“Services” have appeared in Belarus to help people avoid the army. How to avoid the army in Belarus Why you shouldn’t serve

Photo by Sergei Lozyuk

Try to imagine the “Assistance Service for Passengers” who want to ride “hares” in transport. Difficult? But as a correspondent for the Belarus Today newspaper found out, such services exist. Just not “help” passengers, but conscripts who want to leave the army.

Having stumbled upon a strange website on the Internet with the loud name “Conscript Assistance Center,” the journalist at first thought that this was a portal that collected all the necessary information for future defenders of the fatherland. But no. Having gone to the page and read it, he was taken aback: the site directly offered assistance to young guys in order to avoid military service. Naturally, not for free.

The journalist called the indicated phone number, introducing himself as a conscript. In a voice full of despair, he said that they wanted to draft him into the army, and since he was quite healthy, he didn’t know what to do to avoid it.

At the other end of the line, a friendly voice began to explain the plan of action to him. The manager promised that the company would try to find some “necessary” disease for him. He explained that most often conscripts have some kind of illness unknown to him and the company’s task is to find them.

The pseudo-conscript was asked to come to the office and sign an agreement, and then, taking into account medical documents and health complaints, he would undergo an in-depth study. An attentive voice explained that for now the company specializes only in the “health slope,” but in the future, perhaps, some legal loopholes will be found.

The cost of such “help” turned out to be considerable - only 880 rubles. However, in case of failure, the company promised to issue a refund. By the way, the mowing conscript must also pay for the services of qualified doctors on his own. There is even a section on the Center’s website where the mistakes of guys who do not want to serve are discussed in detail. It writes that buying a military ID and trying to hide from the police until the age of 27, falsifying medical certificates - all these are unsuccessful options for the slope. The company advises you to contact them immediately.

In general, the information on this site is so shocking that it is impossible to immediately express your impressions. So, for example, young Belarusian boys are advised to think about how best to avoid military service in advance - at about 14 years old. Previously, at this age, boys from their classmates were taken to the military registration and enlistment office by a pre-conscription training teacher. And all the guys were afraid not that they would go into the army, but that they would be declared unfit for service. Now, young “green” guys are taught by adult uncles not how to defend the Motherland, patriotism and courage, but how to better avoid the sacred duty of every citizen who considers himself a man.

The presentation of information on the site is simply outrageous. Allegedly, everything that the company does is done on absolutely legal grounds.

In reality, there is already a certain percentage of young guys who, due to their health, cannot serve. Such diseases that can prevent a guy from adequate service are determined by specialists at the medical commission at the military registration and enlistment office. But the very idea of ​​specifically looking for diseases in oneself that will help disqualify one from service seems pathetic and low, to say the least. What kind of men can you raise by raising boys this way?

Raising “real men”...

Not so long ago, such “help” would have been considered from the point of view of the Criminal Code. And now the younger generation is being convinced that serving is stupid and pointless, and that quitting is legal. What comes next? Will they offer legal ways to evade taxes and avoid responsibility for crimes? I would like to believe that the state is not interested in educating future men in this way.

In addition, I wonder what the work of this very company is, if the mowing conscript pays for the medical services himself. Why does the company take that kind of money? Could this be the cost of legal advice? This raises the question: does the company, which absolutely does not hide its name, have a license to provide such “help”?

The press secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Olga Murashkovskaya, clearly answered that the ministry did not issue any licenses to such firms to provide legal services.

The Ministry of Defense has convincingly stated that the site's owners must bear serious responsibility for their actions.

The head of the information department of the military department, Vladimir Makarov, said:

There are immutable concepts established by the Constitution of the country. It says that defending the Motherland is the duty and sacred duty of a citizen of Belarus. The procedure for performing military service, the grounds and conditions for exemption from it are determined by law. And such sites essentially encourage people to avoid military service. I believe that attempts by some overly “entrepreneurial” structures to take on dubious functions of providing “assistance” to citizens in order to avoid conscription into the army should undoubtedly be the subject of an appropriate legal assessment by the competent authorities.

