Digital conscription notices being sent out in test mode in St. Petersburg

In Russia’s St. Petersburg, digital conscription notices are being sent out in test mode within the framework of the spring conscription for compulsory military service currently happening in the country, local outlet Fontanka reports, citing the chief military commissar of St. Petersburg Sergey Kachkovsky.

According to Kachkovsky, this is being done in preparation for the autumn conscription, when the Military Registration Unified Register is meant to begin operating.

Yesterday, 19 April, head of the Russian State Duma (lower house of Parliament) Defence Committee Andrey Kartapolov said that digital notices would be sent out in test mode during the spring conscription, however, he mentioned that they would not be legally binding.

“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 claimed.

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.