Conscription is a high-risk area for corruption. In countries with compulsory military service, the attraction of paying a bribe to avoid potentially life-threatening service is strong. Yet to build armed forces which are fair and strong, it is crucially important that in countries with compulsory military service apply that law to all equally, regardless of money or personal connections.

Corruption to avoid conscription is often not as straightforward as simply paying a bribe directly to a recruiter to avoid service. Conscripted soldiers may bribe medical personnel to declare them as physically unfit for service, or educational authorities to gain entry into military academic institutions instead of the regular forces.  Corruption may also exist when people use political favours or family connections to avoid service.

Corruption example: Conscription in Russia

Compulsory military service can be a cause of pervasive corruption within the armed forces. Such is the case in Russia. In order to avoid conscription, would-be soldiers pay bribes to the military authorities, medical personnel in charge of assessment and officials in draft boards. Such practices are widespread and publicly acknowledged.

In July 2010, Russia’s nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, led by Vladimir Zhirinovsky, tabled draft legislation which would allow potential conscripts to pay a sum equivalent to US $32,500 to avoid military service. The resulting funds would be channeled toward the costs of the Ministry of Defence (MoD). This measure, aimed at Russia’s military commissions, signifies both the great extent of draft corruption in the country and a clear recognition of this reality.

Serious attempts to deal with this issue have been made in recent years by the Russian government. The length of conscript service was shortened by six months in April 2008 to one year, while the list of exemptions from conscriptions has also been made more restrictive. However, the 2004-7 federal government programme designed to trial a transition to fully professional armed forces was largely ineffective, due to poor design and pervasive corruption which prevents full remuneration from reaching the contracted soldiers.

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