Military training in 2023

On 10 May 2023, the Russian President signed Decree No. 333 calling up Russian nationals in reserve for military training in 2023.

We are explaining what it means and what it may possibly result in.

The Russian President’s powers in the area of defence[1]

The Russian President is the Commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces. Among his powers are:

• to determine the principal directions of military policy in Russia;

• to manage the Russian Armed Forces, other troops, military formations and bodies;

• to announce full or partial mobilisation in Russia, and to introduce martial law in Russia or in individual regions of the country[2];

• to issue decrees to call up Russian nationals for military service, military training, etc.

What is “military training”[4]

The only purpose of military training is preparing nationals in reserve for military service. Military training cannot be conducted for other purposes.

In terms of its nature, military training may be of:

• an instructional type

(instructional training of designated personnel, training to prepare individuals to work in military fields, training to maintain material assets in emergency supplies, and training sessions for individuals who have signed a contract to be included in the human reserve for mobilisation purposes),

• a qualification type

(training to check the combat and mobilisation readiness of military units and military commissar’s offices).

Who are “reserved individuals”[5]

The reserve of the Armed Forces of Russia is created out of nationals:

• who have been released from active military service and transferred to the reserve of the Armed Forces;

• who have successfully completed their training in establishments of higher military education under programmes for sergeants and petty officers in the reserve or programmes of military training for soldiers and sailors in the reserve who have graduated from federal state educational establishments of higher education;

• who have successfully completed their training in military training centres under federal state establishments of higher education under military training programmes for reserve officers, military training programmes for sergeants and petty officers in the reserve or military training programmes for soldiers and sailors in the reserve who have graduated from the above educational establishments;

• who have not done military service in connection with a release from being called up for military service;

• who have not done military service in connection with qualifying for military deferments or in view of the army conscription commission of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation quashing the decision of a lower-level conscription commission when the individual reaches the age of 27;

• who are not called for military service when they reach the age of 27;

• who have not done military service upon conscription without lawful grounds under a resolution of the conscription commission when they reach the age of 27;

• who have been released from active military service and subsequently entered in the military register of the commissar’s offices;

• who have undergone alternative civil service;

• females who have a military occupational speciality.

Reserved individuals are divided into three categories:

The list of persons who are released from military training and are not eligible for being called up for military training[7] is very extensive. These include:

• women;

• those who are assigned to state authorities, local authorities and companies for the period of mobilisation and during the war;

• teachers in educational establishments;

• full-time or part-time students of educational establishments;

• those who have three or more children;

• those who have been recognised as temporarily unfit for military service for health reasons – for a period of up to one year;

• those who are carers or guardians of an underage brother or an underage sister when there are no other persons who have a legal obligation to maintain the specified individuals;

• those who are raising their child without the mother;

• those who have a child and a wife whose is at least 22 weeks pregnant;

• individuals who are outside of the Russian Federation;

• those who serve sentences of compulsory labour, correctional labour, custodial restraint, detention or imprisonment;

• those who have unspent or outstanding conviction etc.

People are called up for military service by way of notices

The procedure for serving call-up notices to individuals has previously been updated. Call-up notices may be served in written and electronic forms simultaneously. Such notices have equal legal effect.

If the individual does not show up without a good reason at the time and place specified in the notice of the military commissar's office whereby such individual is called up for military training, the commissar may take all the necessary actions to call up and deliver the individual to the place where the military training is conducted[9].

The recently introduced temporary restrictive measures may be applied to individuals who are subject to being enlisted and have failed to show up at the military recruitment office as specified in the call-up notice, but not at the military training.

The actions of an employer in connection with an employee being called up for military training

The employee is paid average earnings for the period of the military training.

If the military training takes place in a remote region, the employer must reimburse, on top of the average earnings, the rental expenses, expenses on travelling to and from the training location, as well as travel costs (per diem). 

What to think about

Being called up for military training is not the same as being enlisted into the army, although, of course, it may not be ruled out that once the training is complete the individual will have an enlistment notice served on him or it will be proposed that he enter into a contract for military service.

Help from your adviser

Pepeliaev Group’s lawyers are ready to provide you with comments and recommendations in relation to individuals being called up for military training, to assess actions of competent officers in terms of whether they conform to the law and to assist you with taking measures to protect the rights and legitimate interests of your company and its employees.

[1] Article 4 of Federal Law No. 61-FZ “On defence” dated 31 May 1996.

[2] In the event of aggression against or immediate threat to Russia or the occurrence of armed conflicts targeted against Russia.

[3] The Russian President’s Decree No. 67 dated 18 February 2022 “On calling up Russian nationals in reserve for military training in 2022”.

[4] Article 54 of Federal Law No. 53-FZ “On military duty and military service” dated 28 March 1998, and the Regulation on conducting military training approved by the Russian Government’s Resolution No. 333 dated 29 May 2006.

[5] Articles 51.2, 52 and 53 of Federal Law No. 53-FZ “On military duty and military service” dated 28 March 1998.

[6] For women classed under Category Three the age until which they stay in the reserve is lower: those of them who have officers’ ranks remain in the reserve until the age of 50, while others remain until the age of 45.

[7] Article 55 of Federal Law No. 53-FZ “On military duty and military service” dated 28 March 1998.

[8] Source 1, Source 2, Source 3

[9] Clause 13 of the Regulation to conduct military trainings approved by the Russian Government’s Resolution No. 333 dated 29 May 2006.