Russia’s State Duma: use of digital notices to be tested during spring conscription

Digital notices will be sent out in test mode during the spring conscription, however, they will not be legally binding, head of the Russian State Duma (lower house of Parliament) Defence Committee Andrey Kartapolov told Russian Telegram channel Shot. 

Kartapolov is one of the authors of the digital notices law that has already entered into force.

“During this conscription period, digital notices will be sent out in test mode only, so we can understand whether they reach their recipients at all or not. Testing the system. They will not be legally binding,” the MP claims.

Furthermore, Kartapolov told Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti that digital notices will be accompanied by traditional ones. 

On 17 April, Moscow’s military commissioner Maxim Loktev said that spring conscription notices would be sent out via public services portal Gosuslugi if a corresponding decree is issued by the government. Loktev added that Moscow’s city-wide video surveillance system would be used to locate where conscripts live.

The spring conscription for compulsory army service will last until 15 July in Russia. 

On 11 April, Russia’s lower house of Parliament adopted the bill in its second and third readings. It took lawmakers less than 24 hours to first publicly announce the bill and then pass it. On 12 April, Russia’s upper house of Parliament approved the document: 163 senators voted for it and only one, Lyudmila Narusova, opposed it. On 14 April, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the digital military summons bill.

The Russian General Staff said that there would be no sweeping distributions of digital notices.