#5 - RW 287
ARMY REFORM WILL BOOST MORALE

MOSCOW, December 18, 2003 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin believes that the advent of a great number of contract servicemen will raise the morale of the Russian army.

Thirteen-year-old Sasha Vasilyok from the Oryol region, who will have to serve in the army in a few years, asked the president during the televised call-in show on Thursday what he thought about dedovshchina, or the cruel treatment of young conscripts in the Russian army.

"Sasha, this worries me greatly. It would be wrong to turn a blind eye on such problems. They are part of our life," said the president.

"I very much hope that the update of the army through contract servicemen - sergeants and privates will account for 50% of servicemen by late 2007 - will improve the morale," said President Putin.

This will allow to reduce draft service down to a year. "For the first 6 months conscripts will undergo training, while they will spend the other 6 months in military units where they will be able to decide whether they want to carry on service as contract servicemen or not," recalled the president.