Now similar organizations have just appeared in Belarus, but in Russia they have been functioning for a long time. The websites of companies offering help in evading the army for money look almost the same; they use almost the same phrases. Such companies give themselves loud names, like Services or Conscript Assistance Centers, inspiring confidence in young guys who have a natural fear of the unknown. Does Belarus need to educate its young men this way?

The fall 2018 conscription for military service is in full swing. The head of state signed Decree No. 281 “On transfer to the reserve and conscription for compulsory military service and service in the reserve.” How this important campaign is going in the Chashniksky district and how the stories end when conscripts ignore the summons, we asked the military commissar of the Chashniksky district, Yuri Poltorak, to tell us.

- Yuri Nikolaevich, tell us how the autumn conscription is going?
- The recruitment campaign in the area is taking place as usual. It started in August and will end in November. The vast majority of guys treat military service, as befits real men, responsibly. Many understand that it will be an additional advantage in their future lives. And not only for those who are thinking about working in law enforcement agencies. Enterprises and organizations also give preference to people who are military-trained and have teamwork skills.
- How many recruits will leave our area to serve and where?
- During this autumn conscription campaign, it is planned to send about 60 people to serve. Our fellow countrymen will undergo compulsory military service in various parts of Belarus.
- What do you pay attention to when calling? How does this affect distribution?
- First of all, everything depends on the results of the medical examination, that is, on the fitness category of the conscripts. Total 12 counts. Young people with the first column, as a rule, are sent to special forces.
- Is the personal desire of conscripts taken into account when assigned to one or another branch of the military?
- Certainly. The desire to serve in certain troops must be declared at a meeting of the draft commission. It carries out the preliminary distribution of citizens into one or another branch of the military. The final determination of military units, formations and bodies takes place at the assembly point, taking into account the moral and business qualities of the conscript, as well as in strict accordance with the plan for sending to the troops.
- What types of deferments exist?
- Deferment is provided to citizens for health reasons, for education, marital status, in connection with the exercise of deputy powers, and others.
- Are there any examples when young people do not show up when summoned without a good reason?
-Although there are very few of them, they, alas, exist. As a rule, the reason for the failure of citizens to appear is personal indiscipline, lack of understanding of the consequences of the acts they have committed, including criminal offenses.
- What does military service give young people?
- Military service strengthens a man and accustoms him to discipline. It’s not for nothing that they say that after the army, young people change - they become more serious and courageous. A serviceman has to make decisions independently, carry out combat missions, and feel responsible for a comrade. Classes, exercises and training have a positive effect on physical fitness.

Natalya STUKALOVA.

Why shouldn't you serve?

The fact that you are forced to go to Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus against your will, already means that the army is not a structure for which it is worth giving your life and health.

It is generally accepted that the army must defend the country from occupation. But you can easily see that in Belarus the state itself acts as an occupier: people are deprived of basic rights and freedoms, peaceful assemblies are dispersed by the police, the standard of living is rapidly falling, and the intelligence services and officials in power can beat and even kill ordinary citizens with impunity. Military service does not mean protecting your family and friends, but, first of all, state borders, generals, the president and officials. For them, you are a consumable material that helps keep the state machine afloat, and therefore their well-being.

Troops during protests against Lukashenko. Minsk, December 19, 2010

On the eve of protests against the tax on parasitism. Minsk, March 24, 2017

The authorities explained such measures by the fact that they detained about ten oppositionists who allegedly found weapons and were preparing terrorist attacks during the protests. But in the end the matter fell apart.

There is an opinion that the army makes a man out of a guy - a strong, strong-willed, independent person. However, it is not. The army teaches you to obey and carry out any orders, no matter how meaningless they may be. It breaks a person’s will and makes him a slave, obedient and submissive. It’s not for nothing that they say in the army: “orders must be followed, not discussed.” No one cares about your personality, your opinion, your views on the appropriateness of the order. You are a tool there, not a person.

