Clause 3 art. 59 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation states that if military service conflicts with a citizen’s religion, he has the right to replace it with alternative civilian service.

It should be noted that the Constitution of the Russian Federation uses the term “religion” and not “religious belief”. Analyzing this formulation, it can be argued that these two terms should be considered as equivalent.

If the main argument in the application is that the performance of a service is contrary to religion, then it is also necessary to provide evidence that:

1. Do you profess anything at all, adhere to any religion;

2. In this religion there are prohibitions (direct or indirect) from holding weapons or performing military service. The Christian religion prohibits taking an oath, killing people, and denies violence. However, its various branches have different attitudes towards military service.

Christianity is one of the main religions of the world. However, within it there are many different currents and directions. The main division of Christianity is into Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism.

Protestant religions have the largest number of conscientious objectors.

One of the most widespread Protestant Christian churches is the Seventh Day Adventist Church. The total number of Church members in 1995 numbered more than eight million people in 208 countries. The SDA Church arose as a result further development reformation. The goal of the Reformation was to restore the Christian Church as it was at the origins of its history. The Adventist movement began in Europe and America in the mid-19th century in anticipation of the second coming of Christ to earth. People united by this hope united organizationally into a worldwide brotherhood in 1863. The first Adventist communities arose in Russia in 1986 in Crimea and the Volga region.

At the present stage, the SDA Church has a clear position on the issue of military service.

Some questions, the answers to which will help to more clearly substantiate your attitude towards religion.
1. Date of acceptance of faith?
2. What or who prompted you to accept faith?
3. What attracted you to this religion? Why exactly this?
4. How does it show in your life that you are a believer?
5. Several episodes from your life that characterize you as a believer?
6. Can you explain the structure Holy Scripture, do you navigate it, do you know its content?
7. Can you formulate the main ideas and principles of the doctrine?
8. Why does serving in the army contradict your religion?

We need evidence that you are truly a believer and that your actions comply with the requirements of religion. This assumes that you:

1. At least in general outline know the basic principles and teachings of this religion.

2. Comply with all other requirements of this religion (attend church, synagogue, mosque, etc., observe fasts, preach the teachings of this religion to others, etc.).
For the court, evidence of the sincerity of beliefs will be:
a) Excellent knowledge of all sacred scriptures.
b) Undertaking a pilgrimage to any holy place.
V) Appearance, corresponding to the requirements of this religion. (For example, classical Confucianism required wearing shoes with turned-up toes so as not to accidentally change the position of grains of sand on the ground.)
d) Other actions or actions that indicate that you are a believer.
The trial will require witnesses: spiritual mentors, religious experts, fellow believers, etc.

M.G. Sukhovskaya, lawyer

How to replace military service with alternative civilian service

Alternative civil service- a special type of labor activity in the interests of society and the state, performed by citizens instead of military service upon conscription clause 1 art. 1 of Law No. 113-FZ of July 25, 2002 (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 113-FZ).

The fact that Russian citizens of military age, who are disgusted by taking up arms, have a constitutional right to such a replacement Part 3 Art. 59 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, everyone probably knows. However, this, as a rule, is all the knowledge about the alternative civil service (ACS) is exhausted. We want to fill this gap, because many of our readers have among their relatives or acquaintances young people who will soon be in the army. Moreover, the end of the next period during which you can submit an application to replace military service with AGS is approaching. But let's talk about everything in order.

A short excursion to the AGS

A citizen has the right to choose ACS instead of military service if Art. 2 of Law No. 113-FZ:

• <или>performing military service is contrary to his religion or beliefs. Moreover, beliefs can be anything - peacemaking, philosophical, moral and ethical, political, legal, etc.;
• <или>he belongs to a small indigenous people, leads a traditional way of life, traditional farming and is engaged in traditional crafts. We will not consider the specifics of replacement for this category of citizens.

The term of the AGS is significant exceeds one-year conscription service subp. "d" clause 1 art. 38 of the Law of March 28, 1998 No. 53-FZ and amounts to:

• <или>1 year 9 months - when passing the ACS in budgetary organizations subordinate to federal or regional executive agencies m clause 1 art. 5 of Law No. 113-FZ, simply put - in hospitals, educational institutions, museums, libraries, post offices, etc. (hereinafter referred to as Order No. 110n);
• <или>1.5 years - when passing the ACS as civilian personnel in military organizations clause 2 art. 5 of Law No. 113-FZ, for example in hospitals, military units Appendix No. 2 to Order of the Ministry of Labor dated February 27, 2014 No. 110n (hereinafter referred to as Order No. 110n).

You cannot choose for yourself where to take the ACS and the type of future work. They will be appointed taking into account education, specialty, qualifications, previous work experience, health status, marital status, as well as the needs of organizations for labor resources. clause 5 art. 4, paragraph 1, art. 14 of Law No. 113-FZ.

