#8
Moskovsky Komsomolets
June 20, 2002
MILITARY SALARIES
[from WPS Monitoring Agency, www.wps.ru/e_index.html]

What is the core of the Russian Armed Forces today? Strangely enough, it is officers of pre-retirement age and young lieutenants. The former have already devoted all their lives to military service, and now it is too late to change their way of living. All they need from the state is accommodation and the promise of pensions. The latter go into the service straight out of military institutes. As a result of "unnatural selection" during the first year of service, half of them resign; and a further 30% leave during the second year. As a result, the succession of generations is broken; the experience of older officers is not handed down; and several years from now, the Armed Forces could simply die out.

Yet we cannot accuse those who are resigning from the military of being mercenary or unpatriotic.

For example, take the salary of a senior lieutenant: 480 rubles a month for military rank, plus 770 rubles for duties, 250 rubles long service bonus, and a bonus for complexity and intensity of work (70% of the duties salary) - 540 rubles. This totals 2,040 rubles a month. Plus meals allowance of 2,600 rubles. Even a cleaner earns more in Moscow!

To be honest, we did not manage to find out the true amount by which military wages are set to rise (the duties salary will be raised from July 1, and the rank salary will be raised from January 1, 2003). We tried to clarify this by inquiring at the accounts departments of several military units, we asked officers, and even tried the president's official website. Even if we believe the promises of the government (and Vladimir Putin), military salaries will be increased twice by the end of the year, and a senior lieutenant will get 3,900 rubles a month, minus income tax and benefits. As a result, officers will be no better off - maybe even worse.

Around 50,000 officers whose contract terms are expiring are waiting impatiently for July 1, to decide whether they will stay in the military or become civilians.

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