New bills have been signed into law in Russia and as a foreigner in Russia, you must stay on top of these updates as they will affect you one way or the other. We had a conversation about the new conscription laws with the Russian passport on the Telegram channel recently.
Now, here’s what you need to know about the Военный Билет
What is the military ID?
This is a document that is issued to a person before serving in the Russian Armed Forces and other departments where military service is provided, for example, in the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Russian National Guard. During conscription service, a military ID replaces a passport. It is obtained in different ways – at the place of service after conscription, at the military registration and enlistment office, or upon admission to a military university.
Types of military IDs
There are two types. The first is a regular military ID. It is issued to all citizens of Russia who are registered for military service.
The second is a military ID of an officer in the armed forces reserve.
Despite similar names, they have different issuance procedures and functions. An officer’s military ID is issued only to officers discharged from military service, in exchange for a serviceman’s identity card.
It is also issued to those who have successfully completed training at a military training center of a university upon enrollment in the reserve. An ordinary conscript will not receive such a card.
Recently, military ID cards are gradually being replaced by personal electronic cards of military personnel, which, like military ID cards, are a document of military registration of citizens. Outwardly, they look like a bank card, and they contain a photograph of the owner.
The personal electronic card can be used to record information necessary for military registration in electronic form: for example, passport data, information about education, assignment of a sports category or sports title.
The validity period of the electronic card is 10 years, after which it must be replaced. It is planned that over time, such cards will replace traditional paper military ID cards.
What is it for?
There is an opinion that only those who have served in the army receive a military ID. But this is not true.
A military ID is issued to a person immediately before conscription, and is issued at the time of conscription for military service. But even those who have not served in the army can receive a military ID. This happens if a person, for example, was not conscripted at all or had deferments. Those who did not intentionally evade conscription will in any case receive a military ID, but after they turn 27 years old. To do this, you must be registered for military service. All citizens are required to do this, except for those who:
* Are exempt from military service.
* Are already serving in the military.
* Are serving a sentence in the form of imprisonment.
* Permanently reside outside Russia.
The first pages contain basic information about the owner: his last name, first name and patronymic, date and place of birth, education and marital status. It also indicates his main civilian specialty and sports categories, if any.
This information is filled out during registration, and over time it becomes irrelevant – usually no changes are made to it. Entries on the remaining pages appear later.
Pages 2-3 — information about whether the person was called up for military, alternative, or contract service. There is the same information about dismissal from service and registration for military service.
If a person has a military ID, but these two pages are blank, then, most likely, he did not get into the unit where he was supposed to serve. Or this is a reason to doubt the authenticity of the ID — it depends on the situation.
Page 4 — continuation of information about discharge from military service. It happens: a person is discharged, then re-enlists. This is possible.
Page 5 — information about military and alternative service.
Let’s say the ticket says that the owner in 1998-1999 did not do alternative, but military service by conscription, but served for a year. At that time, this was only possible for a person with a higher education. Or if he completed his conscription service early — for example, due to health reasons, in connection with being elected as a deputy. In other cases, he would have had to serve for two years at that time.