Russia proposes doubling military service term for migrants

By News.Az

Russian lawmakers have proposed a bill requiring migrants who have obtained Russian citizenship to serve in the army for two years, which is double the mandatory service period for citizens born in Russia.

Under the current law, all Russian males aged 18 to 30, with few exceptions, are required to serve in the military for one year. However, due to increased mobilization needs arising from military actions in Ukraine, several amendments to the conscription law have been proposed to extend the service period for naturalized citizens. These changes are expected to be reviewed before the end of the current parliamentary session, which concludes on August 5.

One of the proposals, put forward by State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin, mandates that new citizens register for military service immediately upon receiving their passports. Failure to comply with this requirement could result in the revocation of citizenship.

The idea of extending the service period has also been supported by Valery Fadeev, head of the Presidential Human Rights Council, who proposed raising the conscription age for naturalized migrants to 50.

In the past two years, there has been a significant increase in the number of foreigners obtaining Russian citizenship, particularly from former Soviet states. From January to October 2023, over 318,000 individuals became Russian citizens, with the highest demand for Russian passports among citizens of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

News.Az