There is nothing “courageous” in silent submission and constant compromise: the army instills weakness in people, and these are the kind that are needed for the functioning of the state - weak-willed and submissive. You won't get any strong-willed qualities there. Suffice it to recall the common phrase of any civil servant: “I have to do this / this is my job / I have been given instructions.” He uses it whenever he justifies an action that he cannot refuse to perform. These are signs of a driven person.

An analysis of the training of soldiers in the Belarusian army once again confirms that the main task of this structure is to break the will of a person.

Regarding tactical and military skills

It's no secret that you are unlikely to get them in the army. In most cases, you will have an exciting pastime: standing guard, walking for hours on the parade ground, tucking your bunk under the edging every morning, cleaning and dividing the snow into even squares, plucking grass. If you really need it and are interested, then you can get a job as a laborer, watchman or cleaner and still get paid for it. Do you think they will teach you how to use a weapon? At best, in 1-1.5 years of service you will shoot a couple of times. The situation is slightly different in the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, special troops and special operations forces (SSO), because they are training the personal protection of the ruling elite, which will need to be protected from their own people.

You can get all these skills. But at what cost? Being just someone's tool?

Don't kid yourself that the psychological pressure in the army won't affect you. The army is a big harvester that will overwhelm you. And if you are remembered as a person who knows how to think independently and is critical of power, then you are unlikely to join the good troops. First of all, the state needs people who carry out orders, and only then specialists. That is why we have the situation we have today.

A typical example of submission. Think about it, would you allow such communication with yourself in ordinary life?

It is not surprising that society has developed the idea that serving is good. The popularization of all kinds of rituals - be it loud farewells, vows and celebrations after the service - exists for a reason. The authorities understand that the army and the correct psychological training of men (the ability to obey, stand silently, etc.) are the key to the security of the state, therefore officials do not skimp on military parades during a crisis, do not spare money on benefits and provision of internal troops who will be the first to protect the ruling elite from the wrath of the people. Just look at how well the internal troops and riot police officers were equipped in Minsk on March 25, 2017.

Internal troops during a mass public protest. Minsk, March 25, 2017

In order for another state to seize power in the country, it is enough to change the leadership. All other structures will be subordinate to the new government. And after the change of power, the security forces will not disappear anywhere: many of them will serve the new government, carrying out its orders. Therefore, at any moment these structures can again be used against the people. This is the reality. The military and security forces in our country are people whose psyche has been brought to the point of automatism: they do not rely on universal human principles - what they are told, they do.

Therefore, if we are truly concerned about the future, we must move away from such structures and develop the skills to act independently, decisively, and be able to interact with other people on an equal basis.

Then we will have the future of free people, but for now we only have the future of gears in a huge mechanism.

If you still want to be a pawn in someone’s game, to learn to mindlessly obey, then leave this text and go to the military registration and enlistment office.

If honor and dignity are not an empty phrase for you, read on: tips on how to avoid the army and gain the necessary skills.

How to get the necessary skills?

In order to have training that is not inferior to ordinary infantry units of the Belarusian army, it will be enough to keep your body in good physical shape by attending martial arts sections, and conduct military training 2-4 times a month on weekends.

If you are alone, you can join an airsoft club or practice exercises in the forest with friends using the materials you have studied.

To prepare for a military conflict, you can now purchase the necessary ammunition of better quality than in the army, register a hunting weapon - at the initial stage, it will play a role - have an off-road SUV.

Nowadays a subculture of survivalism is developing in the world, where many people in different parts of the world are preparing to survive and fight in emergency situations, military operations and natural disasters. It is easy to find information about this on the Internet.

How to slope?

First, you must decide what your attitude is: you are either ready to serve if there is a lot of pressure on you, or you will not serve under any circumstances. These tips will only help you if you are determined not to join the army under any circumstances.

