Conscription in the Soviet Union

Last updated January 23, 2025

Conscription was used by the Soviet Union for the duration of its existence to bolster military function and operations. Conscription was introduced into what would become the Soviet Union in 1918,^[1] almost immediately after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 to strengthen the forces of the Red Army. Following its introduction, conscription remained a constant presence in the Soviet state until its dissolution in 1991. Various policy amendments changed the volume of conscription intakes and the required length of service, with key changes to policy occurring in 1918, 1938 and 1967.^[2] Wartime conscription, specifically during World War II, saw a significant increase in conscription intake as well as a broadening of the pool of candidates available to be conscripted.^[3] Unlike in countries without a consistent history of conscription (such as the United States), there was relatively little resistance to conscription policy, as the concept was enshrined in the Soviet constitution as a mandatory requirement of citizenship, regardless of identity or status, and was seen as the national duty of all Soviet military-aged men.

Historical periods

1917–1939

After the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917, the new communist government briefly experimented with a volunteer system of army recruitment but returned to the former system of conscription almost immediately in May 1918.^[1]

The policy saw few changes until September 1, 1939, when a new Law on Universal Military Service was enacted following the outbreak of WWII across Europe.^[3] This new law saw large increases in terms of service periods, ages of conscription and a restriction of potential exemptions. The general period of service was increased from 2 to 3 years, and conscription age was lowered from 19 to 17 for young men.^[4] Previous exemptions for those pursuing higher education were abolished, as well as exemptions on the grounds of family reasons (such as having several young children). The plan behind the increased conscription terms was to create two large groups of trained reserves, one for men up to 40 years of age, and the other for men up to 50 years of age.^[4]

World War II

On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland after having staged several false flag border incidents as a pretext to initiate the invasion.^[5] The Soviet Union officially invaded Poland on the 17th of September, 1939, two days after signing a cease-fire with Japan.^[6] On June 22, 1941, Germany launched a surprise attack against the USSR's western border.^[7] Soon after, in October 1941 the government passed a new military service law which states that all male citizens from the ages of 18 to 28 were liable for military service.^[8]

On 9 February 1942, Stalin issued an order which stated it would be expedient to “conscript into the ranks of the Red Army… citizens in the liberated territories between the ages of 17 to 30 who have not been conscripted into the Red Army during the previous months of the war” due to the fact they were “burning with hatred for the invader and a desire to participate in the subsequent liberation of their Soviet Motherland with weapons in their hands.”^[3] Following this order, non-Russian inhabitants of liberated territory began to be forcibly conscripted into the Red Army ranks as it moved westward toward Germany.^[9]

This broadening of the conscription pool created a diverse range of military personnel along the front lines, with soldiers of many different nationalities, ethnicities and languages being present.

1945–1991

In 1950 a secretive amendment to the service law saw the term of active service increased by one year. It is speculated that this increase was a response to America's involvement in the Korean war, but the law was kept off of official records, such as the Proceedings of the Supreme Soviet, (link) so that the US would not learn of the increase and suspect the Soviet Union of preparing for war themselves.^[10] In 1955 the service term was reduced to three years from four in the air forces, coast-guard and coastal defence, and to four years from five in the Navy. This decision again was kept off official records, but was presumably part of the planned cut in manpower forces, announced in August 1955 and May 1956^[10]

On 12 October 1967 a major amendment to the service law saw service periods shortened from 3 years to 2, and also saw the frequency of call-ups increase to twice per year. This amendment is said to have been caused by the large increase in young men reaching military age around this time. In order to adhere to the concept of ‘universal service’, while maintaining the size of the armed forces, conscript turnover was increased so that a large majority of young men reaching military age were still conscripted to serve, but not at the expense of increasing the size of the armed forces beyond the limits deemed necessary.^[10]

Following the 1967 amendment conditions for conscripts worsened considerably, with reports of abuse, hazing and even murder of conscripted soldiers becoming widespread.^[2] Conscripted soldiers, particularly those in their first year of service who had not yet earned either rank or respect to protect them, faced physical violence and sexual assault from superior officers, and regularly had their pay and food rations confiscated. Any resistance to such abuse was met with beatings, sometimes resulting in severe injuries, disability discharges and even death.^[2]

