TIME
ARCHIVE
SEARCH
MONEY
DJ RusIndex
| 3,598.39
| +0.16%
|
S&P;/RUX Index
| 400.42
| -0.43%
|
RUR/USD
| 27.01
| +0.48%
|
RUR/EURO
| 34.14
| -0.58%
|
Oil Brent
| 67.82
| +0.03%
|
Oil Urals
| 63.92
| +0.61%
|
Nickel
| 19645.00
| -5.30%
|
Gold
| 599.89
| -1.36%
|
Platinum
| 1164.50
| -2.49%
|
Palladium
| 305.50
| -1.77%
|
WEATHER
|
|
Photo from www.grani.ru
Hundreds Protest in Moscow Against Existing Military Service System
Created: 01.04.2006 17:50 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 14:35 MSK
MosNews
Hundreds protested in central Moscow on Saturday, calling for an end to mandatory military service and criticizing plans to cut draft deferments as the Russian armed forced began their spring conscription campaign, AP reported.
The demonstration, part of a nationwide campaign led by opposition politicians and anti-draft activists, drew about people to Pushkin Square. Many chanted slogans or held posters saying ’’the Army is Slavery’’ or ’’Draft: No,’’ and some called for resignation of Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov and President Vladimir Putin.
The protest came as the government prepares to scrap a series of deferments — a move Ivanov says is necessary to fulfill plans to reduce the term of mandatory service from two years to one — and amid public dismay over a horrific case that highlighted the persistent problem of abuse in the military.
The protest was timed to coincide with the start of the spring draft, in which the Itar-Tass news agency said the military plans to conscript nearly 125,000 young men into its ranks — 9.7 percent of those ranging in age from 18 to 27.
All Russian men in that age group are theoretically required to serve in the 1.2 million-member military, but fewer than 10 percent are normally drafted, while many dodge service by signing up for college, being excused for health reasons — often falsified — or simply paying bribes.
Late last month, Ivanov said several categories of draft deferments would have to be scrapped in order to carry out plans to reduce the mandatory term of service from two years to 1 1/2 years in 2007 and one year in 2008. The fate of the current three-year conscription term for the navy is unclear.
Some Kremlin critics want mandatory service to be eliminated altogether, citing poor conditions in the underfunded military and rampant bullying of young conscripts by older soldiers — a problem underscored by abuse of an 18-year-old private over the New Year that resulted in the amputation of his legs and genitals.
SEE ALSO
02.06.2006 11:55 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
01.06.2006 09:31 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
18.05.2006 16:04 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
09.05.2006 15:50 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
28.04.2006 12:37 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
22.04.2006 11:06 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
21.03.2006 18:04 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
15.03.2006 10:55 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
26.02.2006 10:15 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
23.02.2006 17:44 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
15.02.2006 18:00 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
13.02.2006 19:21 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
06.02.2006 22:23 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
06.02.2006 14:45 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
02.02.2006 16:32 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
01.02.2006 14:23 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
30.01.2006 16:18 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
30.01.2006 09:22 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
27.01.2006 18:18 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
27.01.2006 17:36 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
25.01.2006 14:03 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
18.01.2006 11:38 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
08.01.2006 16:56 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
15.12.2005 14:11 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
15.12.2005 11:53 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
13.12.2005 15:43 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
02.12.2005 11:46 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
01.12.2005 12:34 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
24.11.2005 16:13 MSK, MOSNEWS.COM
|
|
MONEY
MosNews
Russian Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev proposed on Tuesday, June 13, to further tighten restrictions on foreign oil companies and to increase the number of oil and gas fields that the government defines as strategic. Trutnev was speaking at the 10th economic forum in St. Petersburg.
FEATURE
LISA VRONSKAYA
MosNews
Host Germany and Costa Rica got the soccer World Cup underway with a match in Munich on June 9. The World Cup is seen by millions of fans as the biggest soccer event on the planet. It feels sad to see Russia not participating in the tournament.
INTERVIEW
MosNews
Ukraine’s Andriy Shevchenko is one of more than 100 football greats serving as a FIFA charity ambassador. In an interview to SOS-Kinderhof International Shevchenko explains his decision to take part in the Children’s Villages project, speaks about the situation in his home Ukraine and the chances Ukraine and Germany have at the World Cup.
COLUMN
MosNews
Russian President Vladimir Putin used his annual state-of-the-nation address Wednesday, May 11, to warn that Russia’s population of 143 million was falling by an average of 700,000 each year. He has pledged cash bonuses to Russian women who give birth to two or more children. His speech also focused on the problems of the Russian Armed Forces.
COMMENTARY
GIDI WEITZ AND AMIR BEN-DAVID
Yediot Ahronot
Israel and Russia have started negotiations on contracts for the supply of natural gas and the construction of a pipeline to carry it. Who will profit from the billion-dollar deal? Gidi Weitz and Amir Ben-David at Yediot Ahronot, the Seven Days weekend magazine, search for a key to the puzzle.
IMAGES
On June 11, Day of Russia, some 600 people gathered in Moscow centre for a rally entitled “Free country for free people”.
The protesters, mostly young people, rallied against nationalism, mass media censorship, political arrests, army hazing and the so-called “Operation Successor” that kicked off ahead of nearing presidential elections.
|