There are many offers on the Internet and most of them involve evasion through the simulation of severe mental disorders. We will not consider these methods, because they create further difficulties, for example, when buying a weapon or obtaining a driver's license. It is not becoming for a self-respecting person to organize a circus in front of a bunch of costumed performers.

The proposed method is based on the law and some tricks. All point by point:

1. You need to remember that the military commissariat is a government agency, and all its actions towards you must have documentary evidence. Summons dropped in your mailbox, telephone calls from a military registration and enlistment office or a local police officer are safely sent far and long. It will be quite problematic for the military registration and enlistment office and the local police officer to carry out an examination and prove that it was you who sent him by phone, especially since you do not have confirmation that it is a representative of the authorities calling and not friends playing a prank.
   In the same way, you do not open the door when someone unfamiliar rings your bell, if you notice that you are at home, you can say that you are not there or sit silently. Usually the district police officer leaves after some time (1-2 hours), inventing a story on his own that he did not see or hear you. Because he has his own things to do at home, and you have to wait a long time.
2. You will be deceived, intimidated and threatened with a criminal sentence and a fine. They will say that there is no point in running, and that you are no longer eligible for this call, so you just need to pick up your documents. They will ask you to pick up your military ID and put yourself in their position, saying that this is their job, and they also have children who need to be fed, etc. They can call the cops or KGB officers on you, or put pressure on you through your boss at work. And if all this doesn’t work, they will threaten you through your parents. Therefore, never forget these words: Do not believe! Don't be afraid! Do not ask!
   Everything they say is a lie that is necessary to do their job.
   Don’t ask them to make concessions: hundreds of people like you pass through the military registration and enlistment office workers and the cops. These employees are just millstones who silently perform their function and receive their piece of bread for it.
   Your request may be used to mislead you. Always leave safety options.
   Be mentally prepared for threats and explain the situation to your loved ones. Such confrontations often reveal the essence of the state. Let us separately recall the requests of the military registration and enlistment office and police officers: no one forced them to work there, so there is no need to try to understand them and put themselves in their position. The police do not work out of duty or heart - all the naive romantics have left there. Only those who need connections and money remain.
3. After the usual methods do not work, they will still try to take you to the military registration and enlistment office or police station. They can send you a corresponding SMS - according to the new Belarusian laws, you are required to go to the military registration and enlistment office, so we are removing this option. We go to our operator and close our number if it is registered in your name. We ask relatives or friends to issue a SIM card in their name and give it to you. This number cannot be given to either the cops or the military registration and enlistment office employees. Even if they see this phone on you, feel free to say that it is not yours and you borrowed it. But I don’t have my own phone. Why? No, that’s all, you don’t have to answer. Don’t be afraid to answer rudely - these are not the people whose opinions you should be interested in. The next option is when they brought you a summons by registered mail.
   If it's the mailman, don't open the door at all. Also ask parents and other family members not to accept these subpoenas. Let them tell you to give it to you personally, because the summons is an important document that you must receive yourself and sign.
   Subpoenas can also be sent to work, where an employee of the HR department will call you. Don’t rush to go there if you know that a summons is due at that time. The HR department doesn't care about her. He will call you again next time when it is overdue and the military registration and enlistment office calls him to remind him. If you receive angry reminders, you will have to go so as not to spoil your relationship at work. But still try to hide behind your busyness and the large number of things to do at your workplace. If you are given an expired summons, keep it and then be sure to say that it was given late. There were cases when the military registration and enlistment office used a trick: employees did not write the date on the agenda, only the year and month, and the personnel department itself entered the required date upon receipt. But it often happened that, due to his busyness, the conscript picked up the summons after 2 weeks, and it became overdue because another month had arrived. If the cops still caught you and handed you a summons by registered mail, then don’t despair, sign it.
4. There are cases when, instead of serving a summons, you are immediately taken to the garbage department or to the military registration and enlistment office. There they will tell you about the seriousness of the consequences of disobeying their orders. All this is a procedure of intimidation. Do not attach importance to this clownery and do not sign any documents other than subpoenas.