Currently, the List of types of work, professions, positions in which citizens undergoing the ACS can be employed Appendix No. 1 to Order No. 110n, 126 titles - from loader and janitor to programmer, psychologist, teacher and dentist.

The Law states that citizens undergo AGS, as a rule, outside the regions in which they permanently reside. clause 2 art. 4 of Law No. 113-FZ. However, in this case they should be provided with a hostel free of charge. clause 3 art. 20 of Law No. 113-FZ. But most organizations that have vacancies for “alternative workers” cannot meet this requirement. Therefore, in reality, the majority of citizens undergoing ACS are left to work at their place of residence.

Those who have completed alternative service are enlisted in the reserves of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and not subject to conscription for annual military training Art. 24 of Law No. 113-FZ.

Algorithm of actions for replacing military service with AGS

STEP 1. Submit an application to replace military conscription service with alternative civilian service at clause 1 art. 10 of Law No. 113-FZ.

The application is submitted to the military registration and enlistment office where the citizen is registered with the military within the following deadline and clause 1 art. 11 of Law No. 113-FZ:

• <или>before April 1 - if the applicant must be drafted into the army during the autumn draft (that is, in October - December of the current year);
• <или>until October 1 - if he is subject to conscription in the spring of next year.

Failure to comply with the deadlines for filing an application is one of the grounds for refusal to satisfy it and clause 4 art. 12 of Law No. 113-FZ.

The application is written in free form to the draft commission of the relevant municipality. The application can describe in both detail and in general terms the motives that prompted the citizen to choose the ACS instead of serving in the army. If desired, you can indicate in the application one or more persons who agree to confirm the citizen’s arguments that military service is contrary to his beliefs or religion clause 2 art. 11 of Law No. 113-FZ. At the same time, it would be good to explain who they are to the citizen (parents, other relatives, colleagues, classmates or fellow students, managers, etc.).

The application must be accompanied by an autobiography and a reference from the current or previous place of work and (or) study, citizen clause 2 art. 11 of Law No. 113-FZ. Other documents are attached optional. For example, these may be copies of documents on education, on the health status of the applicant and his family members, on marital status, statements from persons confirming the reliability of the citizen’s arguments, certificates or references from public associations, including those confirming the citizen’s membership in them.

It is better to submit the application in person in two copies, so that on the second the military registration and enlistment office employee makes a note about the registration of the application in the incoming document x clause 3 art. 11 of Law No. 113-FZ.

STEP 2. Show up with your passport to the meeting of the draft commission, where the citizen’s application will be considered clause 1 art. 10, paragraph 1, art. 12 of Law No. 113-FZ; clause 21 of the Regulations, approved. Government Decree No. 256 dated May 28, 2004 (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations).

Such a meeting must take place within a month (maximum two) from the date of the deadline for filing the application. clause 3 art. 12 of Law No. 113-FZ. The citizen must be notified of the time and place of the meeting by a summons from the military registration and enlistment office no later than 3 calendar days before the date of the meeting. No one will notify the persons specified in the citizen’s application; he must ensure their appearance himself pp. 19, 20 Regulations.

If a citizen does not come to the meeting, he will be called again. And if he fails to appear twice without a good reason, he will thereby ensure that his application is rejected. clause 23, sub. "g" clause 26 of the Regulations.

After the commission hears the arguments of the citizen and his witnesses in favor of the AGS, and also considers additional materials, it announces its decision - either positive or negative. clause 3 art. 12 of Law No. 113-FZ. The commission’s refusal to refer a citizen to the ACS can be appealed in court Art. 15 of Law No. 113-FZ.

People who have attended a meeting of the draft commission about the ACS are advised to behave as calmly and confidently as possible. You just need to clearly justify your choice in favor of the AGS, emphasizing that you have no obligation to confirm or prove your beliefs with anything. By the way, according to Rostrud, in 2014, 97% of submitted applications to replace the army with AGS were granted.

If the draft commission makes a positive decision, the citizen must wait for the summons, which will indicate when and where he must appear in order to receive an order to leave for the ACS place clause 2 art. 14 of Law No. 113-FZ, as well as a certificate, an “alternative” registration card and a ticket to the place of the ACS (if the service will take place outside the region of residence) pp. 32, 33 Provisions.

Features of “alternative” labor relations

ATTENTION

Citizens admitted to the ACS cannot be given a probationary period clause 41 of the Regulations.

Citizens undergoing AGS in labor rights are not much different from ordinary workers of those enterprises where “alternative workers” are sent to repay their debt to the Motherland Art. 349 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. They have a normal 8-hour working day, they receive a salary, as they say, according to the staffing table, they have the right to annual paid leave and leave at their own expense in cases provided for by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, and are subject to social insurance Art. 17, pp. 1, , 5 tbsp. 20 of Law No. 113-FZ. During non-working hours, they can study in the evening and by correspondence, while they are provided with all the guarantees and compensation established by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation for persons combining work with study. The only point is that “alternative” students cannot have reduced working hours. clause 6 art. 19 of Law No. 113-FZ. In addition, the period of stay in study holidays will not be counted towards the ACS deadline clause 5 art. 5 of Law No. 113-FZ. In a word, everything is like people.

