A proposed amendment to Russia’s conscription age has been introduced to the State Duma
The lower house of Russia’s parliament reported a bill that would change the age limits for military service, aiming to shift the draft age upward in stages through 2026. The proposal envisions raising the enlistment window from 18–27 to 21–30, with implementation beginning in 2024 and gradually extending to older ages in the following years. In 2024, the draft would target citizens aged 19 to 30 for that year, while starting in 2025 a 20-year-old cohort would be called, and by 2026 individuals aged 21 and older would be subject to registration and deployment procedures.
The draft also includes an option for 18-year-olds to perform service after 2024 at any time and grants 27–30-year-olds who have not served a possibility to begin service when they choose, provided there is no legal justification for postponement. If the law passes, deferrals would remain valid only as long as their underlying reasons persist or until they expire.
According to the bill’s explanatory note, raising the draft age would relieve military commissariats from imposing deferments on students during their education and could reduce annual budgetary expenses associated with medical examinations by more than 639 million rubles. The measure would also affect residents who immigrate to Russia; if newcomers under the age of 30 obtain citizenship, they would be required to register for military service under the existing statutory framework for military obligations.
The change was slated to take effect on January 1, 2024. Andrey Kartapolov, chair of the State Duma Defense Committee, noted that conscription would proceed under current rules in 2023 as the bill moved through the legislative process. The proposal gained early support from Sergei Shoigu, the defense minister, who in 2022 urged raising the military age; the presidential press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, indicated that President Vladimir Putin conceptually supported the idea while leaving the detailed design to the Ministry of Defense. Shoigu also suggested allowing conscripts to transition to a contract from the first day of service.
Some lawmakers raised questions about whether increasing the minimum enlistment age would be effective. Viktor Sobolev, a member of the Defense Committee, argued that lifting the bar to 21 might not address core concerns since many individuals at that age have not yet completed higher education. On the other hand, Klavdiya Bakumenko, who leads legal support for PryzivaNet clients, pointed out that the proposed changes could enable graduates of vocational schools and colleges to pursue higher education up to their mid-twenties. She also noted that the new rules might reduce the number of 27-year-olds eligible for university and postgraduate deferrals, potentially enlarging the pool of eligible conscripts.
Overall, the bill signals a strategic shift in the timing of military service, balancing education, lifelong career planning, and the state’s defense needs. Analysts in the public sphere emphasize that the reform would realign the pipeline from schooling to service, with possible implications for both the labor market and national security planning. The debate continues as lawmakers weigh the trade-offs between delaying service for educational advancement and ensuring a steady flow of personnel for the armed forces. These discussions reflect a broader policy conversation about how best to synchronize civilian life milestones with national defense obligations, while maintaining fairness and logistical feasibility across different regions and populations. The evolving framework would also determine how temporary exemptions and postponements are managed in future years, and how new citizenship routes intersect with compulsory service obligations. End notes and official texts from the Defense Committee and the Ministry of Defense remain the primary references as the proposal proceeds through parliamentary procedures.