MOSCOW. Feb 3 (Interfax-AVN) - Conscripts have currently submitted 2,000 applications for alternative civil service to military commissioner's offices, Major General Vladimir Konstantinov, deputy chief of the of the General Staff's Mobilization Directorate, said on Tuesday, addressing the Civil Service in Russia and Germany conference.
"Military commissioner's offices have so far registered only 2,000 applications from conscripts, wishing to undergo alternative civil service instead of the military service. All those wishing to undergo alternative civil service have another two months, February and March, at their disposal," Konstantinov said.
He also said that all regulating documents, including the Defense Minister's order and the Armed Forces Chief-of-Staff's decree, pertaining to the alternative civil service, were sent to corresponding establishments as far back as mid November 2003. "These documents are not classified, and anyone can study them at military commissioner's offices," the general emphasized.
He also noted that draft boards, tasked with considering conscripts' applications for alternative civil service, were not part of the Russian Defense Ministry. "Draft boards are not bodies of the Russian Defense Ministry, and usually consist of representatives of local authorities, which jointly decide to allow one or other citizen to undergo alternative civil service," Konstantinov said.