Edward Bryan

Out the train window.

How military conscription happens in Russia—a thread Gosuslugi (the Russian digital ID system) has become a central hub without which life in Russia is almost impossible. Through it, people obtain documents, schedule doctor appointments, and more recently, receive electronic military summons. If a citizen does not confirm receipt, their rights are automatically restricted (leaving the country, selling property, driving a car) — which is a direct implementation of digitally "switching off" an individual from the system. This represents one of the most radical examples of a state transforming into a digital control mechanism in modern history. What was once a portal for paying parking fees or booking passport appointments has become a digital cage. Before this law (2023), a military summons in Russia had to be delivered in person and signed for. People would simply avoid opening the door or live at different addresses. Now, a summons is considered delivered the moment it appears in your personal Gosuslugi account — or, if you do not have an active account, 7 days after it is entered into the "Unified Register of Conscripts." The travel ban activates immediately upon delivery of the summons — before the 20-day window begins. If a citizen then fails to report to the military office within 20 days, the following additional restrictions are triggered: - Driving ban: The driver's license becomes invalid in the traffic police database. - Ban on buying/selling real estate: The land registry (Rosreestr) blocks any transactions. You cannot sell property to leave the country. - Credit ban: Banks automatically see that the applicant is subject to conscription restrictions and loan access is blocked. - Business restriction: You cannot register a company or work as a freelancer (self-employed). In Russia, it is nearly impossible to function without a Gosuslugi account. You use it to enroll your child in school or kindergarten. You receive QR codes through it (as seen during the pandemic). When people began attempting to delete their accounts in March 2023 ahead of the spring conscription drive, the authorities disabled the "delete account" option on the website. This happened proactively on March 31, 2023—the same day the Defence Ministry announced electronic summonses—rather than in response to a mass exodus already underway. The system is integrated with a network of over 200,000 cameras in Moscow equipped with facial recognition. In documented cases, the flagging has occurred specifically when a conscript contests his draft order in court—at which point the enlistment office enters him into the system as an alleged evader, triggering a facial recognition alert and enabling police to detain him on the spot. It is not confirmed as a blanket automatic trigger for anyone who has simply received a summons and not yet reported. The state can effectively cut a person off from the social and economic bloodstream—without the ability to drive, manage money, or use property. This became reality in Russia faster than almost anywhere else because the state used war as justification to merge all databases (tax, police, medical, and military) into one central system. Russia no longer uses technology merely as a service for citizens, but as an operational tool of enforcement. 🧵

Feeling the vibes in Palm Beach today

Does anybody think they will leave?