In February, another conscription for military service and reserve service started in Belarus Across the country, young people began to be called up to military commissariats and mentally prepare for being sent to the army. But some, instead of repaying their debt to the Motherland, decide to “slop down”.
Elusive. For the time being…
In the Gomel region, 126 people are currently considered draft dodgers. These are the young people who received summons from the military registration and enlistment office, but did not arrive at the appointed time for the recruitment events in August-November 2017.
By the way, during last year's spring conscription, out of 123 evaders, 56 people were convicted under the relevant article of the Criminal Code of Belarus. Some received fines ranging from 30 to 150 basic units, others received administrative arrest, and still others received imprisonment for one year.
Most draft dodgers were in Gomel, Gomel, Mozyr and Kalinkovichi districts.
Despite all the ongoing outreach work, a lot depends on upbringing in the family, - explained Oleg Kostyuchenko, head of the conscription department of the military commissariat of the Gomel region.
What can we talk about when the parents themselves convince the conscript that it is not necessary to serve. They go to medical examinations, make scandals to doctors, write statements and, importantly, hide the location of the guy. It is often said that the son went abroad, although in fact he is in a neighboring city.
One of the main difficulties remains that many conscripts deliberately change their place of registration and even immigrate to another country. Among the 496 young men on the long-term wanted list following the call-up in August-November last year, 245, according to their parents, left for Russia, 30 for the United States. There were also many Belarusians in Israel, Italy, Ukraine and Belgium. Several people lived in Brazil, Tajikistan, China, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, Germany and Georgia.
I was able to contact one of the parents whose almost 27-year-old “baby” is close to evading the army. Temporarily unemployed dad Sergei reacted rather rudely to the fact that someone besides the military registration and enlistment office was interested in his son.
"What do you want from me? He went to Switzerland with his mother at the age of 10!” the man answered shortly. But the Gomel resident told the Gomel city military registration and enlistment office something completely different. During the calls, he joked that his son would come at the age of 27 for a military ID and no one would do anything to him.
The mother of another conscript reacted more calmly to the journalist's call, who, due to evading the army, received one year in prison with a one-year suspension of execution. According to the woman, her son has been working in Poland for two years and will soon receive a residence permit.
“I left for another country in order to work steadily and earn money. I don't even know if it will come back. I said all this at the military registration and enlistment office and the district police officer. As for serving in the army, I personally would like my child to receive a normal education and get a good job in life, and not walk for a year and a half in boots.
Among the parents who hide the location of the conscript are a teacher, the head of a branch of Belarusbank, the deputy director of one of the DSKs, an engineer at SvetlogorskKhimvolokna, an operator of Gazpromtransgaz Belarus, an employee of Belgazprombank, a Gospromnadzor freight forwarder, an employee of the district executive committee, a pensioner from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and a pastor.
Among the parents of draft dodgers are employees of one of the meat-packing plants, Belorusneft, Neftesnabkomplekt, Belpochta, Gomelstekla, the head of an orphanage and a regional district.
It is surprising how people holding such positions manage to bring up such irresponsible young men, - added Oleg Kostyuchenko. - You can also understand the reaction of those who are temporarily unemployed, who are in a socially dangerous situation, or who have problems with the law. They often do not open the door to the staff of the military registration and enlistment office and district police, do not answer calls. They can be rude or even set dogs on fire. But the above people are quite successful and educated.
Decades ago, such parents themselves sent their sons to serve - for them it was considered an honorable and integral part of becoming a man. Perhaps in the future we will write registered letters to work for parents who are hiding their children from the army. If they do not want their children to perform civic duty, then their employers should know about it. I hope this has some effect on the situation.
I must, I must
However, there are parents who understand the importance of military service. This was admitted by the mother of the former dodger, who now serves in a military unit near Fanipol.
My son was drafted last May. He turned 25 in early February, ”shared Yulia Andreevna (name changed at the request of the woman - ed.).
The son went in for sports for a long time - he played football. During the medical examination, he was diagnosed with two mirror ulcers. Because of this, he ended up in the hospital, and accordingly received a deferment for health reasons. After treatment, he went to work in the culture department of the district executive committee. Of course, the summons came, but the guy simply did not follow them. At that time he was 23 years old. What do young people want at this age? Work, get back on your feet, start building a career. He was offered to do alternative service, but did not agree.
At what point did your son realize that it was still worth coming to the draft board?
Perhaps this thought came to him by itself. Perhaps it was also influenced by the fact that his younger brother was going to go to serve. By the way, they passed the medical examination together. And at training camps, both were in Pecs.
Does he like to serve?