Within the deadline for passing the alternative civil service also don't count clause 5 art. 5 of Law No. 113-FZ:

• absenteeism;
• time of serving a criminal or administrative sentence in the form of arrest;
• appearing at work in a state of alcohol, drug or other toxic intoxication.

But there are also some peculiarities. In particular, “alternatives” cannot clause 2 art. 21 of Law No. 113-FZ:

• refuse to perform job duties;
• participate in strikes;
• combine AGS with work in other organizations and engage in entrepreneurial activities personally or through proxies;
• terminate a fixed-term employment contract on your own initiative;
• leave workplace and leave the organization where they are undergoing ACS during the established working hours.

In conclusion, let’s say that evading the AGS is considered crime and I am punished Part 2 Art. 328 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

• <или>a fine of up to 80,000 rubles. or in the amount of the salary (other income) of the convicted person for a period of up to 6 months;
• <или>compulsory work for up to 480 hours;
• <или>arrest for up to 6 months.

Can be regarded as evasion from the ACS, in particular, failure to appear without a good reason at the place of service within the prescribed time frame, repeated unauthorized leaving of the workplace, refusal to enter into a fixed-term employment contract with the employer, early dismissal from the ACS through deception.

Russian legislation provides for such a concept as alternative civil service. It is a replacement for traditional military conscription service. However, this does not mean that everyone can receive such a replacement.

General information

Alternative service refers to the labor activity of citizens, which is equal to military service, is included in the length of service, and is paid in accordance with established standards. The issue of replacing the army with labor activity is regulated by Federal Law No. 113-FZ of July 25, 2002, the Constitution of the Russian Federation and other legal acts.

Who can count on a replacement

The legislation clearly regulates the categories of citizens who can receive a replacement.

Thus, those who, due to their convictions or chosen faith, cannot serve in the army can count on it. For example, Buddhists who are opposed to military training, weapons and other attributes, or pacifists who deny violence as such.

In addition, an alternative service can be chosen by those who belong to small indigenous peoples engaged in certain economic activities and crafts.

Persons of non-traditional sexual orientation are not included in those counting on replacement, however, they can submit an application for consideration by the commission. The decision to approve such an application remains at the discretion of the military commissariat and the head of the district administration.

Article 2, Federal Law No. 113-FZ:

A citizen has the right to replace military conscription service with alternative civilian service in cases where:

• performing military service is contrary to his beliefs or religion;
• he belongs to a small indigenous people, leads a traditional way of life, carries out traditional farming and is engaged in traditional crafts.

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The conscript receives a salary in accordance with the approved salaries of the organization, taking into account tax and insurance deductions. In this case, the employee does not retain the right to voluntary termination. labor relations on your own initiative.

The employer, in turn, also does not have the right to dismiss a conscript employee, but has the right to complain to the military commissariat about violations by the employee. The working day and working hours are determined by the internal regulations of the organization.

Those liable for military service who choose civilian work retain military benefits, but not monetary allowance.

All funds earned under the AGS are considered the property of the employee. He has the right to dispose of them at his own discretion.

Article 20, Federal Law No. 113-FZ:

Remuneration for the labor of a citizen undergoing alternative civil service is made by the organization in accordance with the remuneration system in force in the organization.

Types of work

According to the established rules, the work offered is usually low-skilled. That is, one that does not require special knowledge or skills.

Most often, men in civilian work are sent in the following areas:

• assistant cook;
• auxiliary worker;
• welder;
• carpenter;
• cleaner;
• orderly

The choice is made based on the data available at the Employment Center. Where there is a shortage of blue-collar skills, conscripted men are temporarily employed in civilian work.

If a man has a secondary specialized education, he can be temporarily sent to a more narrowly focused job - as a programmer, cook, doctor, nurse.

If there are contraindications to a certain job, it can be replaced with an appropriate one if there are grounds for this.

Where does the AGS take place?

According to Federal Law No. 113, AGS take place in federal subjects where men do not permanently reside.

Exactly the same as in the case of regular conscription into the army.

After submitting the application, the commissariat issues a notification of receipt to the applicant. Consideration of the application takes place exclusively in the presence of the citizen. The determination of the place of work occurs with the participation of the head of the Administration on the basis of available vacancies in the region of residence of the conscript or regions where the man is not registered.

You can submit your application later if the current deferment expires after the deadline. The man must notify the military registration and enlistment office to which he is attached no later than 10 working days from the end of the deferment.

About indigenous peoples

If a conscript falls into this category, then the same rules apply to him as to other alternative conscripts. At the same time, those positions that are usually offered as places of work require performing the same work that other indigenous peoples do.

For example, the Sami are usually sent to reindeer farms or fishing industries.

Responsibility for evasion

A citizen who has chosen to replace the army does not have the right to quit his job due to at will. Moreover, he also has no right to shirk his responsibilities.