The official system of promoting some recently-recruited able soldiers to sergeant, so that they were placed in command positions shortly after enlistment, was undermined by an unofficial system structured around the years of service spent by each conscript. Junior conscripts became the subordinates to more experienced conscripts who had already served one or two years. This system was not officially recognised, but it became entrenched in conscript culture during the 1970s and 1980s.^[2]

Traditionally, all full-time Soviet students benefited from a draft postponement until graduation. If the college/university had a military chair (which provided training in a particular military specialty), its students became reserve officers and were exempt from service as private soldiers. Without a military chair the graduates were conscripted for a shortened term. For many people, an intention to avoid or at least to defer soldier service was a main reason for studying.^[11] However, between late autumn 1982 and 1988 the Soviet Union had a mandatory draft for students of most universities,^[12]^[13] with the peak conscription fraction in 1987. Students were drafted for two or, if for the navy, three years, of military service, typically after termination of the first or second academic year.

Conscription of Women

The Soviet Union conscripted the most women for combat, comparative to other national military during wartime^[14] and especially during WWII. It is difficult to know the exact number of women conscripted during WWII and in what roles they served, as information about female soldiers was generally repressed in official reports and government documents from that period. However recently efforts have been made to uncover and rectify the records of female service personnel in the Soviet Union.^[3]

In the 1938 amendment to the service law, it was stated that any woman with relevant training and education, such as medical or mechanical would be liable for conscription service during times of war.^[4] Three all-female aviation unit were formed in late 1941 after an official decree from Stalin on the 8th of October 1941.^[3] This was only 4 months after the Soviet Union officially entered WWII, and by late March 1942 over 100,000 women had already been conscripted into air defence units.^[14] By the end of the war, the air defence force was more than 1/4 female, with 300,000 women, both volunteers and conscripts serving as communicators, machine gunners, pilots and medical personnel.^[15] Most female conscripts served behind the front lines in secondary positions and roles in an attempt to free up more men for front line duty. However it is believed that many women also served in combat positions, such as in tank regiments or along the front line.^[3]

The increased female presence in the armed forces during WWII also led to an improvement in sanitary conditions. On the 11th of April 1943 it was ordered that soap rations for women personnel be increased to 100 grams per month, 50% more than their male counterparts.^[3]

Resistance to Conscription

The first widespread and organised resistance to conscription policy began in the 1980s due to the growing public awareness of the harsh conditions faced by conscripted soldiers, as well as the loosening of government restrictions on things such as public organisations and freedom of speech under the Perestroika and Glasnost reforms. Within the armed forces resistance grew in the form of organised ethnic and nationality groups in order to protect each other from abuse and call attention to the treatment suffered by conscripts.^[2] In October 1989 a group of junior officers formed the Union for the Social Protection of Servicemen and their Families which publicised conscripts stories and conducted protests against government handling of the conscription policy.^[2]

Outside of the armed forces, the most prolific public group which spoke out against conscription was the Committee of Soldiers Mothers, later changed to the Union of the Committees of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia in 1998. The group was founded in 1989 and aimed to record and publicise the treatment of conscripts within training and barracks centres. The group also organised public protests and called for government action to protect the rights of soldiers and conscripts whilst they served.

Conscription methods

In times of peace, the general conscription method was to conscript young men, either 18 or 19 who had just finished high school or completed a trade. Under the 1938 law, one call up was conducted each year in October/November to induct conscripts for three years of service, unless they were in the Navy for which service terms were 4 years.^[2] These terms of service changed over the history of the Soviet Union as new drafts to the service law were enacted to reflect the growing and diminishing populations and external threat levels. Programs conducted by the government in elementary and secondary school usually meant that newly conscripted privates had already received a degree of military training and could bypass the usual basic training.^[2]

However, in times of war, specifically WWII, conscription methods became a lot less bureaucratic, with anyone who appeared to be of age forcibly conscripted from areas that had been taken back from German control.^[3] Soldiers in these liberated areas would comb haystacks, search forests etc. for those thought to be evading service.^[3]

Related Research Articles

Conscription, also known as the draft in American English, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day under various names. The modern system of near-universal national conscription for young men dates to the French Revolution in the 1790s, where it became the basis of a very large and powerful military. Most European nations later copied the system in peacetime, so that men at a certain age would serve 1 to 8 years on active duty and then transfer to the reserve force.

The Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) (Finnish: Puolustusvoimat; Swedish: Försvarsmakten) are the military of Finland. The Finnish Defence Forces consist of the Finnish Army, the Finnish Navy, and the Finnish Air Force. In wartime, the Finnish Border Guard becomes part of the Finnish Defence Forces.