5. If you have a summons not for today, but for another day, you can go to the doctor one day or on the same day and get a certificate that you have a cold. Only the doctor cannot be told that you need to go to the military registration and enlistment office today.
   A certificate can be obtained in different ways: through a doctor you know (although they have been intimidated lately, and not everyone dares to help), through a deliberate increase in body temperature (there are many ways on the Internet). Those who evaded managed to raise their temperature with the help of physical therapy. loads, tensing your arms and core muscles for 15 minutes before entering the office.
   There is no need to call the military registration and enlistment office and report that you are sick. Just relax and go about your business this weekend.
   Once you receive the certificate, be sure to save it - this is your valid reason for not appearing.
6. After sick leave, you follow the same rules as before + keep the summons and certificate. If you were handed a summons again by registered mail, do the same thing until the police come to the doctor.
7. If you have reached this point, then, most likely, your military registration and enlistment office and the cops, despite all the threats, are ready to get rid of such a convinced draft dodger as you. Any civil servant understands: it is better to call on 100 silent people than one stubborn one. To write you off, they need a reason, so you need to find one in advance. Any person has small problems in the body: a slightly hunched back, an incorrect amount of substances in the blood, pressure - this and much more, if desired by the military registration and enlistment office, become serious reasons not to take you into the army.
   Therefore, we choose which “fly” of yours will turn into an “elephant”, read on the Internet how to do this and go to the military registration and enlistment office when they finally caught you.
   Why not undergo a medical examination immediately?
   If they do not find serious problems in your body, then there is a high risk of ending up in the army. If you do everything according to the described scheme, then it will be possible to stall for time and not get drafted, and also create a desire among the military registration and enlistment office employees to write you off.
8. At the medical examination.
   Feel free to go for examination. You need to go through one procedure a day: for example, donate blood in the morning, and the next morning just pick up the result, and so on with everything - at the military registration and enlistment office, remind us what huge queues you stood in. The psychiatrist must be told that you will not go into the army.
   You will be sent to a psychiatric hospital for 7-9 days for examination. According to the rules, you need to be under supervision there, but if the orderly sees that you are sane (and they distinguish this well), they often allow you to go home and come only for an examination.
   If you are not released, you can lie in a ward with either conscripts or ordinary patients. It makes sense to require doctors to be transferred to a ward with conscripts, but there is not always room there.
   While passing the tests, you don’t need to show off your intelligence - all the data will only go to the military registration and enlistment office and the cops, so you shouldn’t show off your skills. It is enough to show that you are not stupid. This will help preserve the opportunity to later obtain a driver's license. When communicating with a doctor, you need to say that you will not serve under any circumstances. This doesn't work in all regions, but it won't cause any harm. Therefore, it’s worth a try - you may be written off as an anti-militarist. You need to convince the psychiatrist in every possible way that you are not going to obey orders and accept authority if you are sent to the army.
   It is also possible to go vegan, which means refusing to eat animal products and use them in everyday life (clothing, household chemicals). When a person mows because of certain beliefs or religion and tries to avoid murder and weapons, he is often sent to alternative service. Vegans do not belong to this category of people.
   If you do not adhere to a vegan diet, but decide to mow for this reason, you need to study the main points well so as not to be confused by questions from a psychiatrist. It’s better to try veganism for yourself for a week or a month: it will be easier to navigate and answer questions. If you behave convincingly, you will be released in a week. Veganism is not a disease, so you still have all the privileges, such as getting a driver's license.
9. You need to constantly play for time, not appear on summons, delay procedures, take as many doctors as possible for examination and try in every possible way to avoid your appearance at the military registration and enlistment office.
   Your task is to approach the draft without having passed the medical examination. Then they will not have the right and authority to send you to the army.
10. Always read the documents you are told to sign carefully.
    There were cases when the military registration and enlistment office asked to sign documents on the issuance of a military ID, and in the end the person signed the paper to be sent to the army.