In case of evasion, he is subject to penalties, which may include a fine, arrest or compulsory labor at the discretion of the court. Working in exchange for the army is the same conscription and the same military duty as serving in the army.

Penalties can reach 200 thousand rubles or be replaced by compulsory work, the period and nature of which is determined by the court.

Art. 328, Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

1. Evasion of conscription for military service in the absence of legal grounds for exemption from this service is punishable by a fine in the amount of up to two hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to eighteen months, or by forced labor for a term of up to two years, or by arrest. for a term of up to six months, or imprisonment for a term of up to two years.
2. Evasion of alternative civil service by persons exempted from military service is punishable by a fine in the amount of up to eighty thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to six months, or by compulsory labor for a period of up to four hundred eighty hours, or by arrest for up to six months.

Dear readers!

We describe typical ways to resolve legal issues, but each case is unique and requires individual legal assistance.

To quickly resolve your problem, we recommend contacting qualified lawyers of our site.

Latest changes

So far, no changes are foreseen that could affect the alternative service. Federal Law No. 113 remains in force without any preliminary changes.

According to unofficial statistics, Citizens can be offered about 60 civilian professions and approximately the same number of positions. In this case, the right of choice remains with the local administration and the military commissariat. The jobs offered are mostly low-skilled. Alternative service is mainly carried out at the place of residence of men.

In our time, the value of human life and freedom is, of course, basic, recognized by the majority of countries in the world, and every year it only continues to consolidate in this position. It's no secret that in developed countries ah, forcing a young man to take a machine gun or other weapon in peacetime and force him to learn to shoot in order to kill and destroy is not a normal and adequate process. Another thing is that in most developed countries, military service is an exclusively voluntary decision of citizens, carried out only on a contract basis, therefore, there cannot be a situation where someone is forcibly given weapons, ammunition, or training hand-to-hand combat and so on.

IN Russian Federation The army consists not only of contract servicemen, but also conscripts who are graduates of schools and universities. These young men are required to serve in the army by law, regardless of their desire. However, it is impossible to force all the children to study military affairs, because Russia is a rule of law state, and the above-mentioned human rights and freedoms are recognized in our country as one of the main values. Everyone knows that there are faiths and religions in which violence is a strict taboo, including the use of weapons, since they are designed to harm another person. Obviously, citizens with such faith cannot be forced to serve in the army. Based on this and some other cases, as well as based on global practice, an article was enshrined in the Constitution of our country providing for the right to the so-called alternative civil service. Every citizen of the Russian Federation has this right. What is an alternative civil service, the conditions and requirements in 2020 for completing this type of activity will be discussed in this article.

What is the Civil Alternative Service (CAS)?

Alternative civil service is an activity aimed at the benefit of the Russian Federation and its citizens, which replaces military service for young conscripts. In other words, this is a regular job (work activity) that can be done for a certain period of time and under certain conditions/requirements, and which takes place instead of serving in the armed forces. Naturally, it is impossible to choose this path simply at the request of the conscript. How to pass the AGS, the procedure and conditions will be discussed further. We are sure that now you know what an alternative civil service is.

Right to alternative civil service

Let's look at the legislative acts that provide for the right to alternative civil service. Since this concept relates to military service, one should refer to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, namely Article 59. This article provides a reference to the law regulating military service, and in part 3 it is clearly stated that every citizen has the right to undergo the ACS in the conditions established by the relevant federal law cases. Thus, the right to alternative civil service is given to every citizen on the basis of a legal document that has the highest legal force. Everyone knows that lower-level regulatory documents cannot contradict higher ones, otherwise the first ones will be recognized as having no legal force, at least in the part where there are contradictions. Let's move on to the Federal Law, which establishes the definition, conditions and procedure for passing, the terms of the AGS and other nuances.

Federal Law (FL) on alternative civil service

In accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Federal Law “On Alternative Civil Service” was developed and put into effect. This law is numbered No. 113-FZ and was signed by the President on July 25, 2002. The document begins with one of the key sections, namely, who has the right to replace military service with alternative service. Two categories of citizens have this right:

• Those conscripts for whom the activities associated with serving (for example, training in shooting from military weapons) are contrary to moral principles(beliefs) of the conscript or his religion/faith.
• Those conscripted citizens who belong to a small indigenous people living and conducting traditional activities or farming.

If only a few young men belong to the second category, then potentially all other guys of military age can be included in the first, so the first option should be considered in more detail. Here the situation can be divided into two groups: faith and beliefs. Theoretically, it is possible to confirm some widespread belief associated with a religious organization in some way, for example, by the testimony of fellow believers. The situation is completely opposite with the convictions of a citizen - no one learns about a person’s principle of “not using weapons” until he has the opportunity to take this weapon in his hands. Especially in Russia, where military weapons are prohibited for citizens at the legislative level. Also, the Federal Law on alternative civil service does not we're talking about about the time during which the conscript adheres to certain beliefs. One person has not accepted violence and everything connected with it (for example, weapons and military uniforms) for 10 years, and another began to adhere to this principle a month ago after some events that happened in his life. In other words, it is impossible to provide objective evidence of the existence of certain beliefs.

