MOSCOW. Feb 14 (Interfax-AVN) - Financial situation of Russian servicemen and their family members will not improve in 2003, a source in the Defense Ministry told Interfax-Military News Agency on Friday.
"Federal budget parameters do not provide for reaching the goal of brining up servicemen's living standards in full. Financial situation of the brass and their family members will not improve in 2003," the source said.
Budget funding volumes make it possible to increase servicemen's salaries attached to the rank starting from January 1 and add another 11 percent to them on October 1, he noted.
"Also this year, salaries of civilian personnel of Armed Forces control bodies will be increased by 11 percent and those paid to civilians in accordance with a unified wage rate distribution by 33 percent," the source stressed.
Nevertheless, the increases will not help to improve servicemen's financial situation, he argued.
If the inflation rate reaches 14 percent in 2003, as the Russian government forecasts, and electricity and utilities charges continue to grow in Russian regions with practically no control from federal governing bodies, social situation of many servicemen's families will remain complicated, the source said.
"Electricity and utilities charges in regions grew by 30 to 70 percent from November last year to January this year, and experts predict that this tendency will remain," he noted.
According to him, the way out is in "further steps of the Russian president and government aimed at improving the financial situation of servicemen and their family members."