News

Drafted at the DMV? Military conscription goes digital in Russia.

If the Kremlin decides to mobilize more troops to fight in Ukraine, draftees may receive their notices while doing mundane tasks like registering their car.

Under a new law signed by President Vladimir Putin last month, potential recruits can be called up through the popular state services network, which most Russians use to obtain their most basic documents, from driver’s licenses to death certificates.

Why We Wrote This

A story focused on

Russia is integrating its military draft with its digitized, pervasive bureaucracy. That could make new mobilizations for its war in Ukraine more efficient – and much harder to evade.

Some observers see the coming of a “digital gulag” in which every element of life will be overseen, recorded, and, if necessary, punished. Many fear the haste in implementing the new system foretells that another wave of mobilization is in the offing.

The government denies any intention to launch a fresh mobilization for the Ukraine war. Even so, the permanent institutionalization of a modern, highly efficient database of Russian men of military age bespeaks a new official attitude that Russia needs to prepare for a long-term confrontation with the West.

“We are approaching a state of digital authoritarianism, of total control all around. With this new draft system, we are almost there,” says Andrei Kolesnikov, an expert with the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. “You can easily see the broader applications, beyond the military draft. The sphere of private life is shrinking.”

In Russia, it used to be that to get called up for military service, an eligible recruit had to be issued a draft summons in person. Not anymore.

Under a new law rushed through the State Duma with almost no publicity and signed by President Vladimir Putin last month, potential recruits can be called up through the popular Gosuslugi network, a heavily digitized state services bureaucracy that most Russians use to obtain basic documents, from driver’s licenses to death certificates.

Some observers perceive the coming of a “1984”-like total surveillance society, a “digital gulag” in which every element of life will be overseen, recorded, indexed, and, if necessary, punished. Focusing on the military implications, many fear the haste in implementing the new system foretells that another wave of mobilization is in the offing, perhaps as early as September.

Why We Wrote This

A story focused on

Russia is integrating its military draft with its digitized, pervasive bureaucracy. That could make new mobilizations for its war in Ukraine more efficient – and much harder to evade.

The government denies any intention to launch a fresh mobilization of manpower for the Ukraine war. Even so, the permanent institutionalization of a modern, highly efficient database of the estimated 25 million Russian men of military age who are eligible for call-up bespeaks a new official attitude that Russia needs to prepare for a long-term confrontation with the West that is likely to outlast the current conflict in Ukraine.

“We are approaching a state of digital authoritarianism, of total control all around. With this new draft system, we are almost there,” says Andrei Kolesnikov, an expert with the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center who is still working in Moscow. “Potential military recruits will now need to fear being caught by cameras in the metro, or by visiting a doctor, or almost any public activity. You can easily see the broader applications, beyond the military draft. The sphere of private life is shrinking. … Putin and his elites are preparing people for a longer and wider war. They don’t hide this.”

Previous ArticleNext Article