Since Soviet times, historically, the state required a large army, staffed by conscript soldiers. The duration of military service in this case was two years in the ground forces (three years before 1968), and three and four years in the navy, respectively. At the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries, the army of the Russian Federation faced new strategic and political realities. The new military doctrine and practice of modern military conflicts no longer required the regular training of a large number of young men called up. Nowadays, not so big is more profitable - but the army is professional and armed with the latest weapons. A practical solution to this problem was contract service.
Historical overview
The Soviet Army on the basis of its recruitment was completely inviting. This is due to reasons historically established in the first half of the 20th century. The era of large-scale world wars demanded maximum preparedness of the population for war, and where this principle was ignored (for example, in France), the war turned into major defeats.
In the post-war Soviet Army, there was an institute of extra term servicemen - military personnel who voluntarily served after the end of the prescribed period. Usually such soldiers were appointed by officers of the company or placed in other similar positions.
In the early 1990s, the Russian Army found itself in a difficult situation due to cuts in funding. It became clear that only one conscription army to solve all modern problems is impossible. This was especially clearly manifested in the course of the hostilities in Chechnya, when the elite Taman Division suffered serious casualties by those killed and captured.
The situation had to be saved in a most radical way. And already in 1994, an intensified campaign of recruiting over-term soldiers for units preparing to enter Chechnya began. At the same time, preference was given to reserve soldiers who had passed through Afghanistan and other hot spots.
The First Chechen War demonstrated the potential of the contract principle of recruiting the Armed Forces. As is known, it was the contract soldiers who caused burning hatred and fear of the militants with their courage, valor and high military training. The fact that contract servicemen had no chance to survive in Chechen captivity, and therefore instead of captivity they preferred death, only confirms their fame, which boomed throughout Chechnya. Many elite units, such as, for example, the famous "mad company" under the command of the legendary A. Ifyentyev (Gurzy) - were staffed exclusively from contract soldiers.
At the same time, the general public in Russia was shocked by the high losses of young recruiting soldiers in the Chechen war. On this wave of indignation, President Boris Yeltsin declared that by the year 2000 Russia would completely switch to a professional contract army. However, to fulfill this promise at that time was almost impossible, especially against the backdrop of the default of 1998 and the still difficult economic situation in the country.
The situation began to change after 2000. The army began to regain its prestige, especially against the background of the successful Second Chechen War, as well as the growth of its funding. However, continuing the process of reduction (from 2000 to 2018, the army was reduced by about half), the leadership decided to keep the mixed principle of its recruitment as the most suitable to the socio-economic conditions in the country.
However, the reform of the army, which was launched under the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergey Ivanov, in fact, failed. This is mainly due to the same lack of funding, as a result of which the salary of a contract soldier was on par with the janitor's salary, which, naturally, did not contribute to the influx of personnel into the army.
The failure of the campaign to attract new personnel to the army was recognized in 2010 by the next Minister of Defense, Anatoly Serdyukov. However, thanks to the reduction of military service to 1 year and, as a result, the reduction of the cost of financing the draft army, it became possible to seriously increase the number of contractors. With the arrival at the ministerial post of Sergei Shoigu, a more decisive course was taken to increase the number of contract servicemen and, accordingly, reduce the share of conscripts.
In April 2018, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the number of contract servicemen in the Russian army exceeded the number of conscripts (300 thousand versus 270 thousand). As of 2018, the number of contract servicemen continues to increase, while the volume of conscription for military service decreases. Thus, it can be predicted that by 2020 Russia will completely abandon the military draft in peacetime.
Contract service today
Today, in order to enter the Russian Army for military service under the contract, you must meet a number of conditions:
- Citizenship of the Russian Federation
- The age of a potential soldier from 19 to 35 years
- Education is not lower than the average (at least, you must complete 10 classes of school or technical school)
- Good physique. When applying for military service, you will need to pass the standards of NFP-2009
- Absolute preference is given to those who have served in the army and who have the rank of a military soldier.
- Group for health reasons must be at least B (suitable for military service with some restrictions)
- Proficiency. Preference is given to potential servicemen with I and II categories of professional suitability. If there are none, people with category III are accepted.
To enter military service under a contract, you first need to contact the military commissariat at the place of residence or the selection point of contract servicemen. Here will provide all the necessary information. In addition, the selection point will give information on the types and types of troops, as well as on military accounting specialties that are required in the army.
After passing a number of commissions, including medical, a decision is made.
