Convictions

In 1987, United Nations Commission on Human Rights approved the Resolution on Conscientious objection to military service based on “thought, conscience and religion”. In Russia, the right to have an alternative civil service was guaranteed for the first time by the 1993 Constitution. According to the law, the right to object to the military service is not limited to the believers. Other citizens may declare that their personal convictions (pacifist, philosophical, moral, ethical, political) are incompatible with military service. Those serving the alternative service work as librarians, hospital attendants, archivists, circus and theatre workers etc. Sounds great – the peaceful labour is wonderful. However, there is one problem: once you come to the enlistment office, you have to prove that your convictions are indeed what you say. It is up to the draft board to decide what do you really believe…