MOSCOW. Feb 22 (Interfax-AVN) - While discussing the bill on alternative civil service approved by the Russian government the society should reach a common understanding of the issue, for the bill touches upon the sphere of national defense capability and fates of Russian citizens, Lieutenant General Vasily Smirnov, deputy chief of the General Staff main mobilization department, has said.
It is inadmissible to use the discussion of the bill for populist purposes, Smirnov said in an interview with the Pravda newspaper and Vek weekly published on Friday. The bill must grant the right for alternative service only to those who have proven the incompatibility of their staying in the army or navy with their moral or religious convictions, and alternative service must be comparable to military service as far as labor input and hardships are concerned, Smirnov added.
If it is not done, alternative civil service will turn into a form of escape from the obligation to defend Motherland written into the Russian constitution. At present the country suffers severe problems with manning the Armed Forces and other military formations. Over 88 percent of people fit for military service are granted deferments on personal and impersonal reasons.
The bill provides for the combination of territorial and extraterritorial principles of alternative civil service. It envisages a 48-month service term for those working at civil installations and a 36-month term for those working for the Armed Forces. The graduates of higher educational establishments will serve 24 months.