The Swedish Armed Forces are the armed forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. It consists of four separate military branches, the Swedish Army, the Swedish Navy, the Swedish Air Force and the Home Guard.

A soldier is a person who serves as part of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an officer. Soldiers may be involved directly in armed hostilities, such as members of infantry, artillery, or armored units, or as personnel serving in support roles that rarely see actual combat.

Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave, which are temporary forms of absence.

Cantonists were underage sons of conscripts in the Russian Empire. From 1721 on they were educated in special "cantonist schools" for future military service. The cantonist schools and the cantonist system were eventually abolished in 1857, following public and international criticism and the Russian defeat in the Crimean War.

Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription).

In the United States, military conscription, commonly known as the draft, has been employed by the U.S. federal government in six conflicts: the American Revolutionary War, the American Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The fourth incarnation of the draft came into being in 1940, through the Selective Training and Service Act; this was the country's first peacetime draft.

Since 1914, Greece has had mandatory military service (conscription) of 12 months in the Army, Navy and the Air Force for men between the age of 19 to 45. Citizens discharged from active service are normally placed in the Reserve and are subject to periodic recall of 1–10 days at irregular intervals.

A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person is usually a former active-duty member of the armed forces, and they remain a reservist either voluntarily, or by obligation. In some countries such as Israel, Norway, Finland, Singapore, and Switzerland, reservists are conscripted soldiers who are called up for training and service when necessary.

Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), maintains an active conscription system in accordance with the regulations set by the government of the Republic of China. All qualified male citizens of military age in the country are obligated to perform 1 year on active duty military service or receive 4 months of military training.

A military reserve force is a military organization whose members (reservists) have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve forces are generally considered part of a permanent standing body of armed forces, and allow a nation to reduce its peacetime military expenditures and maintain a force prepared for war. During peacetime, reservists typically serve part-time alongside a civilian job, although most reserve forces have a significant permanent full-time component as well. Reservists may be deployed for weeks or months-long missions during peacetime to support specific operations. During wartime, reservists may be kept in service for months or years at a time, although typically not for as long as active duty soldiers.

Women have played many roles in the Russian and Soviet military history. Women played an important role in world wars in Russia and the Soviet Union, particularly during World War II.

Conscription in Russia is a 12-month draft, which is mandatory for all male citizens who are between 18 and 30 years old, with a number of exceptions. Avoiding the draft is a felony under Russian criminal code and is punishable by up to 26 months of imprisonment.

A military commissariat, is an institution that is part of military service or law enforcement mechanisms in some European countries. As part of the British Army in the 19th century, military commissariats were used for organisational, accounting and bookkeeping duties regarding military transport, personnel and equipment. The most widespread historic use of military commissariats existed as part of administrative military infrastructure in the Soviet Union. Each Soviet district would have a military commissariat that was responsible for keeping documentation up to date concerning military resources, including the labour force, in their region. Military commissariats in the Soviet Union were also tasked with the recruitment and training of military servicemen. The use of military commissariats as local military administrative agencies continued as a part of modern Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. There has been criticism and speculation regarding corruption in the recruitment process of military personnel and allegations of an abusive military culture in commissariats since their inception. This has caused the role of military commissariats as administrative agencies to be questioned. Buildings that were military commissariats still serve their purpose in Russia and some other post-Soviet states. In France and Italy, the word "commissariat" can refer to factions of the police and law enforcement, some of whom are connected to the military.

European countries have had varying policies that confine women and military service or the extent of their participation in the national armed services of their respective countries, especially combatant roles in armed conflicts or hostile environments. While most of the countries have always allowed women to participate in military activities involving no direct aggression with the enemy, most began seeing the value of servicewomen in the armed services during the First World War when they began losing unprecedented numbers of servicemen. In the modern era, many of the European countries allow women to voluntarily pursue a career path or profession in the national armed services of their country as well as permit conscription equality, with minimal or no restrictions at all.

China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) began as an all-volunteer force. In 1955, as part of an effort to modernize the PLA, the first Military Service Law created a system of compulsory military service. Since the late 1970s, the Chinese conscription laws mandate a hybrid system that combines conscripts and volunteers. Due to sufficient volunteer recruitment, mandatory military service has not been enacted in China since 1949.

