the administrative burden on military recruitment offices and better distribute workload across the year.

The bill’s explanatory notes say the new system will improve the quality of conscription and reduce bottlenecks during the bi-annual surge.