Russian courts cite school grades to deny conscripts alternative civilian service

Russian conscription commissions and courts are using grades from a school course called OBZh, now renamed OBZR, to deny conscripts' requests to replace military service with alternative civilian service, according to Artem Klyga, head of the legal department at the Movement of Conscientious Objectors.

Klyga said courts treat excellent grades in the course — including on the topic of conscription itself — as evidence that a draftee holds no beliefs against carrying weapons or serving in the army. He argued that a grade reflects knowledge of the material, not a person's worldview.

Court decisions have also cited character references from schools and colleges containing the standard phrase "Did not demonstrate stable pacifist beliefs," which Klyga said effectively ends a conscript's chance of obtaining alternative service.

Klyga advised that parents can request exemption from the military training portion of OBZR — specifically shooting and weapons handling — by sending a written application to the school citing the constitutional article on freedom of conscience.