Putin Orders Autumn Conscription of 135,000, a Record High

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on the autumn 2025 conscription, which will begin on October 1 and last until December 31. According to the document published on the official portal of legal information, 135,000 people are planned to be called up for military service. This is a record figure for the autumn conscription since 2016, when 152,000 conscripts were sent to the army.

The trend of increasing the number of conscripts was already noticeable in the spring of 2025, when 160,000 people were called up, which was the highest figure since 2011. Against this background, the State Duma adopted a bill in the first reading in September on conducting conscription throughout the year. This means that draft commissions will operate year-round, but the process of sending conscripts to the army will maintain its previous schedule: twice a year, from April 1 to July 15 and from October 1 to December 31.

One of the main innovations of the autumn conscription is the introduction of a system of electronic summonses. According to a statement from the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, in Moscow, as well as in the Ryazan and Sakhalin regions, summonses will be sent exclusively electronically. In the remaining regions, citizens will receive both paper and electronic summonses.

The new rules significantly tighten the responsibility for evading conscription. From the day of receiving the summons, a citizen is prohibited from leaving the territory of the Russian Federation until he appears at the military commissariat. Moreover, the system is designed in such a way that it is impossible to avoid the fact of receiving the summons. Even if a citizen has deleted his "Gosuslugi" (State Services) account, does not open the door of his house, or does not go to work, the summons will be considered delivered "7 days after being placed in the new register of summonses."

A number of accountability tools will be applied to citizens who, without a valid reason, do not appear at the military commissariat within 20 days from the date specified in the summons. They will be prohibited from taking out loans, carrying out registration actions with real estate and vehicles, and registering as individual entrepreneurs or self-employed. In addition, their right to drive vehicles will be restricted.