MOSCOW, April 21 (RIA Novosti) - The lower house of the Russian parliament adopted in the first reading Friday a bill canceling nine call-up deferments and reducing the military service term from 24 to 12 months.
Those who take care of disabled relatives, or have a child aged below 3 or a wife pregnant for at least 26 weeks are deprived of the right to have a deferment, as are students at some security agencies' institutes and rural doctors, as well as state enterprise employees.
A total of 366 State Duma deputies voted for the draft law, with 23 against and four abstentions.
The deputies said the abolition of deferments was linked to the reduction of the call-up service term.
A transitional period will be in force from January 1, 2007, when the period of mandatory service is 18 months.
