Evasion of Military Service

in the USSR, violation of the system of military service established by the Law of the USSR on Universal Military Obligation. Evasion of military service may be considered a disciplinary offense or a crime, depending on the duration and intent of evasion and on the circumstances of the case. It is criminally punishable when it takes the form of absence without leave, unauthorized departure from a unit or place of service, desertion, unauthorized departure from a unit in combat, or self-mutilation or such acts as the feigning of illness, forging of documents, or other type of deception.

The law differentiates punishments for evasion of military service depending on the presence of circumstances that aggravate the guilt. For example, evasion of military service by self-mutilation or other method without aggravating circumstances is punishable by deprivation of freedom for a period of three to seven years. With aggravating circumstances, that is, in wartime or in combat, it is punishable by deprivation of freedom for a period of five to ten years or by execution.