Chechen youth will not be drafted into Russian army this yearTimur Aliyev, North Caucasus – There will be no campaign in Chechnya this year to draft Chechen youth into the Russian army because the Chechen Ministry of Finance has suspended funding for the republic's draft boards, said Major General Anatoliy Khryachkov, the chief recruitment officer of the Chechen Republic.
“We have received no funds since August; therefore it is unlikely that there will be a draft this year. The Chechen Finance Ministry has effectively thwarted this year’s campaign,” Khryachkov stated.
“According to a decree by the Russian President that local draft boards' operating costs will be paid by local administrations, it appears that the [Chechen] Ministry of Finance has breached this decree,” he added.
Yet Khryachkov noticed there was a fairly large turnout of young men at the recruitment centers. “There are no objectors, and evidently many men are very eager to serve,” he remarked.
In the event that financing will be favorably resolved, the draft will be administered according to requests made by ministries and [law enforcement] agencies located in Chechnya. “Basically the new enlistees should serve within the republic, either in rifle companies or at military command posts,” he said.
According to military data, there are about 40,000 men of draft age currently registered in the republic.
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· Chechen youths are being called up to the Russian army (PW, 6.10.2001)
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