Soviet Union: Information on the process for notifying a person that he was being called-up for active duty and on the possibility of delaying the start date of the call-up process in the 1988-1991 period
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 January 1993 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SUN12158 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Soviet Union: Information on the process for notifying a person that he was being called-up for active duty and on the possibility of delaying the start date of the call-up process in the 1988-1991 period, 1 January 1993, SUN12158, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6abaf2c.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Military commissariats in the Soviet Union were responsible for conducting the call-up to active duty in the Soviet army (Scott and Scott 1984, 324). According to a visiting Russian academic from the Institute on the USA and Canada in Moscow, draft notification was usually sent by post to a draftee's home address (19 Jan. 1993). The notification process usually took place a year before the scheduled date when the draftee was to begin his active service (Scott and Scott, 335). The draft notification would state a time for the draftee to present himself at the local military commissariat for a medical examination (Visiting Professor 19 Jan. 1993). If he was accepted as being physically fit enough to serve, the military commissariat would determine the branch in which the inductee would serve (Scott and Scott, p. 335). If medical treatment was required, it would be completed before the draftee was inducted (Ibid., 335).
Information on the possibility of delaying the start date of the call-up process is currently unavailable to the DIRB. However, the military commissariats were responsible for determining if a draftee was eligible either to be excused from serving or having his military service deferred (Ibid., 335). In 1982, a law came into effect which restricted student deferral to those attending a school on a special list (Ibid., 335). In 1989, however, all students were granted a deferral of military service until they completed their studies (RFE/RL 21 April 1989, 40; IRBDC October 1991, 43-44).
Additional or corroborative information on the above subject is currently unavailable to the DIRB.
References
Immigration and Refugee Board Documentation Centre (IRBDC), Ottawa. October 1991. USSR: Country Profile.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). 21 April 1989. Report on the USSR [Munich]. Vol. 1, No. 16. Vera Tolz. "The USSR This Week."
Scott, Harriet and William F. Scott. 1984. The Armed Forces of the USSR. 3rd edition. Boulder; Westview Press, 1984.
Visiting Academic from the Institute for the USA and Canada, Moscow. 19 January 1993. Telephone interview.
Attachments
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). 21 April 1989. Report on the USSR [Munich]. Vol. 1, No. 16. Vera Tolz. "The USSR This Week," p. 40.
Scott, Harriet and William F. Scott. 1984. The Armed Forces of the USSR. 3rd edition. Boulder; Westview Press.