Decrees on Mobilized Graduate Students and Military Service
Denis Pushilin, the acting president of the Donetsk People’s Republic, signed a decree that orders the removal of mobilized graduate students from military service. The corresponding document appeared on the website of the deputy chairman of the DPR, confirming the official action. The decree lays out that citizens who initially received training in educational and scientific institutions under programs designed to prepare scientific and scientific-pedagogical personnel will be discharged from military duty during the mobilization period, specifically at the moment their graduate studies began. The issuance makes clear that the rule takes effect from the day the decree was signed.
Earlier, Denis Pushilin issued another decree addressing the dismissal of students from republican universities from military service. This sequence of decrees fits into a broader pattern of mobilization measures announced by regional authorities in the context of ongoing military operations that began in the region several years earlier.
The general mobilization decree was issued by Pushilin in February, in the days leading up to the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine. The policy appears to target students who were mobilized while pursuing advanced training, with the aim of reallocating those individuals back to civilian or educational roles as appropriate to their status and training. The decree specifies that graduate students who had just reached the required level of training in relevant programs would be considered for discharge from active service in the moment they are mobilized for educational reasons. This interpretation aligns with the government’s effort to balance educational commitments with military obligations during mobilization cycles.
On November 18, 2023, Leonid Pasechnik, the deputy chairman of the Lugansk People’s Republic, signed a separate decree that provided for the dismissal of students who were called up as part of mobilization. This parallel action illustrates a broader regional approach to modifying the conditions under which mobilized students might be released from duty, reflecting the evolving administrative framework surrounding conscription and education in the region.
Beyond regional decrees, discussions about civil documentation and military registration have continued at the federal level. Notably, statements from the Russian leadership have called for modernization of information resources used to track military registration documents. In particular, there was an instruction to finalize a government information resource by spring 2024 to ensure that military registration records are kept up to date. The goal of this initiative is to streamline the management of personnel records across agencies, supporting the coordination between education, training programs, and military service.
These developments reflect ongoing administrative efforts to navigate the tension between the needs of national defense and the educational trajectories of students who are subject to mobilization. In practice, the decrees create a framework that allows for the potential reprioritization of individuals’ roles when their studies intersect with military obligations. The exact implementation details can vary, but the overarching aim appears to be preserving academic progression while maintaining readiness within the mobilization framework.