MOSCOW. Jan 21 (Interfax-AVN) - The plan of the fall 2002 draft has been fulfilled, and 174,214 personnel were enlisted in October to December 2002, a competent source in the Russian Defense Ministry told Interfax-Military News Agency Tuesday.
He was citing data summed up by the General Staff main mobilization department.
The source said that the main difficulty in the draft was the fact that more categories of Russian citizens had been granted deferment from the military service. Only eight percent of all youngsters could be enlisted, others were legally deferred, he also said.
According to the source, the Defense Ministry was concerned with the psychological characteristics and educational level of conscripts. "About 25 percent of all those enlisted in 2002 do not have ten-year secondary education, and more than 40 percent have neither worked nor studied anywhere before enlistment," he said.
The final results of the drafted will be drawn and certainly published in February, the source added.