In the case of a positive decision, the newly-made soldier goes to the training unit, where he undergoes training and adapts to the army's everyday life. The training units have one more function - here the commanders are looking at the soldier, determine his “commander’s potential” and the prospects for further service.
The salary of servicemen under the contract consists, as a rule, of two parts: the salary according to the position held and the salary according to the military rank. Additionally, the following factors influence the increase in the salary of a serviceman:
- Length of service
- Work with secret information and information representing state and military secrets
- Qualification of a soldier
- Service in special conditions (for example, in cold or hot climates)
- Successes in service
- Conditions of service related to the risk to the life and health of a soldier
- Knowledge of foreign languages, high level of physical fitness.
In addition to the salary and allowances, the soldier under the contract has a whole range of various benefits:
- Provision of official housing. Otherwise, there are special military mortgage programs designed to help the contract soldier to purchase an apartment. The third option is to pay a monthly rental allowance.
- Free medical services in military hospitals and hospitals
- Provision of military uniform and food. For example, a contract serviceman may eat in the canteen of a military unit.
- Retirement pension of 20 years
- Special benefits and advantages for admission to special educational institutions for contract servicemen
- Free travel by public transport
- Life and health insurance of a soldier. So, if a contractor during the service was injured, not allowing him to continue military service and making him disabled, he is entitled to a one-time payment of 2 million rubles. In the event of the death of a serviceman under a contract, his family is entitled to a payment of 3 million rubles.
Contract military service in hot spots is only possible if the military personnel expresses a corresponding desire, as well as under certain conditions (for example, excellent health, the presence of a demanded military specialty, etc.)
A separate topic is contract service for girls. In fact, the selection and recruitment procedure for volunteers from the fair sex is no different from that for men. The conventional wisdom that women in the army are required only as nurses, accountants, and economists is hopelessly outdated. So, today there is an extensive spectrum of military specialties that can be occupied by women. You can see their list on the website of the Ministry of Defense.
Merits and demerits of contractual service
Military service under the contract has many positive sides. For guys who live in small towns and villages, the army is a kind of "breaking out into people", getting a prestigious and well-paid job. This also applies to those who purposefully plan to link their lives with military service.
Another positive aspect of the contract service is that, by its very nature, it is no different from ordinary work. The serviceman goes to the service in the morning and returns home in the evening (or may spend the night in the barracks), which does not restrict his freedom as much as he did on an emergency service. It is also worth remembering that the contract soldier is provided with an impressive social package and benefits.
The undoubted advantage of the contract service is that the army is recruited by professionals, and somewhat reduced numerically, does not lose its combat capability. On the other hand, the cost of such an army is increasing, since now a number of chores (for example, dining orders) in most cases are performed not by military personnel, but by civilian personnel.
The most important and most obvious disadvantages of military service under the contract (as well as by call) is the need to sometimes risk your life and health. It is for this contract that pay very good money, provide benefits and other "amenities", which is why the soldier takes the oath of allegiance to the motherland.
Military service implies some restriction of the freedom of a person and his personal space. The need to follow orders and instructions of the authorities, life according to the regulations or the unwritten rules of a military unit, combat alarms and field exits can all cause some inconvenience. However, there is a universal answer for such difficulties - the person knew where he was going.
According to statistics, approximately every fifth contract for military service is terminated in the first months. This is mainly due to the fact that a person is simply not morally or physically ready for the tests of military service. In fairness it should be noted that not all contracts are terminated at the initiative of citizens. If a soldier is clearly not suitable for service in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation or permits disciplinary or any other violations, he is dismissed forcibly.
Conclusion
Contract military service has great prospects for the Russian Army. In view of the rapid process of abandoning conscription armies around the world, which began as early as the 1970s, this idea seems more relevant today than ever.
It is no secret that the Soviet Army, being one of the most powerful and numerous in the world, spent considerable time on work not related to combat training: harvesting on collective farms, the so-called "left" operations - using the labor of soldiers in the interests of the commander or part officers . On the one hand, this state of affairs made it easier for the state to maintain a huge army and ensure a large number of workers in the agricultural sector. On the other hand, the army systematically “distracted” from its main task, combat training.
Today, the Armed Forces are engaged exclusively in combat training, as a result of which the power of the Russian army has increased many times, despite a serious reduction in the number of personnel.
The professional army in Russia has a solid budget base. As a near future, it should be noted that already in 2018, an increase in the number of contract servicemen is planned, as well as an increase in their wages.
