Adopted a law on benefits for admission: will affect the mobilized and the children of the Wagnerites

At the very end of December 2022, the State Duma adopted FZ-631, which amends the Law on Education. They have been waiting for it since May, when a Presidential Decree was issued stating that universities are required to allocate 10% of the total number of budget places for children of participants in a special operation in Ukraine.

At the same time, the children of the wounded and dead soldiers could not even take entrance tests. They were taken like that.

But Putin’s Decree is a Decree. According to the legal hierarchy, it is below federal laws, and the Federal Law “On Education” did not contain anything about a special quota of children – participants in the SVO. A contradiction was created that needed to be eliminated as soon as possible, that is, before next summer.

Nevertheless, admission to universities last year went relatively smoothly. About 43,000 budget places were reserved within this quota. Which at first seemed to cause a little excitement, since these were not additional places, but allocated from the total amount of applicants for the budget, and therefore many were afraid that their children would not go to free education due to the actual reduction of 10% of the regular budget. However, in almost all leading universities, there was a shortage among the children of military personnel who took part in the special operation.

So, in one of the top Moscow universities, 408 people were ready to accept a special quota, and only 146 people applied. In the regions, for example, in the Urals, and even less – only 39 people took advantage of a special quota of 653 budget places.

And in principle, such small numbers can be explained: until September 2022, mainly contract soldiers, relatively young guys, took part in the SVO, their children might not yet grow up to enter. And in fact, not everyone has a dream to give their children a higher education. This is, in general, normal.

Entering a ranking university and studying at this university are completely different things. Just like supporting a student in a big city. Many who served under the contract are natives of small settlements. They talked about a graduate from the outback, who passed the quota as the child of a deceased soldier in a very elite university, the girl also had a gold medal, but her mother simply did not pull Moscow. Even taking into account all the payments received, which must be stretched over all the years of study.

Everything changed with the start of partial mobilization last fall. It became clear that the number of those whose children must also be taken in under a special quota will increase significantly in the near future due to those called up for military service by presidential decree.

Also, the status of the members of the NWO from among the PMCs was not clear to the last. What to do with their children?

From the new version of the adopted law, it became clear in what capacity the Wagnerites can appear in the special operation. Apparently, these are “persons who have signed a contract on voluntary assistance in the performance of tasks assigned to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.” The quota of their children is also registered.

Who is included in the other categories of beneficiaries?

Alexander’s son is finishing 11th grade this year. Where he will go, the teenager does not yet know. Most likely legal.

Alexander himself is a combat invalid, he has the first group. He took part in the fighting in Chechnya in 1995, was wounded in the spine and retired. The son was born ten years later.

– Back in 2021, there was talk that children of combat veterans would receive benefits for admission within the budget. And not only the dead and those who died as a result of military injuries, but also the children of military invalids. Probably, this would be a principled and fair decision in relation to servicemen who have fulfilled their military duty.

– And before that, weren’t there such benefits for admission?

– No, never was. There were disabled children and invalids themselves, including as a result of a military injury or illness received during military service. That is, I could get an education according to the quota, but my son is no longer there. By the way, at one time I actually entered the law school on an exemption, but I entered as an invalid in military operations only the second time. There were so many who wanted to. The text of the new law was published just the other day, in mid-January. And I saw that a lot of new categories of applicants were added to a special quota, but, unfortunately, our children are not there.

– And who was added?

– A whole clause 5.2 is inserted there, explaining the rules for admission within a separate quota – these are the children who took part in a special military operation in the territories of Ukraine, the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Luhansk People’s Republic, the Zaporozhye region and the Kherson region, the children of the mobilized, the children of contract soldiers, the children of employees federal and state bodies, children of employees of internal affairs bodies who took part in hostilities. Moreover, it is especially emphasized that fathers could participate in hostilities not only in Ukraine, but also in the territories of foreign states, as I understand it, we are talking about Syria, although Afghanistan is also suitable here. Also, the children of military personnel who were injured or maimed, but survived, and again, either in the SVO or as part of a limited contingent abroad, can count on the budget. I have no questions regarding these categories of citizens. Everything is correct. But it turns out that only the children of Chechen veterans will receive nothing. But we directly defended the constitutional system of the Russian Federation. Or, for example, my friend, a sapper, neutralized a mine in peacetime. He was left without arms and without legs – according to the law he has the status of a war invalid.

– What do you associate it with?

– I do not know. Maybe they forgot about us. Maybe it means that everyone who fought in Chechnya is now paying his military duty in Ukraine. And their children will still get their benefits. But I, for example, am a disabled person of the first group, retired, I do not move independently. I wrote a report to be called up in any capacity, since I pass as an officer by age, but I was told that this was impossible. I hoped that we and our children would still be remembered.