WALKING THE LINES

ARMY

Sergei IVANOV at a press conference on December 30 at the White House after a closed government meeting that approved the state defense order for 2005: We are world record holders in the number of delays, we have 23-25, I have already forgotten. They're in...

Sergei IVANOV at a press conference on December 30 at the White House after a closed government meeting that approved the state defense order for 2005:

We are the world record holders in terms of the number of delays, we have 23-25 ​​of them, I already forgot. In recent years, especially in the late 90s, they have grown like mushrooms. Now many argue according to Sharikov: I’ll take registration, I won’t go to serve. As a result, nine and a half percent of all those who, according to the law, according to the Constitution, must serve in the army for military service, are actually conscripted. For starters, we put an end to the rise in delays…

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

The first deferments from service for students were introduced with the advent of the first university in Russia - in 1755. Deferrals for study then received noble officers. In 1874, Alexander II introduced deferrals for students, doctors, teachers and students of the Art Academy.

The first in the history of Russia, the abolition of deferrals for students and graduate students occurred in 1939 - under Stalin, as indicated, in order to increase the country's defense capability. After that there was a defeat in the Russian-Finnish war and the defense of Moscow. As a result, the deferment to students and graduate students was returned in 1942 (!). The government's official explanation is that in order to maintain the country's defense capability, it is necessary to constantly increase its intellectual potential.

The second in the history of Russia, the abolition of deferrals for students occurred under Andropov. A former employee of the military registration desk of one of the universities reported on an Internet forum that, according to unofficial statistics, only 10 percent returned to universities, and only 1-2 percent of those who returned completed their studies - including due to the fact that many got from the student's bench to Afghanistan, and then could not adapt to civilian life.

COMMENTS

Nikolay PETROV, pianist:

- I consider this statement an insult to the young creative intelligentsia! Yes, and the old one too: in this case, I feel like an elderly balalaika player with a young minister. The prospect of canceling deferrals is a catastrophic act, the price of which is emigration. Emigration from Ivanov.

For a musician, hiding for ten years means burying his career. Any normal parent with male children negotiates at home how to escape from here. The best will leave: we have lost Vengerov, Kissin and many others - once a year they play concerts in Moscow for crazy money.

Before we talk about a professional army, let's look at civilized countries where service is obligatory even for women, but there, believe me, musicians are provided with all the necessary conditions to both serve and keep their profession. We have everything exactly the opposite.

Through the fault of the leaders of the units, young guys are dying during exercises, they are dying in peacetime under the wheels of tanks, and any manifestation of personality is life-threatening.

Another Jesuit moment: on the one hand, to accept an alternative service, on the other hand, to offer the most “bad-smelling” positions for it: madhouses.

During the Patriotic War, when the Motherland was in danger, the authorities found an opportunity to release talented people from service. Today, there are one and a half to two hundred such students throughout Russia, and if this is an unrequited boy or a person with self-esteem, he becomes the object of harassment by a Pithecanthropus in uniform. And as for the three types of the most pronounced creative musical specializations - piano, violin, cello - in order to ruin them, it is enough to send the marshal to build a dacha a couple of times.

This has been understood for centuries. Today is a shame, gentlemen.

MINISTER FOR CULTURE AND ETC.

- Do you read newspapers?

- From cover to cover - of course not. I look in the car, usually on the way to work, sometimes in the evening when I drive home. I watch the sections that interest me the most: domestic and foreign policy. Economy, culture, I'm sorry, I don't watch anymore.

- Where do you get your information from?

- First of all, from law enforcement agencies and the Foreign Ministry.

By the way, which anthem do you like?

- I definitely have a good attitude towards the music of the Soviet anthem, and the music of Glinka. The whole question is not in the music, but in the words. You can't talk about something that doesn't exist. There are no words either for the former Soviet anthem or for Glinka. And music is a matter of taste... You can also put words on Pink Floyd.

ENGLISH PRESS - ABOUT THE MINISTER:

“In 1974, 21-year-old Russian student Sergei Ivanov arrived in the UK, where he began to study at a college located in west London. Studied English Language and Culture at Ealing Technical College, best known for training hotel staff and other service workers.

College studies prepared Ivanov for a future career that would make him a high-ranking KGB officer. For 16 weeks he enjoyed life on this side of the Iron Curtain, addicted to whiskey and the music of the Beatles.

From the doors of Ealing College came such stars as Freddie Mercury, Pete Townshend and Ronnie Wood."

Judging by public files and biographies, Ivanov himself did not serve in the army. Born on January 31, 1953 in Leningrad. In 1960 he went to school - to a specialized class with in-depth study of the English language. In 1970 he graduated from an educational institution with one “troika” in his certificate - in physics.

Then for 5 years he studied at the translation department of the philological faculty of the Leningrad State University, where the best students were trained to be military translators. The Minister of Defense did not serve in the army. I took the oath in the 4th year during university military training near Leningrad. Graduated from the department of translators of the philological faculty of the Leningrad State University in 1975. In 1976 he became a student of the higher courses of the KGB in Minsk, after which he went to work in the KGB of the USSR. In 1981 he graduated from the 101st school of the First Main Directorate of the KGB of the USSR and went to work in foreign intelligence.

According to newsru.com, versiasovsek.ru, dosye.ru, Sunday Times (Great Britain).