Some more recommendations. At the military registration and enlistment office, do not give your fingers for fingerprints - you are not a criminal and are not going to serve, so there is no need to leave them. Just don't come up when everyone is called to give fingerprints. It’s better to use a child’s photograph for business purposes - to say that there is not enough money for a new one.

For the best effect, persuade your friends to also boycott the draft - this way you will complicate the work of the military registration and enlistment office and the police. Based on experience, we can conclude: if they see a group that follows the same scenario, then they are much more likely to make concessions. You can spend your time in freedom much more usefully than in the army! Explain this to your friends and you might find it easier to mow.

Remember, in addition to the above methods of evading service in the Armed Forces, there are several more. The most important of them are going illegal or moving to another country. You hide from the military registration and enlistment office until you are 27 years old, then come to the military registration and enlistment office and demand your military ID. Military registration and enlistment officials will do it for you in any case. Although, essentially, not all anarchists need a “military soldier”. Many comrades manage successfully without it.

You are between 18 and 27 years old, by outward appearances you seem to be healthy, and most importantly, conscription for compulsory military service has just begun in Belarus. The Constitution says that defending the Motherland is the duty and sacred duty of a citizen. If this does not calm you down enough, and the summons has already arrived, do not rush to panic. There are a few simple rules that will help you avoid mistakes when communicating with the military registration and enlistment office, the portal reminds.

Step one. Agenda

Yes, you really are not obligated to help the military registration and enlistment office do its job, and as long as your signature is not on the summons, it is nothing more than just a piece of paper and can lie in your mailbox as long as you like. Even if someone else signed it for you, you certainly will not face liability for failure to appear at the military registration and enlistment office. But sooner or later the summons will still be served, for example, at work. Or they will come home with a local police officer. If the military registration and enlistment office workers cannot find a conscript, his name is added to the list of those prohibited from leaving the country. In this case, the summons will be waiting for him at the border.

Step two. Medical examination

Before going to the military registration and enlistment office, undergo a medical examination at any state diagnostic center. Pay special attention to what really bothers you. This is very important: for example, some heart diseases cannot be diagnosed with an ECG.

After you are given a conclusion, check the diseases found in you (unfortunately, the likelihood that there will be any) with the instructions on determining the requirements for the health status of conscripts. This document can be found in the National Register of Legal Acts of the Republic of Belarus. The instructions are lengthy, but worth reading.

If the doctors at the district military medical commission do not want to listen to your complaints or treat them with insufficient attention, as it seems to you, you can write a corresponding statement addressed to the head of the commission. Attach the same report from the state diagnostic center to it.

If you want to serve your Motherland, it is best to come to the military registration and enlistment office at the beginning of the conscription campaign. In this case, you can choose where to do your military service based on your health condition.

But if you think that for any reason you cannot join the ranks of the Belarusian army, remember that the sacred duty of serving the Fatherland does not make you powerless. Military registration and enlistment offices often take advantage of the legal ignorance of conscripts: they send summonses before the start of conscription, make serious mistakes in filling them out, and medical commissions, unfortunately, turn a blind eye to many things. The latter is especially alarming: if an unhealthy person is drafted into the army, the consequences can be very dire.

At all stages of the recruitment campaign, remember that the law does not prohibit anyone from taking care of their health. A conscript becomes a draft dodger if he does not appear at the military registration and enlistment office according to the summons he signed. For evasion there is a serious penalty: instead of one and a half years in the army, a person can spend two years in prison. To prevent this from happening, seek legal assistance from specialists from the Ministry of Defense or the Center for Conscript Rights.

One of the favorite sayings of military commissars: girls prefer to marry those who served. It is much less controversial that girls prefer healthy ones.

On March 23, Georgy received a call on his mobile phone (a recording of the conversation is available in the editorial office of Onliner.by): "Good afternoon. They are bothering you from the military commissariat in Smorgon. You need to report to the military commissariat tomorrow at nine.” Georgy replied that he was waiting for a summons and that, in fact, hooligans were calling on the phone, not the commissariat. At the other end they said: "Fine". And after a while the guy was blocked from leaving Belarus.

