On Saturday Valeriy Fadeev, chairman of the human rights council to the Kremlin, had urged defence minister Sergei Shoigu to "urgently resolve issues" to avoid "undermining the confidence of the people."
He mentioned several aberrations including the recruitments of 70 fathers of large families in the far eastern region of Buryatia, and of nurses and midwives without any military skills.
Fadeev said these recruits were called up "under threat of criminal prosecution."
Fadeev also criticised those "handing out summons at 2 am as if they all thought we were draft evaders."
Several students told AFP they were given call-up papers, despite Russian authorities promising they would be left out of the recruitment drive.
On Saturday, Putin signed a decree confirming students in secondary vocational and higher education institutions would be exempted from mobilisation.
Detained anti-mobilisation protesters said police gave them call-up papers in custody -- ordering them to enlist in the very effort they were denouncing.
But the Kremlin defended the procedure on Thursday, saying "it isn't against the law".
