My take on conscription in Russia

Vladimir Putin has remained non-committal on removing conscription, while his opponent Mikhail Prokhorov has gone to the extent of promising an end to compulsory military enrolment by 2015. This is obviously not an issue that has the power to win or lose an election, but each year, many young Russian men between the age of 18 and 27 dread the thought of serving in the armed forces and look for innovative ways to avoid the military.

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