Georgiy is 24 years old. After completing his master's degree at BSUIR, he works as an information security specialist. At the university itself I attended the military department, but only for a year instead of two.

- Why? I didn’t have enough patience, I was running out of time. But the year counts, so if I am called up now, I will serve for six months. If I had graduated, they could still have been called up as a reserve officer. So I thought that there was no point in enduring in the department.

After a phone call from the Smorgon commissariat, Georgy went to the personnel department of the company where he worked.

- I asked if they sent information about me to the military registration and enlistment office. They answered in the affirmative: the letter was registered and sent. They said that if anything happens, they will send a summons to the place of work.

Court instead of vacation

In the summer, Georgy was going on vacation to Georgia. The tickets have already been purchased.

- After reading the Onliner.by forum and learning that exit was being blocked, I decided to check my status. At the beginning of June I contacted the department of citizenship and migration and received an answer: yes, from May 31 I have been banned from leaving because I am a draft dodger. I called back to the military registration and enlistment office: am I really a draft dodger? I was told that I was not a draft dodger, but “not notified for conscription events” and that I should come to office No. 7. In response to my questions regarding violations of the law, they answered that I could complain.

Instead of Georgia, Georgiy decided to set about putting his status as a person liable for military service in order and even hired a lawyer.

- Even before going to court, I talked with the head of the conscription department,- says lawyer Oleg Rakita. - The military registration and enlistment office employees initially agreed to lift the ban if Georgy came to serve the summons, but later refused. We can assume that the district commissariat was offended by the complaints written by my client. It became clear that it would not be possible to resolve the problem amicably. At the stage of preparing the judicial complaint, the question arose: who made the decision to impose the ban - an individual official (military commissar) or a collegial body (conscription commission)? Employees of the military registration and enlistment office assured that the travel ban was imposed by the draft commission, and that it is the commission that makes such decisions. As it turned out later, the information provided by the military registration and enlistment office did not correspond to reality, and the draft commission’s decision on the issue of recognizing the client as a “draft dodger” was not made at all. And these were just the first strange things.

If we turn to criminal law enforcement practice (Article 435 of the Criminal Code), we will clearly and unambiguously discover the criteria for the concept of “draft dodger”: this is a person subject to conscription, duly notified of the need to appear, who did not appear at conscription events without good reason, which prevented the decision from being made draft commission. The position of the district military registration and enlistment office and the court of first instance is this: you were notified, but in a different order, by telephone. Even if we assume that the so-called other procedure for notification is legal, it must meet the requirements for the only legal method of proper notification: it must be done at least two days before the appearance. You can't call today for tomorrow. In addition, the notice must be documented and contain comprehensive information about the reasons for the call, time, place of appearance, and contain an indication of the consequences of failure to appear.

Two basic ones for missing a letter from work

It was not limited to the civil case: an administrative process was also initiated against Georgiy. The reason was that the guy did not report to the regional military registration and enlistment office information about changes in his level of education and place of work.

- The charge is for violation of military registration obligations,- comments the lawyer. - Yes, the citizen has the responsibility to notify - but not exclusively the military registration and enlistment office. There is an alternative form for a conscript to report changed information: “the military commissariat or other authorized person maintaining military records in the organization.” When applying for a job or entering an educational institution, no one would even think of finding out whether the employer or institution notified the military registration and enlistment office. This is the competence of the personnel service of the organization and the military registration table in the educational institution.

Meanwhile, responses began to arrive from the departments to which Georgiy had sent complaints.

The harshest response was from the Grodno Regional Commissariat.

In general, Georgy received a refusal through all channels. The only difference is that the letters contain different dates for telephone calls through which the head of the conscription group contacted the “lost” conscript.

