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Database of Russians Eligible for Draft Set to Aid Military Recruitment

A military enlistment office in southern Russia's Rostov region. Erik Romanenko / TASS

The Russian authorities have created a digital database of citizens who are eligible to be drafted into the military amid growing rumors of a second mobilization campaign, independent journalists Farida Rustamova and Maksim Tovkailo reported Saturday.

The database will reportedly contain information about Russian citizens gathered from the country’s Central Election Commission, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Health Ministry, the Federal Tax Service and others.

The data will include the address at which each individual is registered, driver's license information, phone numbers and email addresses, data on each individual’s employment and health history, the report said.

The database is expected to be launched in 2024, but a test version is ready and could be used in case of a second mobilization campaign, according to the report.

Last month, Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov told Russian President Vladimir Putin that almost 9,000 reservists had been mobilized illegally during the five-week-long military draft announced in September.

Should the Kremlin announce a second wave of mobilization to redress the Russian military’s shortage of manpower in Ukraine — something that the Kremlin has denied — the new database will likely serve as a powerful tool for recruitment officers across the country charged with fulfilling quotas of new recruits.

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