MOSCOW, January 26 (AVN) - The Russian government's attitude to the Armed Forces is intolerable, a lawmaker told the Military News Agency on Friday.
Vladimir Volkov, member of the defence committee of the State Duma lower house of parliament, was asked to comment on the passing of amendments to the federal law "Concerning the Status of Servicemen" on the first reading. The government's envoy to the Duma, Lyubov Kudelina, strongly opposed the amendments, which aim at improving the financial situation of servicemen.
Duma members were working hard on the amendments, which shows that they understand inadmissibility of such attitude, Volkov said. "The Armed Forces are losing 35,000 to 40,000 officers a year," he stressed, claiming that most officers retire due to dissatisfaction with the income that makes 25 to 60 percent of the subsistence level of a family of three.
If the problem remains unsolved, it will badly affect the progress of the military reform and may cause the final collapse of the army, Volkov said.