Do you like? He understands what is needed. And if it is necessary, then it is worth doing it with dignity - the photo of the son in the unit even hangs on the honor roll. Yes, and there are pluses in the service - he received the rights of category E, he drives a bus. Personally, I cannot say for sure whether young people should serve in the army. We all understand what is needed. Sometimes you just want it to be optional.
If crazy, then it's not temporary
Another way to influence the decision of the draft board is to simulate an illness that makes it impossible to serve. So, during the draft campaigns of past years, young people came with splints and gypsum for non-existent fractures. Some brought information about double fractures of the nail phalanx of the same finger. There was also a case when a conscript came with a certificate of cancer. After checking, it turned out that the guy provided the document of his grandfather, who was supposed to be escorted to the hospital.
Treatment in private medical institutions is becoming quite popular. The fact is that conscripts must undergo examinations at state healthcare institutions or at a military healthcare organization. Young people specifically turn to private centers, which often do not have doctors who are qualified enough to make decisions about fitness or unfitness for service. Of course, often the diagnoses do not coincide.
Then additional examinations are assigned, which confirm that the conscript is completely healthy.
The next “attacks of the disease” begin in young people immediately before being sent to the army, - said Oleg Bashurov, an expert in the direction of conscription for military service at the military commissariat of the Gomel region.
According to the documents and medical examinations, the guy is fit, and then it turns out that he had previously used illegal drugs, suffers from epilepsy, or even with strange behavior. Sometimes you urgently need to go to surgery to improve vision, hang a holter to monitor the heart rhythm.
It comes to the point that this device is hung on grandparents, or they are specially engaged in physical activity in order to worsen their performance. Yes, due to additional examinations, the young man will receive a deferment, but then he will still go to serve.
As one of the options for evading the army, some specialized sites suggest pretending to be mentally ill. They even tell you what you need to do to get a 100% reprieve. This is real?
It is very difficult to deceive a psychiatrist. Almost impossible. And what's the point? If we assume that a healthy guy was helped to “slope” from the army, having made a diagnosis - personality accentuation, then this is an automatic cross on his future: you can no longer drive a car, engage in certain activities, even work as a janitor. And there is no such thing that this diagnosis was removed after a few years - it is for life. The decision to change the diagnosis is made by a commission at the republican level. So guys should think a thousand times before lying to a psychiatrist. And it happens that the soldiers begin to pretend to be insane already during the service. Last spring, seven people went to the examination, in the fall - two. But they were all returned.
However, despite the reluctance of many to go into the army, the news about existing diseases is perceived by recruits in different ways. Some are glad that they will no longer receive summons, others, on the contrary, say that it would be better if they were healthy than unfit. Of course, there are those who agree to go to the barracks, no matter what. But such cases are rare - in the last draft there were only two guys.
No tantrums
The regional military registration and enlistment office admitted that often the reason for additional checks and scandals with parents is inaccuracies in the diagnoses that are made in state medical institutions.
Since during the medical examination the most important thing is not to allow people who are unfit for health reasons to be called up, the accuracy of diagnoses is extremely important, Oleg Bashurov explained. - It cannot be said that doctors are always accurate in making diagnoses. It's no secret that there is a shortage of personnel in the districts. And sometimes it turns out that a military medical examination is carried out by an intern who does not have sufficient experience for this. Also affected by the lack of modern medical equipment.
Fortunately, there have been no cases of serious errors in diagnoses in the Gomel region lately. In the autumn conscription of 2017, 15 people were returned from the regional collection point due to inaccurate diagnoses (the same number in the fall of 2016). Young people were found to have cardiovascular diseases, problems with the circulatory system (high blood pressure) and the musculoskeletal system (scoliosis, flat feet).
If a conscript has health problems within three months from the date of departure for service, in which it is impossible to continue to be in the army, then he goes home, the expert continued.
During the autumn conscription, two conscripts were returned due to an exacerbation of a cardiovascular disease. In the spring draft, one guy was returned due to an unstable mental state. As a rule, if a recruit has completed the course of a young fighter, then he no longer complains about his health. This can be explained by the fact that many guys are simply not ready for the fact that they will have to get up early, do a lot of physical training. For a young man who spent 8 hours at the computer before being drafted, the army workload is large, and many of them cannot cope at first. The main complaints, tantrums and health problems appear in the first month of service. Then it gets easier.
Fortunately, there were no cases in the area when a recruit inflicted injuries on himself specifically to go home. This suggests that in fact the service is not as difficult as many imagine it to be.
honest conversation
Managed to get in touch with the former dodger. A 26-year-old resident of Rechchi, who wished to remain anonymous, shared why he did not go to serve in his first draft and how his attitude towards the army changed after the service.