The following article of the Federal Law reveals who can be sent to alternative civilian service: it is worth paying attention to the following points.

• Firstly, a citizen who is sent to ACS, due to the fact that ACS is primarily a replacement for military service, must be of military age, that is, be an adult and, at the same time, be under 27 years of age.
• Secondly, the conscript should not have contraindications to military service, since if there are contraindications, such a citizen will be immediately issued a military ID card due to health reasons or a deferment. Such a citizen can go to the state civil service, but this has nothing to do with the ACS, although these two types of work activities can take place in the same organization.
• Thirdly, those young men who have some kind of deferment, for example, a deferment from the army for study.
• Fourthly, only a citizen who has submitted an application in person or by post to replace conscript service in the army with an alternative civilian service can be sent to the ACS.
• And lastly, conscripts are sent to alternative service for whom the draft commission made a decision that reads as follows: “Decision to be sent to the ACS.” The decision is based entirely on compliance with the procedure for writing and submitting the application by the young men. How and when to write such a statement correctly, what documents need to be attached and other issues will be discussed below in this article.

Surely many people have a question why conscripts are ready to risk freedom - the most precious thing a person has - and try to give bribes in the hope of buying a military ID even when a year of service in a military unit can be replaced with an almost ordinary job, which is so often brought to as an argument against military service. The thing is that the difference between military and alternative service is not only in the place of its completion. One of the main differences is the duration of the alternative civil service. Here we will look in more detail at what document sets the deadlines for passing the AGS, when the countdown begins, and so on.

Term of alternative civil service

As already emphasized above, alternative civilian service differs from conscript military service not only in the type of activity, but also in other conditions, the main one of which, perhaps, is the period of alternative civil service. Due to the fact that the AGS is an opportunity that is provided to citizens to replace military service, this opportunity will have to be paid for with an extended service life. And this is one of the main differences. Let's look at the terms of the alternative civil service currently in force, that is, in 2020. These terms are fixed in the Federal Law on Alternative Civil Service.

Here, too, there are several options: the situation depends on the organization in which the service will take place. If the service will take place in organizations subordinate to Russian army, or in military units in civil service positions, then the term of the ACS will be 18 months, in other words, 1.5 years. And another case is when the service takes place in other organizations not related to the above, that is, organizations not related to the army, for example, the post office or the tax office - then the period of alternative civil service in Russia according to the law will be 21 calendar months, that is, almost 2 year. It is obvious that there is a significant increase in service life compared to classic conscription service, where the service period in 2020 is 12 months.

Place of alternative civil service

It is no secret that for many conscripts the greatest interest is the place of alternative civil service, that is, the place where they will have to work and, accordingly, what they will have to do. Many have heard stories and legends about caring for patients in medical institutions, and the guys got the impression that this is the only possible option. However, this is far from the case. To fully understand this issue, let us turn to the Federal Law that provides legal regulation of the alternative civil service in Russia, namely the above-mentioned 113-FZ.

The Government of the Russian Federation has established a procedure according to which various municipal or budgetary organizations submit applications in advance to the authorized state bodies, in which they indicate vacancies for children assigned to alternative service. This could include technical personnel in production, work with documents, as well as in the service sector, and so on. The list of such jobs is formed before each call-up and may change. When sending a conscript to work as an ACS, his position may be selected based on the youth’s education, but this is a recommendation rather than a rule.

In 98% of cases, alternative civilian service takes place in the city where the young man lives. However, this is also not a rule. They can also be sent to ACS in another city - in this case, the conscript must be provided with a place in a dormitory, but still, being sent to other cities is extremely rare.

Features of the alternative civil service

Let's look at other features of alternative service that often worry conscripts, as well as their parents. As already mentioned, AGS has many similarities with regular work, let’s look at them.

1. Salary. Indeed, the ACS pays a salary, and exactly the one that is paid for the position in which the conscript works. Thus, wages directly depends on where the citizen will be sent to serve (what organization, position, etc.). Bad news The point is that usually enterprises apply for precisely those positions for which it is difficult to find workers due to low wages, but there may be exceptions, however, this is impossible to know in advance.
2. Employment contract. Conscripts are registered in the manner specified in the Federal Law strictly under a fixed-term employment contract, therefore, the young man’s relationship with the organization where he is undergoing alternative service is regulated labor code RF.
3. Vacation, sick leave, weekends, etc. Based on the previous point, all these attributes will be present in the process of performing alternative civilian service. Annual leave, in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, is paid and provided upon application.
4. Absenteeism. Absenteeism is a violation of labor discipline in accordance with the labor code, but there is an additional nuance specified in the legislation on ACS - absenteeism is not counted towards the period of ACS.

Replacing military service with alternative civilian service. How and when to apply?

