In Yekaterinburg, a draft dodger who bribed a doctor received a 7-year "strict regime" deferment from the army. PHOTO

      In Yekaterinburg, a conscript has been convicted for bribing a doctor in order to evade military service. Local resident Vladimir Sokolov decided to avoid the "draft," as reported by the unified press service of the courts of the Sverdlovsk region.

      As established by the investigation and the court, in the winter of 2025, an acquaintance offered Sokolov, who did not want to go to the army, to arrange for the acquisition of fake medical documents that would provide grounds for deferral. Of course, for a monetary reward.

      Together with an intermediary, on December 25, 2025, Sokolov arrived at the reception room on Rizhsky Lane, 16, where the doctor performed surgery on the defendant without medical indications, stitched him up, and prepared fake medical documentation for further submission to the military enlistment office.

      The implementation of the criminal scheme cost Sokolov 675,000 rubles, which he handed over to his acquaintance. The majority of this amount—505,000 rubles—was kept by him. Another 130,000 rubles were given to his acquaintance, who arranged the deal with a doctor from one of the city hospitals, an orthopedic traumatologist.

      The investigation qualified Sokolov's actions as giving a bribe to an official through an intermediary in a large amount (subparagraph "b" of part 4 of article 291 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The defendant fully admitted his guilt and expressed remorse for his actions. Despite this, the Chkalovsky District Court of Yekaterinburg sentenced him to 7 years in a strict regime colony and a fine of 1,350,000 rubles. Additionally, a mobile phone and 675,000 rubles (an amount equivalent to the size of the bribe) were confiscated.

      The convicted individual was taken into custody in the courtroom. The verdict has not yet entered into legal force and can be appealed within 15 days. Sentences for other participants in the illegal scheme were issued earlier.