When the summons came, I had a working day at an agricultural enterprise. And the director wanted me to be constantly at the workplace. Therefore, it was not possible to come to the military registration and enlistment office. He went to serve only three years after receiving his education. Of course, I understood that it was necessary to serve in any case. I had no idea to wait for the time when they certainly would not be called. Yes, and my parents always said: you need to go to the army, they say, I will gain my wits.
Was it difficult to serve?
Probably, due to the fact that I ended up not on the outskirts of Belarus, but in Minsk, everything turned out to be not as bad as I expected. However, I remained with my opinion. If the service had been half a year, then there would have been at least some interest in gaining knowledge about combat training. And so you serve for half a year and wait for another year to return home. I think it's time to carry out reforms in the army. A good example in this regard is in Italy - they pay money for service. And we don't even have work experience.
Was there any special attitude on the part of officers or colleagues towards you as a deviationist?
I did not hide from anyone that I was evading the army. Colleagues knew, and the command too. When asked about the reasons, he honestly answered that he was on a work-out and did not see the point in the service. There was no special relationship, he was considered the same soldier as the others.
Your service ended almost a year ago. In your opinion, is it worth evading the army, or is it better to come on the agenda at 18 and repay the debt to the country, as it should be?
While still young, you don’t understand anything special in life, this is an opportunity to learn discipline, endurance. And after that, there is still time and opportunity to get a good job, get an education, and make plans for the future. And when at 25 you leave a promising position, you leave the girl, then it’s quite difficult to return back to your usual course. So it’s unequivocal: it’s worth serving first so as not to be afraid to see a summons to the military registration and enlistment office in the mailbox.
Can you imagine a "Passenger Assistance Service" teaching people how to ride without a ticket? And I didn't imagine. However, I stumbled upon a strange site, bluntly named: "Center for Assistance to Conscripts." I thought: great, before young guys did not have such luxury. Preparing for military service, I had to go to the military registration and enlistment office several times, rely on the experience of comrades who had served, and study the Internet resources of the Ministry of Defense. And now, apparently, all the news, recommendations, requirements, standards and other useful information for the conscript are collected in one place. But one click of the mouse - and I was shocked. Yes, help was indeed offered. But not in preparation for military service. And on liberation from it! That is, openly, without hiding, some businessmen offer their services to those who decide to avoid the sacred constitutional duty - to learn to defend the Motherland. I didn't believe it was some stupid joke.
Photo by Sergey Lozyuk
He called, introduced himself as a conscript: “The military registration and enlistment office is going to send me for a medical examination to determine suitability. And I seem to be healthy as an ox. Can something be done? I ask in a desperate voice. The benevolent manager calmed down and put everything on the shelves: “Don't worry, we will try to identify any disease in you. Of course, it may not be. But you have to try to find. As a rule, a large percentage of conscripts have some hidden sores. Come to our office, we will conclude an agreement. Taking into account your medical documents and health complaints, we will conduct an in-depth study of problem areas. So far, our firm is focusing on health. But in the future, maybe we will come up with some legal tricks.” The price of help turned out to be solid - 880 rubles. True, in the event of a fiasco, the company promises to return the money. By the way, for visiting highly qualified doctors, the client must pay himself - about 50 rubles. There is even a special section on the company's website where the mistakes of those who do not want to serve are considered. They say that buying a military ID, running from the police until the age of 27, forging medical certificates are bad options. Like, come to us right away. In general, on a suspicious page you can find a lot of things that are puzzling. In particular, they give advice that it is better to start dealing with the issue of evasion from service as early as possible. Excellent, they write, if you think about it at the age of 14.
Around this age, a teacher of pre-conscription training took me and my classmates to the military registration and enlistment office. Everyone was afraid of being unfit and being recognized as "disabled", as he said. What now? Now grown-up uncles, owners of a new business, tell young men: “Why serve? Better get ready to be released from army school. And the sooner the better." Moreover, the presentation of information is outrageous: it is constantly emphasized that all this is done on absolutely legal grounds. Yes, indeed there is a small percentage of young people who are not healthy enough to serve. Usually such guys are identified by a medical board in the military registration and enlistment office. But in order to specifically seek out any sore, hoping to cut it off?! In the old days, such “services” were considered from the point of view of the Criminal Code... Another thing is harmful: today the younger generation is being convinced that it is possible not to join the army legally, tomorrow they will be offered not to pay taxes, the day after tomorrow - to avoid responsibility for open violation of the law. It is unlikely that the state is interested in such "education of youth."
