Despite the cut in the draft term, 10,000 more conscripts are to be recruited this year.
Photo: Igor Filonov
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18-Month Military Draft Opens in Russia
The spring military draft began in Russia this Monday to become the first 18-month conscription term
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed a decree to open the military draft which will last from April to June and will recruit 133,500 men aged from 18 to 27 years old.
Despite the cut in the draft term to eighteen months, an additional 10,000 conscripts are to be recruited this year, according to Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Colonel-General Vasily Smirnov. The colonel-general notes that a shorter term of conscription as well as good information promotion will help cut the number of hazing incidents in the army as all conscripts will be recruited in the same draft.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov pledged that conscripts will not be sent to conflict zones. “The conscription term goes down to eighteen months this year and to twelve months in 2008, which will be extremely helpful in boosting discipline among conscripts,” Mr. Ivanov said in an interview with the RIA Novosti news agency.
However, there are no plans to abolish conscription in the Russian army altogether. According to Sergey Ivanov, Russia “with its historical traditions and vast territory needs reservists, which is a major mobilization resource that can be boosted rapidly in case of any hypothec exacerbation of the global situation”.
www.kommersant.com
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