Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law introducing year-round conscription into the Russian army. According to the document approved by the State Duma on October 28 and the Federation Council on October 29, starting in 2026, selection for the army will continue throughout the year — from January 1 to December 31, and not only during the spring and autumn campaigns.
As before, new recruits will be sent to military units during certain periods — from April 1 to July 15 and from October 1 to December 31. At the same time, draft and medical commissions at military registration and enlistment offices will work continuously throughout the year.
The law also establishes a deadline for reporting to the military registration and enlistment office after the publication of an electronic summons in the state register — 30 days. If a conscript has lost the right to deferment or has not received a summons before the start of the next draft, he is obliged to independently appear at the military registration and enlistment office within two weeks from the beginning of this period to clarify the data. In addition, draft boards are given the right to make decisions on deferment or exemption from service without the personal presence of a citizen. The document also specifies new deadlines for submitting applications for alternative civilian service.
The authors of the initiative – the head of the State Duma Defense Committee Andrey Kartapolov and his first deputy Andrey Krasov – stated that the changes should “evenly distribute the load” to military enlistment offices and “improve the quality of conscription”.
At the same time, analysts emphasize that in fact this means constant activity of military enlistment offices, which creates conditions for continuous rounds, forced issuance of summonses and constant pressure on conscripts throughout the year.
Earlier, Putin signed a decree on the autumn conscription, which will last from October 1 to December 31, 2025. It is planned to call up 135 thousand people aged 18 to 30 to the army.
On September 22, Deputy Head of the Main Organizational and Mobilization Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Vice Admiral Vladimir Tsimlyansky, stated that conscripts within the framework of the autumn campaign will allegedly serve exclusively on the territory of Russia and will not participate in the war. He also noted that the fall campaign will be held using the Unified Military Registration Register, but paper summonses will still be used to notify citizens.
