500 conscripts from St Petersburg could become fathers in 24 hours

Autumn conscription is being finished in St Petersburg. At the moment, 92 percent of young men planned by the Defence Ministry are drafted, while 70 percent of them are sent to the army, draft officials of Leningrad military district report. One of the most popular ways to avoid military service is to report about having got a family. The number of conscripts who used this way has increased two times in comparison with last year. On the Internet, some sites appeared devoted to the subject: “Life is a book, while military service are two pages tore out in the most interesting place”, where 6 reasons are presented, why one should not go to the army, and 12 short legal recommendations how to avoid military service, and many other interesting things. Somebody from 500 St Petersburg simulators has probably used a Yakut conscript’s experience, who obtained leave for 24 hours within which he managed to get married and to adopt a child. As a result, the enlistment commission had nothing better to do, than to release him. Meanwhile, there is an agreement between the police, military registration and enlistment offices and local authorities about joint search for citizens avoiding military service. While leaders of enterprises and organizations could be imposed administrative sanctions for taking a worker who has no military registration. Most of simulators are graduates, because they should necessarily enter an institute or any other educational institution, otherwise they will be conscripted without getting one more chance. While there is no respite for entering an educational institution. There were even cases, when university entrants were conscripted in spring, who simply did not receive their exams’ results. So, the State Duma decided to help the conscripts. A group of deputies – representatives of Union of Right Forces, Apple and Regions of Russia factions propose to completely repeal the spring conscription since January 1, 2003, while to carry out the autumn conscription since September 1. The deputies suppose, this would give the young men an opportunity to freely continue their studies after graduating from schools, colleges and lyceums. This project is the more actual, because the system of full general secondary education is expected to make 12 years, so many young men will graduate from school being 18 years old. Marina Romanova PRAVDA.Ru St Petersburg

Translated by Vera Solovieva

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2001/12/13/34810.html