The modern Russian army has entered another phase of crisis, which was previously only talked about, and now they have begun to observe - into a phase of crisis with conscripts. We came to 2010 with the absent 18-year-old generation, there was no one to "repay" the Motherland and serve for the glory of their country, as the very concept of "defender of the Fatherland" should imply.
But this difficult situation was facilitated by many negative factors for a long time, which began with the decline of the Soviet Union. In the beginning, they spread by rumors and rumors, then they began to write about them in the newspapers, and finally they started talking on television.
The transition to a contract basis was assumed by Yeltsin, he made loud statements, but things were going very slowly, or even postponed altogether. Even in those days, the issue of conscripts was sometimes discussed and how the difficult transition period of the 90s would affect the army. The catastrophic drop in the birth rate and already at that time the unpopularity of the army pushed the leaders to think about reforming, although it did not lead to anything. The resolution of the issue was delayed, and the consequences began to seriously affect only now. In 2010, those who were born in 1993 graduated from school, and the years of severe instability from 1991 to 2000, which means that there will be another seven years of shortage in the army, but it should be admitted that the time is not the best for giving birth to children.
How has the Russian army changed recently? After all, there was an experiment in the direction of a professional army. As it turned out, the contract-based experiment had completely failed; in the allotted time, it was not possible to make the military profession prestigious. This statement was made by Anatoly Serdyukov. According to him, in the near future, servicemen on a contract basis will remain only in technical units.
Why did it happen this way? A small salary for a contractor? Impossibility of arranging everyday life? Drill and stupidity of the authorities? It's hard to say, the results were not reported in open sources.
Corroded by scandals, suicides and murders, hazing, fraternization, slavery, working for generals, and more recently also murders for donor organs - the army will not be able to look like a desirable place for young people. All this is reported on a weekly basis in the media. Without serious reform, Russia will soon be left completely without an army.
The desire to increase the draft age of citizens from 27 to 30 years, and to extend the period of conscription for military service until August 31, will not give the desired result, it is like plugging holes in a sinking ship. Instead of building a new, powerful and modern, the General Staff wants to keep the old boat afloat, which will suddenly not sink if it is filled with "all in a row" conscripts. But even this will not be enough - there is no one to serve. Soon the question of extending the service life will arise, say, up to three years from the current one year.
Maybe the time has come to take an example from France and hire legionnaires, at the time of a new serious reform?
