Russian Federation

Dear member and supporter of War Resisters' International,

Since 1956 1 December is celebrated as Prisoners for Peace Day - a day to think of those who are imprisoned for their courageous acts against war, violence, and human rights violations. This year War Resisters' International chose Russia as a focus, and the recent events highlight the importance of support to peace and human rights activists in Russia.

Traditionally, War Resisters' International celebrates Prisoners for Peace Day on 1 December. The history of War Resisters' International's activities for Prisoners for Peace goes back to the 1920s, but 1 December was for the first time celebrated as 'Prisoners for Peace Day' in 1956.

The focus of Prisoners for Peace Day 2006 will be the situation in Russia:

Following a recent case of hazing within the military, several organisations openly called for a boycott of the spring 2006 round of call-ups to military service. The Russian paper Pravda reported in its English language online edition on 23 February: "Russian draft boards may face a large-scale boycott of conscription this spring.

As published in The Right to Conscientious Objection in Europe, Quaker Council for European Affairs, 2005.

ConscriptionConscientious objection

Conscription

Conscription is enshrined in Article 59 of the 1993 Constitution and is further regulated by the 1998 Law on Conscription Obligation and Military Service.

The length of military service is 24 months, and 12 months for graduate students of higher education institutes.

All men between t

From 20-23 February 2005, a representative of War Resisters' International visited Moscow and participated in some of the events of the "Deserters' Festival", organised by Autonomous Action, a network of anarchist groups in Russia.

The festival started with a discussion on antimilitarism on Sunday, 20 February. The discussion took place in a youth club close to the university, with about 25 participants, mostly sympathisers of Autonomous Action.

In a landmark case, the UKs Immigration Appeal Tribunal granted asylum to a Russian deserter. The person in question deserted from the Russian Army in Grozny in Chechnya shortly after being sent there in 1999, and fled to Britain. The Tribunal concluded: "He had been called up for service after deferments and had received three months training.

Russia: One year of CO legislation

On 1 January 2004, the Russian law on conscientious objection entered into force (for a detailed analysis of the law see WRI's Russia report from September 2003). According to the law, substitute service lasts 1.75 times as long as military service (42 month compared to 24 month).

On 1 January 2004, the repressive Russian law on conscientious objection came into force. As a result, the first ever conscientious objectors required to perform substitute service started their service in July.

CCPR/CO/79/RUS
6 November 2003

(...)

17. While the Committee welcomes the introduction of the possibility for conscientious objectors to substitute civilian service for military service, it remains concerned that the Alternative Civilian Service Act, which will take effect on 1 January 2004, appears to be punitive in nature by prescribing civil service of a length 1.7 times that of normal military service. Furthermore, the law does not appear to guarantee that the tasks to be performed by conscientious objectors are compatible with their convictions.

Report to the United Nations Human Rights Committee for its consideration of the Fifth Periodic Report by the Russian Federation

War Resisters' International:

The Russian Federation: Human Rights and the Armed Forces

Report to the United Nations Human Rights Committee



July-September 2003

1 Executive Summary

2.

by Silke Makowski

In the region of Caucasus and Central Asia, no country offers a free choice between military service and alternative service, most of them even having no legal basis for a substitute service at all. The few states that passed a law on some kind of alternative service haven't implemented it according to international standards: in Georgia, substitute service isn't available in practice and in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, large bribes are necessary to perform it.

The widespread movement of conscientious objection during the first twelve years of Soviet rule remains a topic almost unexplored by scholars. Yet it is one of the most important themes in the history of pacifism before the nuclear age. Until near the end of the Communist era the few writers who broached the subject, e.g.. the hard party-liner F.M. Putintsev or the erudite sociologist of religion A.l. Klibanov, did so in an extremely tendentious fashion. With the collapse of Communism, the situation of course changed.