On December 8, Vladimir Putin signed a decree on military training for Russian citizens in the reserve in 2026. Formally, this is an annual procedure, but amid the ongoing war, human rights advocates warn that such training is no longer a routine technical measure and may create additional risks for those called up.
The document says reservists in the broader legal sense will be summoned for training in the Armed Forces, the National Guard, EMERCOM rescue military units, and also in the state protection bodies and the FSB. After the decree, the Defense Ministry sends directives to regional draft offices, which then issue summonses. Under the law, a summons must be delivered at least 10 days before the start of training, either in person against signature or by registered mail.
Sergey Krivenko, head of the rights group Citizen. Army. Law, told Novaya-Europe that the decree itself is largely no different from those issued in previous years. What he called unusual was only the timing of its publication: according to him, such acts are usually released at the beginning of the year. At the same time, rights advocates say the greatest concern is the classified part of the decree, which may contain information on how many people will be called up and to which agencies they may be assigned.
“The only thing is that the timing of the decree is unusual. Based on past experience, such documents usually come out at the start of the year,” Krivenko told Novaya-Europe.
Rights advocates say the main danger is possible pressure during the training period to force reservists to sign military contracts. The movement Get Lost also notes that during training a person acquires the status of a serviceman and must obey commanders’ orders. According to movement representative Ivan Chuvilyaev, such training could theoretically be held in border regions or in Crimea, although no such cases have been recorded so far.
Another risk mentioned by the publication’s sources concerns the mobilization reserve. People in the reserve may be called up under the guise of training and then actively persuaded to join that reserve. Krivenko also pointed to the possibility of a repeat of the autumn 2022 scenario, when, in the event of a new mobilization, people could potentially be sent to war directly from the training grounds.
Failure to appear without a valid reason carries administrative liability: a fine of 10,000 to 30,000 rubles. There is no criminal liability for refusing to undergo such training. Exemptions are available, among other grounds, for health reasons, full-time or part-time study, conscientious beliefs, and for certain other categories, including parents with many minor children and those who have already completed alternative civilian service.