Desertion
1. Desertion, that is willfully abandoning a unit or place of service in order to evade military service, as well as failure to report for service with the same intent -
is punishable by deprivation of liberty for a term up to seven years.
2. Desertion with weapons assigned in service, as well as desertion committed by a group of persons acting upon prior agreement or an organized group -
is punishable by deprivation of liberty for a term up to ten years.
(as amended by Federal Law No. 26-FZ dated March 7, 2011)
Note. A military serviceman who commits desertion for the first time as provided in paragraph 1 of this article may
shall be exempt from criminal liability if the desertion was a result of the confluence of grave circumstances
Source: "Criminal Code of the Russian Federation" dated 13.06.1996 № 63-FZ (edition from 29.11.2012)