Special service

Romantic places await alternatives

Vladimir Putin yesterday somewhat expanded the right of citizens to a deferment from the army. The new presidential decree amended Boris Yeltsin’s 1993 decree “On granting a deferment from conscription for military service to the most talented representatives of Russian art.” Previously, the state could recognize no more than 600 people a year as talented, but now - two hundred more. In addition, an additional hundred people a year will receive deferments when leaving school or technical school for government organizations - the Russian Aviation and Space Agency and the Shipbuilding Agency.

Many critics of the law on alternative civil service, recently signed by the president, believe that these decrees - as well as the annex to the law on military service with a list of “reserved” institutions - are a consequence of imperfect documents. Young people of military age who work in the interests of the state are precisely those who undergo alternative service: they should be counted for this work, and not given a deferment.

Critics of the law again spoke about this and other shortcomings of the AGS law yesterday, outraged by the fact that the president signed the “general’s” version without taking into account public protests. The authors of more liberal projects believe that no one will want to serve under the new law. True, the right believes that softening amendments are possible, for which they promise to fight.

Minister of Labor and Social Development Alexander Pochinok is much more optimistic. Next year he expects 10-12 thousand applications for ACS from conscripts. The Ministry of Labor promises to provide a wide choice of jobs to those who wish. An approximate list of specialties, according to Mr. Pochinok, already exists: first of all, these are labor and social protection institutions. The list also includes polar stations of Roshydromet, fire stations, taiga forest districts, fisheries inspection departments and other romantic, but unattractive vacancies for most citizens. The minister assured that the base will also have high-level places where citizens with higher education will be able to work in their specialty. Perhaps the final list of the Ministry of Labor will remove some of the contradictions of the law on the ACS, the law on conscription and military service, and presidential decrees on deferments. If only the military agrees with him.

Ivan SUKHOV