Among guys of military age, the following position is very common: “I’ll go through a medical examination and, if they suddenly find me fit, then I’ll say that I have convictions, pacifism or something like that.” This position is a mistake and exists only because young men do not study the legal documents in the field of conscription, but instead retell this “story” to each other. The law clearly defines the procedure for replacing military service with alternative civilian service, and the key point is the young man submitting an appropriate application, and, to be even more precise, the timing of filing this application.

An application to the military registration and enlistment office is submitted at least six months before the start of conscription, in which the young man must be drafted and undergo the appropriate conscription activities. The exact deadlines should be found in the current version of the federal law. Citizens should remember the main thing - they should think about the issue of replacing the army with an ACS at least 1 year before conscription, in order to prepare all the necessary papers to resolve organizational issues in a calm, planned manner.

Why are these restrictions on the deadline for filing an application included in the law? This was done to be able to predict the required vacancies at enterprises. As you remember, organizations also submit applications 6-12 months in advance, indicating positions and the number of available places for young men undergoing alternative service. To ensure this process runs smoothly, there is a specified time limit within which an application can be submitted. If a citizen submits an application later, most likely he will be refused, and this decision will be legal.

The application is written in free form, the main thing is to indicate why the conscript is asking to change the service to ACS, that is, to reveal those very “beliefs”. As required, an autobiography must be attached to the application. young man, as well as a characteristic that should be requested from the employer in the personnel department or educational institution. This is where the mandatory requirements end. You can also provide other documents as “evidence” of your conviction, as well as testimony from your friends.

If all procedural aspects are met, a conscript can be refused only in the case of an obvious contradiction, such as, for example, membership in a shooting sports organization and a simultaneous conviction not to hold a weapon. However, as we have already found out, it is impossible to prove the existence of convictions and the time of their appearance, and, due to the existence of serious liability for the illegal refusal of a citizen to be referred to the ACS, unfounded refusals are issued extremely rarely if the deadlines for filing an application are met.

Statistics

How popular is alternative civil service in the Russian Federation? To answer this question more precisely, let's turn to public statistics. Thus, over the past year, about 206,283 young conscripts were sent to military service in Russia, while 278 people went to the ACS. The numbers speak for themselves. The alternative service has extremely low popularity in our country. And such figures on average have remained unchanged over the past 7 years.

What is it connected with? low performance? One of the main reasons is that young men remember this opportunity at the last moment, when the deadline for submitting an application has already passed, and the guys simply have no choice, because according to the law they either must be sent to serve, or recognized as draft dodgers and brought to criminal liability. Here we can only advise you to improve your legal literacy and know your rights and responsibilities. Other possible reason– in our country there are practically no young people with beliefs that conflict with service in the armed forces. And this may well be true, because from childhood we were taught to love our country and be ready to defend the Fatherland. And perhaps many young men do not know about the possibility of replacing service with an alternative one. Here, it may be worthwhile to carry out educational activities on this issue at the level of general education programs.

The main thing to remember is that every conscript has the right to alternative civilian service in 2020, which is enshrined in the Constitution and the Federal Law on the ACS.

I HAVE BELIEFS THAT ARE CONTRADICTORY TO PERFORMING MILITARY SERVICE...

Usually this is the phrase young people write in their application for alternative civil service (ACS). And this is correct, because this is exactly what the Constitution guarantees the right to AGS.
But then, trying to reveal these beliefs, many are somewhat lost. What to write in the application and what to say at the draft commission - decide for yourself, and I will once again try to describe my beliefs and immediately respond to the objections that I foresee from the military service apologists from the military registration and enlistment office and the draft commission. Maybe this will help some of the conscientious objectors.
I don't like the army.
I recently read an amusing court decision that refused to satisfy a young man’s demands to overturn the draft board’s decision to refuse to replace his military service with an alternative civilian one. So the judge, arguing his decision in favor of the conscription commission, wrote in the court decision that the applicant did not give any arguments that he had beliefs that were contrary to military service, but that he only had a negative attitude towards the army, and these are not beliefs.
And if I really think that the army is - obviously. This is my belief that the army is very bad. Pointless and bad. Not because the conditions there are bad. Even if the conditions of a five-star hotel were there, the army would still be an abomination to me.
I recently came across a remark from Boris Grebenshchikov, which very accurately, despite the fact that it was said in 1994, reflects my idea of ​​the army:
“Why didn’t you serve in the army, because that’s also good school life?
“I understood that it would be two years of brainwashing and living among people who were not at all interesting to me, who, moreover, might also cripple me. In addition, the army teaches men to flock together and defend their masculine honor by treating women with condescension. If someone has a desire to go through the harsh school of life, let him become an orderly in a hospital, which is much more important than fighting with someone. Besides everything, he will also learn mercy there, which the army does not teach.”
https://www.facebook.com/grebenshikov/photos/a.182169779199.126789.37256369199/10153015901044200/?type=1
And if we proceed from the definition of the concept of “beliefs” as “a strong consistent opinion about something” and build a synonymous series: “beliefs - opinion - point of view - view of something - attitude”, then it is obvious that the fact that a person his bad attitude towards the army does not contradict, but only indicates that he has internal convictions against the army.
Pharisees from the military registration and enlistment office and the draft commission.
The current defenders of conscription and military service from the military registration and enlistment office are hypocrites and hypocrites when they say that “if you were a follower of the teachings of Leo Tolstoy, then we could say that you have beliefs that are contrary to military service.”
In fact, they will shudder if you, without quotation marks and references to the author, utter the phrases with which Tolstoy characterized the army in his later works. (That the army is disciplined killers, that soldiering is the extreme degree of obedience). And many of Lev Nikolaevich’s texts would generally be assessed as extremist due to their anti-state orientation. If you said that you were quoting Count Tolstoy, you would immediately remember his combat experience, as if it changes something: that experience existed before the creation of these texts. And most of the most powerful anti-militarist books were written by those who went through the war.

