Alternative service in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

Historically, Russia has become the first country to introduce the institute of alternative service. Excuse from military service for religious views was practiced in Russia as far back as the XVIII century.

After the Revolution of 1917, the Soviet Russia, along with Great Britain (1916) and Denmark (1917), became one of the first countries in the XX century to acknowledge the right of its citizens to refuse from military service for reasons of conscience.

On January 4, 1919 the Government passed a Decree On Excuse from Military Duty for Religious Views. It became the first regulatory legal act of the Soviet Republic granting the real right to excuse believers from military service.

In summer 1923, RSFSR adopted the new Code of Civil Procedure which contained a special chapter On Excuse from Military Service for Religious Views regulating court procedures. The courts involving experts decided on the type of work for the excused persons to substitute military service as well as the place and time for such persons to do the work.

In January 1925, the Government issued the Law On Compulsory Military Service. The categories of people who could enjoy the right of excuse from military service was dramatically reduced. The institute of alternative service had existed in the USSR up until 1939.

In 1993, the RF Constitution adopted by the national vote cemented the right of the Russian citizens to substitute military service with alternative civil service. Today the term of alternative civil service is 18 months.

The current structure of civil service is based on several fundamental principles:

• alternative civil service is a substitute of Draft (only the citizens fit for military service can be assigned to alternative civil service);
• citizens may do alternative civil service only outside of the Russian Federation subjects where they are residents. However the Court of the Federal Labour and Employment Service may allow the citizens to do alternative civil service in the organizations located in the Russian Federation subjects of their permanent residence. This strongly depends on the demand of regional organizations for human resources and on the number of citizens opting for alternative civil service;
• citizens must do alternative civil service only in state-owned organizations and companies (regional or federal property);
• the term of alternative civil service exceeds the term of military service.

The general algorithm of assigning citizens to alternative civil service is also established by the Law and can be summarized in the following key notions:

• citizens apply to the Military Enlistment Office for the substitution of Draft with alternative civil service. The decision is taken at a meeting of the Draft Board;
• citizens may do only the type of work which is contained in the List of works, professions and positions provided for the citizens doing alternative civil service and only in the organization which is available for alternative civil service (the lists are approved by the Russian Ministry of Health);
• citizens are assigned to the place of their alternative civil service by the Chief Enlistment Officer according to the decision of the Draft Board and the assignment plan issued by the authorized federal executive body (the plan is approved by the Federal Labour and Employment Service);
• the labour activity of the citizens doing alternative civil service is governed by the Labour Code of the Russian Federation.