Aleksandr Kurenkov, the head of Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations, announced that his agency and the Ministry of Defense had agreed to deploy conscripts to serve in units of the Federal Fire Service. The agencies plan to assign draftees to fight fires, manage emergencies, and conduct rescue operations amid a personnel shortage, which Kurenkov attributed to low wages. Under the Law on the Status of Servicemen, conscripts may fulfill their statutory military service in the agency’s rescue and military formations by applying to the relevant draft offices. However, a professional degree is required to hold military positions within the ministry.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense has drafted a bill counting each day of military service by "participants in the special military operation" as three days of civil service, professional experience, and general labor seniority when calculating service-based pensions. The bill also triples the credited service time for insurance pensions, replacing the existing double-credit standard.
Lawmakers have introduced a bill in the State Duma [lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly] to expand social guarantees for Rosgvardia [Russian National Guard] and Interior Ministry employees taking part in the war against Ukraine. The measure would provide travel compensation for two family members or close relatives to visit personnel who are injured or fall ill during their service. This proposed legislation would extend a benefit that currently applies only to the families of military personnel.
The State Duma [lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly] approved a bill in its first reading mandating genomic registration for troops involved in combat and counterterrorism operations. The bill was introduced in the State Duma on Jan. 24 after endorsement by the government’s legislative commission. If the legislation is enacted, military personnel and civil servants of the Russian Armed Forces and Rosgvardia [Russian National Guard], as well as volunteer fighters and Interior Ministry employees, will be required to provide DNA samples. The state will store this data until the individual reaches the age of 100 or, in the event of death, until officials verify their identity.
The Rostov region increased the sign-up bonus for Ministry of Defense contracts by 300,000 rubles [$3,910] for soldiers joining specific units listed in a government decree. The payment remains 2 million rubles [$26,000], a rate set in May 2025, for all other personnel. With this adjustment, recruits entering designated units—including those in the Unmanned Systems Forces—will receive a total of 2.7 million rubles [$35,200], which includes a federal component of 400,000 rubles [$5,210].
In the Lipetsk region, authorities increased the sign-up bonus for participating in the war from 600,000 to one million rubles [from $7,810 to $13,000] and raised the amount for enlisting in unmanned systems forces to 1.5 million rubles [$19,500]. Additionally, Governor Igor Artamonov ordered municipalities to guarantee a local supplement of at least 600,000 rubles [$7,810]. As a result, including the federal component of 400,000 rubles [$5,210], a recruit now receives two million rubles [$26,000] for a standard contract and 2.5 million rubles [$32,600] for service in unmanned systems forces.
On Feb. 2, MinTsifry [the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of Russia] began accepting applications for draft deferrals from compulsory military service for IT specialists for 2026. The Idite Lesom! [Flee through the woods/Get lost you all] Telegram channel and the Voyennye Advokaty [Military Lawyers] community explain who is eligible for a deferral and how to apply for it correctly.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense has expanded the list of medical conditions that preclude men with restricted fitness from enlisting, bringing the total from 26 to 35. The ministry added diabetes, complications from certain spinal fractures, specific eye diseases, congenital anomalies, the presence of a foreign body in the cranial cavity or brain, and several other ailments to the list, while also revising specific wording and explanatory notes.
Russian authorities continue to press students to enlist in the Unmanned Systems Forces, according to the Idite Lesom! [Flee through the woods/Get lost you all] Telegram channel, which reported a recent recruitment drive at a technical college in Yessentuki. Recruiters there enticed students with one-year contracts and promised payouts of up to 15 million rubles [$196,500], veteran status and benefits packages, while framing the service as office-based computer work located safely away from the frontline. These officials further urged students to enlist as a means to earn money and clear their relatives' debts, assuring them of eventual discharge and demobilization. Separately, media outlet T-invariant details how the Higher School...
Ufa City Hall set the one-time municipal bonus for signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense at 300,000 rubles [$3,920]. Although the city had offered 700,000 rubles [$9,150] beginning in January 2025, Bashkortostan Governor Radiy Khabirov reduced the amount to 100,000 rubles [$1,310] by decree in December. The new rate applies to contracts signed on or after Jan. 1, 2026. With the inclusion of a 1 million-ruble [$13,100] regional component and a 400,000-ruble [$5,230] federal component, recruits enlisting in Ufa will now receive 1.7 million rubles [$22,200].