That's not the question. It’s just that people who sit on the draft board are easily ready to recognize the right to such beliefs for those who are already dead. But for those who are not in bronze, but alive and young, they do not want to recognize this right to refuse military service, because this conversation already concerns them directly. And this has always been the case, including during Tolstoy’s time, when people with the same “military registration and enlistment office” thinking brought Tolstoy’s contemporary, a conscientious objector to military service, teacher Drozhzhin, to death. We don’t need their recognition of our views, we don’t need to convince them. We need to be open about our beliefs and follow them.
My beliefs.
Military service is a humiliating senselessness.
Many people think that a belief against military service is a rejection of the justification for war and violence. Yes, that's true.
But in modern realities, when conscripts recent years do not take part in military operations, although hypothetically such a possibility is not excluded from a legal point of view, but still, the last time conscripted military personnel took part in military operations on the territory of Georgia was in 2008 - and so, today, it is not this side that is becoming the most important in arguments against military service.
The most relevant today is the belief in the meaninglessness of military service, the meaninglessness of joining the army. It's humiliating to be forced to do things that you don't understand. I don't understand the point of military service. No reading of the statutes and laws makes it clear to me what the meaning of military service is. Abstract phrases about the defense of the fatherland, despite the fact that, according to the intention of their author, should inspire sacred awe, do not cause anything but misunderstanding and counter questions.
The questions “from whom is protection? Who is attacking? How did you decide that they were attacking? Does protection occur at the moment when a person undergoes military service upon conscription? How and from whom? And if not at this moment, then at what moment? In the future? Why do you need to learn to hold a machine gun in your hands? They answer me: “just in case, if anything happens.” An answer that does not clarify, but makes it even more mysterious, why you need to serve in the army. The answer “so it is written in the law” does not satisfy my curiosity, because in the laws it can be written that by doing “ku” three times a person pays off his sacred debt, but this does not add any meaning.
Here comes the time for the sacramental question of military service apologists.
“Well, in your opinion, the army is not needed at all?”
They think they know the answer to this question. They then believe that an army is needed, otherwise we will all be conquered, because if everyone has an army, but we don’t, then horror, horror, horror. When asked why it won’t be just us, why do you think other countries are worse than us, they usually answer that, of course, if everyone gives up armies, then yes, but it won’t happen that way, which means an army is needed.
This is roughly the reasoning among supporters of military service.
But I don’t know whether it’s needed or not. Well, I don't have a strong opinion.
That is, of course, from a global point of view, armies are not needed. Builders, geologists, teachers, doctors, rescuers, firefighters, drivers, pilots, bakers are needed. But armies are not needed. In a global sense.
The need for an army is the opinion of most people at the moment. That's for sure. Whether there is such a need objectively is difficult to say. After all, it cannot be verified experimentally. I believe there is no such need. However, there are probably people who not only believe that there is such a need, but also understand the meaning of military service. Convincing and dissuading them from serving in the army is a thankless and dubious task. Although this decision of theirs is regrettable, especially if these are strangers to you.
The army is like an abortion clinic.
I am absolutely sure that both war and the army, which is its main instrument, are not life, they are anti-life.
I cannot answer the question of whether the army is needed today, but I can ask a counter question: “Why exactly is military service called the mythical “debt to the motherland”?” I'm not even talking about the fact that children cannot have a debt to their parents. Everything that the parents gave to the child, they did not give as a loan, but simply out of love. And a person can give this, by and large, only to his children. To be honest, it seems to me that myths about duty to the homeland were invented by people who were not given the gift of loving their children. I don’t know why: either there were no children, or they didn’t know how to love.
I am haunted by the question, why exactly compulsory military service is perceived in society as a kind of rite of passage? I think that one of the reasons is that the society is still primitive, because initiation rites are characteristic of primitive societies.
Imagine that there was a law in society that would require compulsory work in an abortion clinic for some time. Does this disgust you? Shock? And the ladies from the commission say to you: “Come on, prove that working in an abortion clinic contradicts your beliefs. Do you think abortion is evil? Well, everyone thinks. Imagine what will happen if we close abortion clinics. After all, there will be clandestine abortions, there will be cases of infanticide. And after all, all sorts of circumstances happen.” And then, with a sigh: “Do you even deny the need for abortion clinics to exist?”
I really don’t understand why military service is better than abortion clinics? In both cases, murder is permitted. Both here and there, he is justified by circumstances. Only, in my opinion, military service is even more vile because they still have the idea of ​​being proud of it. (Now, it seems, they’ve thought of excluding from medical services within the framework of compulsory health insurance, abortions are carried out, and military expenses increase).

