Thousands of Russians have found themselves unable to leave the country after the Kremlin activated a nationwide system of electronic military draft notices.
The move marks another step in Moscow’s effort to tighten control over potential conscripts ahead of the autumn call-up.
The system automatically adds citizens’ names to a government database once a draft notice is issued. According to the independent outlet Baza, as soon as the record appears in the digital registry, the individual is banned from crossing Russia’s borders.
A notification is sent through Gosuslugi, Russia’s government service portal, often early in the morning, and the only way to remove the restriction is by personally visiting a military enlistment office.
Those who fail to report within 27 days are officially labeled as draft evaders. They lose the right to drive, register businesses, take out loans, or carry out property transactions under the new rules.
The electronic notices are being distributed just as Russia begins its autumn conscription campaign, running between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31.
Russia’s Defense Ministry plans to call up 135,000 men aged 18 to 30, making it the largest draft since 2016.
Officials initially said the system would operate only in Moscow, the Mari El Republic, and the Ryazan and Sakhalin regions.
But the School for Conscripts group reports that summonses are already being sent in at least 15 additional regions, including Tver, Pskov, Nizhny Novgorod, Chelyabinsk, and several others across central and eastern Russia.
Rights advocates warn that some of the electronic notices are misleading.
“People are summoned supposedly to verify their personal data, but in reality, they’re immediately drafted,” said Timofei Vaskin, a lawyer with the School for Conscripts.
“This practice is especially common in Moscow.”
The digital draft system was ordered by President Vladimir Putin after the 2022 mobilization, which triggered a mass exodus of Russians.
Putin later signed a law equating electronic summonses with traditional paper ones and introduced sweeping penalties for anyone attempting to avoid military service.
The latest rollout now enforces those measures in full, effectively closing Russia’s borders to tens of thousands of draft-eligible men.
Conscription system in Russia
Russia conducts conscription twice a year, in spring and fall, requiring eligible men to serve for one year.
While conscripts are usually not deployed to active combat, Moscow has relied on financial incentives, pardons, and other measures to recruit civilians for its war in Ukraine.
According to The Moscow Times, the unpopular September 2022 mobilization prompted up to a million Russians to flee the country. Putin has since avoided another large-scale draft.
Recent reports from Ukraine’s Center for National Resistance suggest that Russia plans to step up mobilization in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories, targeting conscripts and even detainees.
The Center for Countering Disinformation also warned that so-called “gamer units,” reportedly trained to operate drones faster, may be part of a broader hidden mobilization effort.
Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), earlier suggested that Russia could carry out a new mobilization drive that poses a “serious threat” to Kyiv.
“Could the Russian Federation carry out a mobilization? Yes. Could it, unfortunately, be a serious threat? Yes. It would be painful for Russia, but it is realistic. And this threat, unfortunately, exists,” Budanov said.