Russia’s Ministry of Defense is desperately searching for new conscripts, as the Russian army faces difficulty in drafting enough soldiers for the next year. The problem is that beginning in 2009, a sharp decrease in the number of eligible conscripts is expected, since exactly 18 years ago, in 1991, Russia experienced a sharp birthrate decline. In Russia, young men can be drafted into the army starting at the age of 18.
This decline was connected to the economic difficulties caused by price liberalization, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and other forms of turmoil that Russia underwent during that epoch. Starting in 2000, the economic and demographic trends improved, but the military commissariats all over Russia presently face problems, since the army currently needs young and preferably educated people now, and not in 18 years. The army’s problems are aggravated by the recent cut in the term of military service, which reduced the time of obligatory service from two years to one.
Thus the military seems to have opted for a radical solution - to grab high school graduates immediately following their graduation in late May, before they manage to enter universities in June and July. According to Russia’s law “On Military Duties and Service,” students cannot be drafted into the army.....
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