Russia ends seasonal draft model, moves to year-round conscription from 2026
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Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on year-round conscription into the army on Nov. 4, according to Russia's legal acts portal.
The move marks a significant shift from Russia's long-standing conscription model, which relied on two annual draft cycles. Young men were drafted twice a year for one year of compulsory service.
While conscripts are officially barred from being deployed abroad, reports indicate that many are pressured into signing contracts with Russia's Defense Ministry and sent to fight in Ukraine.
New conscripts will still be sent to the army during the traditional spring and autumn draft windows — from April 1 to July 15 and from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31 — but draft boards and medical commissions at military enlistment offices will now operate year-round.
The reform is meant to ease pressure on military commissariats, according to Andrei Kartapolov, chairman of the parliament's Defense Committee and the bill's author.
In Russia, contract soldiers are troops who sign service agreements and form the backbone of the military, while mobilized soldiers are civilians called up to reinforce forces during wartime.
Putin's 2022 mobilization, the first in Russia since World War II and prompted by setbacks on front lines, triggered protests inside the country and prompted over 261,000 Russians to flee abroad.
While the Kremlin later declared mobilization "completed," no presidential decree officially ended it.
Instead of launching a new draft, the Kremlin has leaned on financial incentives and recruitment campaigns, offering lucrative contracts to volunteers willing to fight in Ukraine.
