Tuesday, Apr 29, 2003
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By Vladimir Radyuhin
The Government has approved a plan to replace 131,000 conscripts with volunteers in 2004-2007. They will man "core units of permanent readiness'' in the army, air-borne forces and border guards, according to the Defence Minister, Sergei Ivanov. He said the draft would continue, but the period of conscript service could be reduced from two years to 24 months after 2007. The shift will take much longer because it involves additional outlays. A conscript private in Russia is paid the rouble equivalent of $4 a month, while a contract soldier's pay must be set at $150 to $200 a month to attract enough volunteers. After three years of service, a contract soldier will be entitled to benefits in getting a university education. Russia's armed forces have about 1.1 million personnel, out of whom 500,000 are officers who sign contracts to serve. It is the 600,000 conscript soldiers and non-commissioned officers who are to be replaced by volunteers. The army reform plan approved by the Government sets no deadline for that. To facilitate the creation of a professional army, the Government has allowed the Defence Ministry to take volunteers from the former Soviet republics.
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