I wonder what the work of this institution is? Why do they take a lot of money if the client himself has to pay for the services of doctors? Maybe for legal advice? Does the company, whose name is not hidden at all, have a license for such services? The answer of the press secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Olga Murashkovskaya, made it clear: “Our ministry did not issue licenses for such companies to provide legal services.”
The Ministry of Defense is sure that it should be a serious responsibility of the site owners. Vladimir Makarov, head of the information department of the military department:
There are immutable concepts established by the Constitution of the country. It says that the defense of the Motherland is a duty and a sacred duty of a citizen of Belarus. The procedure for passing military service, the grounds and conditions for exemption from it are determined by law. And such sites, in essence, urge people to evade military service. I believe that the attempts of some overly "entrepreneurial" structures to take on the dubious functions of providing "assistance" to citizens in order to avoid being drafted into the army, of course, should be the subject of an appropriate legal assessment by the competent authorities.
BY THE WAY
In Belarus, such organizations are only trying to take root. In Russia, many firms have proliferated offering to avoid military service. For money. And their sites look about the same. Many phrases are duplicated. Everyone emphasizes that the services are absolutely legal. They present themselves beautifully: as services or centers for helping recruits. Are we following a bad example too?
Today, in the military units of Belarus, the words of the oath of allegiance to the Motherland were sounded, the recruits took the oath. True, there are those who have more important things to do than army everyday life. Dozens or even hundreds of young people evade military service in every call. And if there are no obvious reasons for this, there will always be helpers ready to find such reasons. Not for free, of course, but for money. It turns out that the army is a voluntary matter? Or is it still not?
“They are drafting into the army, but do you have other plans?” Bold advertising slogan. Bright site packaging. And a specific price. 880 rubles. It is possible in installments. For this money, the conscript is promised to help avoid conscription. The principle is simple as in the old joke: there are no healthy people, there are underexamined. Of the 2,000 thousand non-conscription diseases, assistants literally guarantee to find at least one. Otherwise, they will return all the money to the penny. And also a video where a man in uniform appears in a not very attractive form.
What kind of company is this, which is ready to wipe its nose at the military department, we decided to find out through the eyes of a client. The legend is simple. Our hero graduated from high school and received a summons, but does not want to go to the army. In a respectable office on one of the central streets of Minsk, the guy was reassured - the company guarantees. Bring your medical card and we will send you for examination.
Do you give any direction? Do the doctors know that I come from you or am I just coming?
- You come already booked. You do not need to take coupons, you do not need to stand in lines, we will do it all for you. We have a very experienced medical specialist (he has worked in the military registration and enlistment office for 20 years, he is a therapist, he is very well versed in this).
“What if I don’t have any diseases?” Are there any other ways?
- There is. If you turn out to be absolutely healthy, there is a legal side, we refer you to our lawyer, he will help you get a military ID or deregister. This means that the draft board will not bother you until the age of 27.
– What is the procedure?
– This is only within the framework of cooperation.
In order to expand this framework of cooperation a little, we go already fully armed to the office.
The workers were a little taken aback, but quickly gathered: they offered tea, coffee and answers to questions. Like, we've been working for a little over a year. Legal. We are not afraid of anyone. We send clients for examinations to public hospitals and private clinics. Recognize. You have to pay for this separately, but look at the walls - there are happy commissioned faces all around.
“According to the last call, this is more than 70%. During May there are about 100 conscripts.”
Oleg Rakita, Deputy Head of the project "Conscript Bai":“There were checks for a corruption component (whether we give bribes), but we work according to the law, lawyers cooperate with us).”
We also turned to a lawyer ... Having studied the company's website at our request, an experienced lawyer immediately finds the nuances.
Maxim Tereshkov, lawyer of the Minsk Regional Bar Association:“For example, the slogan: “They are drafting into the army, but do you have other plans?” In my opinion, this borders on a call to violate the current legislation. Military service is a priority. First military service, and only then work, study or rest. Or here is a video that shows what you can learn in the army, below the comment: “Beware, you may change your mind and want to join the army, and if not, then here is the link. And how do you rate it?"
There are questions to the company and the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade (the organization has already been fined). And just for violating the law "On Advertising". The site prizivnik.by (as well as several other similar ones) is regularly visited by the Ministry of Defense. People in uniform are asking conscripts to turn on elementary logic. After all, ordinary doctors who do not belong to the Armed Forces sit on medical commissions. If you do not trust them, then you can be examined in any hospital in the country. And yet no one has to pay. And the result will be the same.
Alexander Shkirenko, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus:“I think this is just a deception of citizens. If we take the appeal of last year, then 12 thousand people passed the medical commissions. Of these, only five thousand were found fit. That is, these citizens, without paying the money, would still be released from the army.
