Moscow, July 2 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russia has one million personnel in the armed forces and will not be downsized further, Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said Friday.
‘When the personnel strength of the armed forces stands at one million, we will not reduce it anymore,’ Serdyukov said at a meting with Russian defence observers.
The decade-long debate on the number of professional servicemen in Russia’s armed forces is still unresolved, and the defence ministry still largely relies on conscription. All Russian men between the ages of 18 and 27 are obliged by law to perform one year of military service.
Serdyukov emphasized that the ministry aims to start manning the armed forces with contract servicemen by 2014.
Currently the armed forces enlist 180,000 contractors, but by the end of 2017, their number will increase to 425,000, the minister added.