I hate slavery and the power of man over man with every fiber of my soul.
My main conviction is that I am disgusted by slavery, the power of a person over another person. The army is built on unquestioning obedience to commanders. Perhaps for someone who understands the meaning of military service, this is understandable and he agrees to sacrifice part of his personal freedom for the sake of the cause he is involved in. But this “high” meaning is not clear to me.
Many apologists for military service even argue the need for military service on the grounds that the army protects the freedom of the fatherland, and discipline is necessary for the army to be effective. Maybe. Especially if you understand this. For me, this is just casuistry. And discipline in the army became an end in itself. Zombification. A person is in complete power of another person. This is disgusting. The power of man over man is disgusting. This is one of my central beliefs that makes me disgusted with the army.
Naive idealists.
There are people who sincerely believe that all this is not the essence of army service, but only its individual shortcomings. That everything needs to be written down in the regulations, the regulations must be followed, and then everything will be great in the army.
I have never read anything more touching and helpless than the text of the Combined Arms Regulations. This is a very infantile way of thinking that you just need to regulate everything down to the last detail and then order will come and everything will be fine.
Read more about this: “I turn off all this army service for myself with an external switch” or comments on the Charter

In fact, this is such an attempt to escape from life and Freedom - to regulate everything, to try to exclude any spontaneity, any manifestation of the living. The fact that regulating the maximum possible and understanding the impossible does not add any meaning. The Charter is only a forced attempt to minimize arbitrariness and violence in a structure that was created specifically for the use or demonstration of force. Therefore, of course, it is necessary to strive to maintain order, but one must understand all the limitations. In my opinion, one should strive not to participate in this institution.
I have the conviction that preventing freedom becomes the central point in the army, on which all relations there are built. And there is nothing to answer the bewildered question of the defenders of military service: “What other way, this is the army?”
Offended military personnel.
Very often, when supporters of military service come to admit that the individual is suppressed in the army, that there is not even a shadow of Freedom, they feel offended - for themselves, for the comrades with whom they served. And as such moral compensation, they like to put forward the thesis: “Well, you say that there is no Freedom in the army, that a person is subordinate to another. But isn’t it the same in civilian life?” And I feel them sigh with relief. The fact of the matter is that in civilian life it is different. But in civilian life they are also looking for something that looks like military anti-life. They justify slavery and it makes them feel better. Because there is a habit of slavery and it is very difficult to get rid of it.
I think the answer will be a quote from the translation by L.N. Tolstoy for his “Reading Circle” of La Boetie’s “Voluntary Slavery”:
“In all countries and in every air, slavery is disgusting and freedom is pleasant, and therefore we must pity those who were born with a yoke around their neck. But we must also excuse such people, since they have never seen even a shadow of freedom and therefore do not notice all the evil of slavery. After all, no one regrets what he never had, and regret comes only after lost pleasure.
It is natural for a person to be free and to want to be free, but at the same time his nature is such that he gets used to everything.
So, we will say that all things to which he becomes accustomed are natural to man. So the first reason for voluntary slavery is habit - that habit by which the best horses first gnaw at their bits and then play with them, first strain from under the saddle, and in the end seem to prance with pride in their harness. People say that they have always been subjects, that their fathers lived as such, they think that they must endure bondage, they force themselves to believe this, and on the basis of prescription they justify the power of those who tyrannize them. But among such submissive people there are also noble people who, feeling the weight of the yoke, want to overthrow it and never get used to submission. These people, like Ulysses, who on sea and on land wished to see the smoke of his native hearth, remember their natural rights and their free ancestors; Possessing a clear understanding and a penetrating mind, they are not content, like the rude crowd, only with what is under their feet, but have heads on their shoulders - heads educated by education and science. And these people, if freedom completely left the world, if it were forever lost to people, they would still feel it in their spirit and would love it, since slavery is always disgusting to them, no matter how they dress it up.”
After all, the army is slavery, no matter how it is dressed up in the costume of defending the fatherland.
By the way, about Ulysses (in the Greek version - Odysseus)! I remembered an episode from the most famous novel about a deserter - “A Farewell to Arms!” Hemingway, when the hero Frederick Henry decides to desert: he throws himself into the river, and, like Odysseus - Ulysses, saves himself by clinging to a log. But we’ll talk about books in another essay.