While some are looking for ways to avoid military service, others give their debt to their homeland voluntarily and willingly. Even if dad is a general. Alexander Shkirenko, despite the fact that he is in the leadership of the Belarusian army, modestly observes his son's oath together with other parents of military personnel in Maryina Gorka. He assures that he never convinced his Nikita to join the army, he simply raised a man.
Today, in the military units of Belarus, the words of the oath of allegiance to the Motherland were sounded, the recruits took the oath. True, there are those who have more important things to do than army everyday life. Dozens or even hundreds of young people evade military service in every call. And if there are no obvious reasons for this, there will always be helpers ready to find such reasons. Not for free, of course, but for money. It turns out that the army is a voluntary matter? Or is it still not?
“They are drafting into the army, but do you have other plans?” Bold advertising slogan. Bright site packaging. And a specific price. 880 rubles. It is possible in installments. For this money, the conscript is promised to help avoid conscription. The principle is simple as in the old joke: there are no healthy people, there are underexamined. Of the 2,000 thousand non-conscription diseases, assistants literally guarantee to find at least one. Otherwise, they will return all the money to the penny. And also a video where a man in uniform appears in a not very attractive form.
What kind of company is this, which is ready to wipe its nose at the military department, we decided to find out through the eyes of a client. The legend is simple. Our hero graduated from high school and received a summons, but does not want to go to the army. In a respectable office on one of the central streets of Minsk, the guy was reassured - the company guarantees. Bring your medical card and we will send you for examination.
Do you give any direction? Do the doctors know that I come from you or am I just coming?
- You come already booked. You do not need to take coupons, you do not need to stand in lines, we will do it all for you. We have a very experienced medical specialist (he has worked in the military registration and enlistment office for 20 years, he is a therapist, he is very well versed in this).
“What if I don’t have any diseases?” Are there any other ways?
- There is. If you turn out to be absolutely healthy, there is a legal side, we refer you to our lawyer, he will help you get a military ID or deregister. This means that the draft board will not bother you until the age of 27.
– What is the procedure?
– This is only within the framework of cooperation.
In order to expand this framework of cooperation a little, we go already fully armed to the office.
The workers were a little taken aback, but quickly gathered: they offered tea, coffee and answers to questions. Like, we've been working for a little over a year. Legal. We are not afraid of anyone. We send clients for examinations to public hospitals and private clinics. Recognize. You have to pay for this separately, but look at the walls - there are happy commissioned faces all around.
“According to the last call, this is more than 70%. During May there are about 100 conscripts.”
Oleg Rakita, Deputy Head of the project "Conscript Bai": “There were checks for a corruption component (whether we give bribes), but we work according to the law, lawyers cooperate with us).”
We also turned to a lawyer ... Having studied the company's website at our request, an experienced lawyer immediately finds the nuances.
Maxim Tereshkov, lawyer of the Minsk Regional Bar Association: “For example, the slogan: “They are drafting into the army, but do you have other plans?” In my opinion, this borders on a call to violate the current legislation. Military service is a priority. First military service, and only then work, study or rest. Or here is a video that shows what you can learn in the army, below the comment: “Beware, you may change your mind and want to join the army, and if not, then here is the link. And how do you rate it?"
There are questions to the company and the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade (the organization has already been fined). And just for violating the law "On Advertising". The site prizivnik.by (as well as several other similar ones) is regularly visited by the Ministry of Defense. People in uniform are asking conscripts to turn on elementary logic. After all, ordinary doctors who do not belong to the Armed Forces sit on medical commissions. If you do not trust them, then you can be examined in any hospital in the country. And yet no one has to pay. And the result will be the same.
Alexander Shkirenko, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus: “I think this is just a deception of citizens. If we take the appeal of last year, then 12 thousand people passed the medical commissions. Of these, only five thousand were found fit. That is, these citizens, without paying the money, would still be released from the army.
While some are looking for ways to avoid military service, others give their debt to their homeland voluntarily and willingly. Even if dad is a general. Alexander Shkirenko, despite the fact that he is in the leadership of the Belarusian army, modestly observes his son's oath together with other parents of military personnel in Maryina Gorka. He assures that he never convinced his Nikita to join the army, he simply raised a man.
The image of the army is also a weapon. The Ministry of Defense has already urged other law enforcement agencies to pay attention to the slogans from the Internet and the methods of work of the prizivnik.by website. However, this did not prevent the capital center from announcing the upcoming development: by the end of the year, the company's branches will open in all regional cities of Belarus.
Details - in the video of our correspondent