Conscription is inscribed in the 1976 Constitution of the Republic of Cuba in article 65, stating that "Defense of the socialist homeland is the greatest honor and the supreme duty of every Cuban citizen." There is a military presence through all levels of education in Cuba, however the recruiting process begins in secondary school as nationals, both male and female, are able to enlist in the army from the age of 17.

A general mobilization into the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been taking place in Ukraine since 2014.

Mobilization to the Armed Forces of Ukraine to combat the Russian invasion of Ukraine has resulted in military, political, and public controversies in the country. Among these include efforts from Ukrainian citizens to dodge draft orders and hide or escape the country, legislation to penalize draft evaders and require Ukrainian citizens to register information to streamline draft processes, and the employment of Territorial Recruitment Office (TCC) soldiers to enroll Ukrainians into training with efforts from citizens to resist. The need to maintain enough troops to fight on the frontline in Ukraine to prevent Russia from advancing and jeopardizing Ukrainian sovereignty while adhering to democratic principles and human rights to resist the Russian image of authoritarianism created a difficult policy balance that resulted in the strong internal politicization and controversy.

References

1 2 Jones, Ellen (1982). "Manning the Soviet Military". International Security. 7 (1): 105–131. doi:10.2307/2538691. ISSN 0162-2889. JSTOR 2538691. S2CID 154404042.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Spivak, Andrew L.; Pridemore, William Alex (2004-11-01). "Conscription and Reform in the Russian Army". Problems of Post-Communism. 51 (6): 33–43. doi:10.1080/10758216.2004.11052188. ISSN 1075-8216. S2CID 62805983.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Glantz, David (2012-08-14), "Soviet Use of "Substandard" Manpower in the Red Army, 1941–1945", Scraping the Barrel, Fordham University Press, pp. 151–178, doi:10.5422/fordham/9780823239771.003.0008, ISBN 9780823239771
1 2 3 "Conscription age set at 17 in Russia". The New York Times. 1 September 1939. ProQuest 103062450.
↑ Evans, Richard J. (2009). The Third Reich at war. New York. ISBN 978-1-59420-206-3. OCLC 233549166.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) pp. 1-2
↑ Zaloga, Steve; Gerrard, Howard (2002). Poland 1939 : the birth of blitzkrieg. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN 1-84176-408-6. OCLC 49871941. pp. 80, 83
↑ "Invasion of the Soviet Union, June 1941". encyclopedia.ushmm.org. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
↑ Reese, Roger R. (2007-05-31). "Motivations to Serve: The Soviet Soldier in the Second World War". The Journal of Slavic Military Studies. 20 (2): 263–282. doi:10.1080/13518040701378287. ISSN 1351-8046. S2CID 144192969.
↑ Glantz, David (2012-08-14), "Soviet Use of "Substandard" Manpower in the Red Army, 1941–1945", Scraping the Barrel, Fordham University Press, pp. 151–178, doi:10.5422/fordham/9780823239771.003.0008, ISBN 9780823239771
1 2 3 Jukes, G. (August 1968). "Changes in Soviet conscription law". Australian Outlook. 22 (2): 204–217. doi:10.1080/10357716808444315. ISSN 0004-9913.
↑ S. B. Pereslegin (2003). Стратегия для русского образования [Strategy of Russian Education]. Имперский Генеральный штаб (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-04-08. Entering some university was [in the Soviet times] and is [now] the most natural choice as it warrants deferment of military service... The key motivation for studying is to "escape the danger [of being drafted into the army]", rather than to "get a honours diploma [= good education] as a path to a good career". (In Russian original s. from the words Russian: ВУЗ был и остается наиболее простым и естественным выбором) (also reprinted in the scientific journals Znanie-Sila (2008, № 9) and Vospitanie Shkolnikov (2013, № 2))
↑ Steven W. Popper. "The Economic Cost of Soviet Military Manpower Requirements" (PDF). United States Air Force. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
↑ "Soviets halting student military draft". United Press International. Retrieved 2018-12-26.
1 2 Marble, Sanders, "Filling the ranks: conscription and personnel policies", The Cambridge History Of The Second World War, Cambridge University Press, pp. 585–607, doi:10.1017/cho9781139855969.025, ISBN 9781139855969
↑ "Velikaia Otechestvennaia Voina Sovetskogo Soiuza, 1941–1945: Kratkaia Istoriia [The Great Fatherland War of the Soviet Union, 1941–1945: A Concise History]. Edited by <italic>P. I. Pospelov et al</italic>. [Institut Marksizma-Leninizma pri TsK KPSS, Otdel Istorii Velikoi Otechestvennoi Voiny.] (Moscow: Voennoe Izdatel'stvo Ministerstva Oborony SSSR. 1965. Pp. 617)". The American Historical Review. April 1968. doi:10.1086/ahr/73.4.1210. ISSN 1937-5239.

