Background

In Dyagilev v Russia [2020] ECHR 212, the applicant, a master’s graduate in philosophy, became liable to be called up for military service in 2014 [7]. In an attempt to find what he described as “a lawful way to avoid military service”, he attended a legal seminar organised by the Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers in St Petersburg and he submitted that his participation in the seminar had finally allowed him to understand his adherence to pacifist philosophy [8].

He applied to the local military commissariat to be assigned to civilian service instead of compulsory military service [9]; his application was examined by a military recruitment commission and rejected [10]. Continue reading →