Russia’s annual spring military draft began April 1 and runs through July 15. As is often the case with things that have outlived their purpose, this dinosaur seems to get harder to kill with each passing year.
Russia maintains a “mixed” military, where about half of its ground forces consists of draftees aged 18-27 who serve for one year, while the other half are paid, contract soldiers.
This spring, the state seeks to draft 142,000 young men, down 10,000 from last year’s number, and about half the number it called up at the turn of the century.
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