Photo: Kirill Iskoldsky
In connection with the partial mobilization introduced in Russia, it is necessary to revise the list of diseases that are grounds for deferral from conscription. Such a proposal was made by Senator of the Russian Federation, representative of the Republic of Crimea Olga Kovitidi.
“It is necessary to update the criteria of fitness for military service, to exclude diseases in which a conscript is recognized unfit for service,” the senator said. At the moment, as Kovitidi says, there is a whole list of diseases in the legislation that give the right to a “white ticket”. In particular, these are flat feet, severe scoliosis, ophthalmological and other diagnoses.
According to the senator, “a number of diseases may well be recognized as not hindering the draft.” This will increase the mobilization reserve, the number of young people fit for military service, Kovitidi stressed. And this, according to her, is necessary for Russia along with a volunteer professional army.
As the senator noted, approaches to the training of junior officers also need to be “updated”. Recall that the criteria for determining the fitness for military service on conscription and the practice of their application have varied over the past decades. The largest percentage of young men of military age got into the army in Soviet times,specifically, in the mid-1980s. Then, against the background of the war in Afghanistan, even university students served in the army as enlisted men for several years (they were called up after the 1st or 2nd courses, there were no delays in studying at a higher educational institution). This initiative was canceled shortly after its introduction, in 1988.