1:0 in favor of the military registration and enlistment office

The trial for civil and administrative cases took place in Smorgon in mid-July. Georgy demanded that the travel ban be lifted and that the charge that he had not informed the military registration and enlistment office of the changed information about his work and studies be dropped.

At the first trial, judging by the audio recording of the hearing, the parties each firmly adhered to their truth. Georgy and his lawyer were led towards the laws, the representative of the military registration and enlistment office referred to his own understanding.

- What is the legal basis for restricting Georgy’s travel?- asks Oleg Rakita.

- Presidential decree on conscription for compulsory military service,- Andrey Simporokhov answers.

- What about the factual one? What did he violate and not do?

- Didn’t arrive in February - May for conscription events.

- Why didn’t you explain over the phone where you were calling him: time, place, conscription event?

- I heard his answer: no summons - no appearance. No, they did not send a registered letter. I think a call is enough.

- Well, as a lawyer, I think that’s not enough...

- Well, each in his own way.

The court also decided in its own way: to reject Georgiy’s complaint and leave the ban in force. Andrey Simporokhov refused to communicate with the Onliner.by journalist, so we continue with the words of Oleg Rakita:

- The court motivated its decision by the fact that Georgy was allegedly a “draft dodger.” Our position is this: a telephone dialogue with such content is anything but a notification. Is failure to appear on a telephone call considered evasion? It seems that only one region of Belarus has such a practice.

Why didn't they send a summons to the university? There was no need to go somewhere, knock on doors, look for a conscript and start the administrative process. When military registration is normally organized in an area, then such problems do not arise.

2:0 in favor of the military registration and enlistment office

The second trial - in an administrative case due to failure to report data on the completion of a magistracy - Georgy and Oleg also lost. Although at the trial the lawyer called for reading not only the 18th article of the law “On Military Duty and Military Service”, but also the 9th.

- This article obliges employers to report the hiring or dismissal of conscripts within a week. Georgy has been working since 2014! He is not a “specialist” who independently conducts military registration work. Officially worked, officially studied. Then draw up protocols against employers about bringing them to administrative responsibility. Such exclusive selectivity in assigning duties only to the conscript is unclear.

Also in court, a representative of the military registration and enlistment office referred to the fact that, according to the decision of the Smorgon Council of Deputies, persons who have not personally received a summons must appear at the military registration and enlistment office on their own - this was published on their website and in the district... Yes, there may be regulations of local governments. But in terms of legal force, they are inferior to the law “On Military Service and Military Duty”, the resolution of the Council of Ministers on the notification procedure and must comply with higher regulations.

As a result, the judge fined Georgiy two basic ones.

- You are convinced that you will not go anywhere without a summons. It's a delusion. You are not a military person, but a person liable for military service. We all use modern technology. If you have any doubts, after a call from a representative of the military registration and enlistment office, you could clarify whether they were actually looking for you,- the judge concluded.

- 15 minutes after I left the court, they called me from the district prosecutor’s office and invited me to come in,- says Georgy. - There I was given an official warning about not violating the law. In the paper, the prosecutor concludes that I have been brought to administrative responsibility. Of course, I cannot agree with such an act of the prosecutor’s response. This is very unusual, because according to the Code of Administrative Offenses, a court decision comes into force 10 days after its issuance, unless the party files a complaint. As if the paper at the prosecutor's office was prepared in advance.

- I’m ready to join the army, especially if I’m fit,- Georgy assures. - Missing two weeks of working for money while undergoing a medical examination is a nice thing. But I am against the fact that they work this way. And it saddens me that all this is in exchange for high taxes that I pay. There's no time to spare now. I spend money on a lawyer, but I saw how the court works and how prosecutors react. On TV, the Hour of Judgment plays out differently. I intend to continue to defend my rights, to seek recognition of the decisions made against me as illegal and their cancellation.

Onliner.by contacted the Ministry of Defense to clarify the general position regarding the current status of telephone calls instead of subpoenas and the practice of fining conscripts for failure to report changed data on study and work. We will publish a comment as soon as it is received.