MOSCOW. Sept 30 (Interfax) - A total of 293 people were sent to alternative civil service in Russia during the spring conscription campaign, Yevgeny Burdinsky, deputy head of the Main Organization and Mobilization Department of the Russian General Staff, said.
"A total of 880 people, or 0.19% of all citizens who were conscripted, are undergoing alternative civil service. This indicates that military service is highly popular," Burdinsky told reporters on Monday.
Burdinsky said 314 requests for alternative civil service were filed during the spring conscription campaign and 302 of them were granted. Some conscripts whose requests for alternative civil service later received deferrals for various reasons, he said.
Alternative civil service lasts 18-21 months, depending on the location.