MOSCOW, February 18 (RIA Novosti) – Russians are divided about the use of conscript soldiers in the army, according to a survey published Tuesday.
A total of 48 percent of Russians believe the military draft should remain a key source of manpower for the army, while 40 percent think only professional contract soldiers should serve, the poll by the independent Levada Center found.
Almost half of Russians (48 percent) would like their children to serve in the army, while 33 percent would prefer to help their relatives dodge military service.
The poll of 1,603 respondents across 45 Russian regions was conducted on January 24-27 and has a margin of error of less than 3.4 percent.
Russia is reforming its armed forces by shifting away from a largely inefficient body of conscripted soldiers toward a smaller professional army.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said last year that Russia’s military will have 500,000 soldiers serving on professional contracts within a decade. But he acknowledged that the armed forces will continue to rely on a mix of conscripts and contracted recruits for the foreseeable future.
The country has struggled in recent years to fulfil quotas for conscripts due to widespread draft dodging and a scarcity of eligible young men, following a collapse in the birth rate during the turbulent 1990s.
The military needs to enroll about 300,000 men during each draft to keep the number of army personnel at the required level of 1 million.
According to official data, the current strength of the Russian Armed Forces is estimated at 774,500 personnel, including 220,000 officers and about 200,000 contracted soldiers.
All Russian men between the ages of 18 and 27 are obliged by law to perform one year of military service. The shortest term of a military service contract is two years.