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[:6-1] 1 2 Jones, Ellen (1982). "Manning the Soviet Military". International Security. 7 (1): 105–131. doi:10.2307/2538691. ISSN 0162-2889. JSTOR 2538691. S2CID 154404042.

[:0-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Spivak, Andrew L.; Pridemore, William Alex (2004-11-01). "Conscription and Reform in the Russian Army". Problems of Post-Communism. 51 (6): 33–43. doi:10.1080/10758216.2004.11052188. ISSN 1075-8216. S2CID 62805983.

[:5-3] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Glantz, David (2012-08-14), "Soviet Use of "Substandard" Manpower in the Red Army, 1941–1945", Scraping the Barrel, Fordham University Press, pp. 151–178, doi:10.5422/fordham/9780823239771.003.0008, ISBN 9780823239771

[:7-4] 1 2 3 "Conscription age set at 17 in Russia". The New York Times. 1 September 1939. ProQuest 103062450.

[5] Evans, Richard J. (2009). The Third Reich at war. New York. ISBN 978-1-59420-206-3. OCLC 233549166.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) pp. 1-2

[6] Zaloga, Steve; Gerrard, Howard (2002). Poland 1939 : the birth of blitzkrieg. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN 1-84176-408-6. OCLC 49871941. pp. 80, 83

[7] "Invasion of the Soviet Union, June 1941". encyclopedia.ushmm.org. Retrieved 2019-05-06.

[8] Reese, Roger R. (2007-05-31). "Motivations to Serve: The Soviet Soldier in the Second World War". The Journal of Slavic Military Studies. 20 (2): 263–282. doi:10.1080/13518040701378287. ISSN 1351-8046. S2CID 144192969.

[:1-9] Glantz, David (2012-08-14), "Soviet Use of "Substandard" Manpower in the Red Army, 1941–1945", Scraping the Barrel, Fordham University Press, pp. 151–178, doi:10.5422/fordham/9780823239771.003.0008, ISBN 9780823239771

[:2-10] 1 2 3 Jukes, G. (August 1968). "Changes in Soviet conscription law". Australian Outlook. 22 (2): 204–217. doi:10.1080/10357716808444315. ISSN 0004-9913.

[peresleginRU-11] S. B. Pereslegin (2003). Стратегия для русского образования [Strategy of Russian Education]. Имперский Генеральный штаб (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-04-08. Entering some university was [in the Soviet times] and is [now] the most natural choice as it warrants deferment of military service... The key motivation for studying is to "escape the danger [of being drafted into the army]", rather than to "get a honours diploma [= good education] as a path to a good career". (In Russian original s. from the words Russian: ВУЗ был и остается наиболее простым и естественным выбором) (also reprinted in the scientific journals Znanie-Sila (2008, № 9) and Vospitanie Shkolnikov (2013, № 2))

[12] Steven W. Popper. "The Economic Cost of Soviet Military Manpower Requirements" (PDF). United States Air Force. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2018.

[13] "Soviets halting student military draft". United Press International. Retrieved 2018-12-26.

[:3-14] 1 2 Marble, Sanders, "Filling the ranks: conscription and personnel policies", The Cambridge History Of The Second World War, Cambridge University Press, pp. 585–607, doi:10.1017/cho9781139855969.025, ISBN 9781139855969

[15] "Velikaia Otechestvennaia Voina Sovetskogo Soiuza, 1941–1945: Kratkaia Istoriia [The Great Fatherland War of the Soviet Union, 1941–1945: A Concise History]. Edited by <italic>P. I. Pospelov et al</italic>. [Institut Marksizma-Leninizma pri TsK KPSS, Otdel Istorii Velikoi Otechestvennoi Voiny.] (Moscow: Voennoe Izdatel'stvo Ministerstva Oborony SSSR. 1965. Pp. 617)". The American Historical Review. April 1968. doi:10.1086/ahr/73.4.1210. ISSN 1937-5239.

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