MOSCOW, November 25 (RIA Novosti) – Men serving in the Russian army could soon be entitled to paternity leave if a draft law introduced by the Defense Ministry is passed.
The bill, posted Monday on a government website of proposed legal amendments, stipulates that male professional soldiers bringing up a child on their own should have the right to take paternity leave until the child turns three years old, thereby giving them the same rights as women serving in the armed forces currently have.
An explanatory note to the bill posted on the Defense Ministry’s website said that as of March this year there were 300 men serving in the armed forces and bringing up children under three without a partner.
The bill also stipulates a monthly child benefit payment until the child is 18 months old.
The Russian armed forces are in the midst of an overall modernization and reform program that includes increasing the proportion of professional soldiers as opposed to conscripts. To that end, the forces are trying to improve conditions for contract service personnel in a bid to attract and retain recruits.
