ORENBURG, Russia. Sept 29(Interfax-AVN) - President Dmitry Medvedev has declared it to be a priority task to raise the living standards of military personnel and their families.
"A new structure of military compensation" that is due to start being introduced next year is expected to stimulate military personnel to "conscientiously carry out their service duties and raise their professional standards," Medvedev said at a meeting with senior military officers.
As regards the living conditions of servicemen and their families, the Defense Ministry has a plan to acquire more than 28,000 apartments during 2008, the president said.
"On the whole, in its draft budgets for 2009 to 2011, the Defense Ministry allocates 135.8 billion rubles for solving the housing problem, which would make it possible to build more than 67,000 apartments," he said.
Moreover, at least 22,000 servicemen are to be provided with housing before the end of 2010 under housing certificate programs, Medvedev said.
There is, furthermore, an approved federal social program for 2009-2015 for soldiers doing contractual service, he said.
"The tasks of providing military personnel with housing must be carried out unswervingly," Medvedev said. "This matter must be monitored permanently - I am speaking to the defense minister."
"We have carried out nothing of the kind for the past 20 years in our country or in the Soviet Union," the president said.