Russia does not conscript young Crimeans into the army because it is not sure of their loyalty to their new homeland - media
Moscow - Simferopol, January 26 (PolitNavigator, Mikhail Stamm) - Crimeans and residents of Sevastopol will be able to use Ukrainian legislation to obtain exemptions or deferments from service in the Russian army. A bill has been submitted to the State Duma, which, according to its authors, will help avoid social tension in new regions. The Russian authorities, it seems, will not rush to recruit Crimean youth at all until they are convinced that they are truly loyal to their new homeland, writes "NG".
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The bill “On some features of the legal regulation of relations related to the conscription of certain categories of citizens of the Russian Federation for military service who lived in the territories of the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol” was submitted to the State Duma by deputies from the State Duma Committee on Defense on January 23.
The explanatory note states that Crimeans who served in the Ukrainian army before the annexation of the peninsula to Russia or were exempted from military service under Ukrainian laws “have the right to be exempt from conscription for military service.” The same goes for deferments. In other words, it is proposed to extend the previous Ukrainian legislation to the current Russian realities.
Certain preferences for Crimeans still exist. So, in 2014, residents of the peninsula were exempted from service. They will begin to be called up only this year, and they will serve only in their region. And only since 2017 - throughout Russia.
The adoption of the bill, according to its authors, “will help avoid the emergence of social tension” in these regions. However, recently almost nothing has been said about any tension in Crimea and Sevastopol due to conscription into the Russian army. It may be true that the issue with the Crimean Tatars is not the last item on the list of potential sources of this tension.
In September 2014, information appeared in the Crimean press, citing data from the Federal Migration Service, that 18 thousand people of conscription age live in the region - from 18 to 27 years (Ukrainian conscription age is up to 25 years).
In addition, the government’s positive conclusion to the parliamentary bill on the specifics of conscription for residents of Crimea and Sevastopol contains a clause according to which the State Duma should also provide for the protection of the interests of refugees from Ukraine who have received Russian citizenship. However, from this remark it remains unclear what specific interests of former refugees are meant—it is mandatory to serve in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation or try to avoid it, the newspaper notes.
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