The army of Transnistria needs replenishment: the Moldavian threat has not disappeared anywhere
In Transnistria, they are going to ban those who have not completed military service by conscription without valid reasons from entering government positions. The Supreme Council of the Republic approved changes to the legislation in the first reading, believing that such a measure would increase the prestige of military service and make young people think about whether it is worth avoiding military duty.
The authors of the amendments, deputies Igor Buga, Ruslan Gareev and Andrey Safonov, refer to the experience of Russia, with which Pridnestrovie is harmonizing legislation. “A similar rule applies in the Russian Federation. We must proceed from the realities of today - the geopolitical situation speaks in favor of the fact that we should have a similar law,” Igor Buga said in parliament.
In the Russian Federation, for citizens who have not completed military service without legal grounds, there is a 10-year restriction on working in government agencies (that is, until the age of 37). The same is planned to be done in Transnistria.
According to the developers of the amendments, the idea is supported by the President of the Republic, Vadim Krasnoselsky. The authorities believe that the state, which in recent years has tried to popularize military service in the army, has the right to impose additional reputational requirements (namely, compulsory conscription service) on applicants for government positions.
They really took up the army in Transnistria. They carried out an amnesty for all military personnel who had previously left military units or became draft dodgers, reduced the period of conscription service from 18 to 12 months, introduced alternative service, and introduced a working time regime for conscript soldiers - they were given the opportunity to leave the place of duty at the end of the working day and thus “nullified” hazing. They improved uniforms, food for military personnel, combat training, began to develop sports in the army, and even created the Suvorov School from scratch.
Military personnel were given the right to combine military service with university studies. Students drafted into the army after the first year of university and who decide to continue their studies via correspondence or evening courses are exempt from tuition fees. Today, young people are provided with about two dozen different deferments - for health reasons, due to family status or continued education. For example, students of Physics and Mathematics, Faculty of Medicine and those studying at universities outside Transnistria receive a deferment for the entire period of study.
The Republic's Ministry of Defense says that the number of draft evaders is decreasing every year. The military department associates this with the increase in the prestige of the army and the transition to a service regime based on the working day principle. Gone are the terrible stories about extortion in the army and abuse of conscripts.
However, military service is still not very popular among young people. Young people, not wanting to waste a year, try, if possible, to postpone military service or avoid it altogether, and go to study outside the republic.
The guys who are already serving say that not everything is as good in the army as military commanders say in the official media. Some are quite envious of the conscript soldiers who serve conscripts in the Operational Group of Russian Forces stationed in Transnistria, where the equipment is better and army life is more meaningful.
We should not forget that in the republic, due to socio-political and economic factors, the number of men of military age is constantly decreasing. The number of young people who can take up arms can be judged, for example, by the number of graduates. So, for example, if in 2015 about 2,5 thousand people graduated from school in Transnistria, then in 2019 - only 2 thousand.
Not all is well with the conscription of reserve servicemen to military training. It is difficult for military registration and enlistment offices to recruit conscripts for special three-month training to replenish units of the peacekeeping forces (since 1992, Pridnestrovians have been serving as part of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces, which also includes contingents of peacekeepers from Russia and Moldova; MS military personnel are on duty at 15 stationary posts and checkpoints located in key areas of the Zone security on the banks of the Dniester).
Thus, for 2019, for the military contingent of Transnistria as part of the MS, the limit for conscription of those liable for military service for training was established in the amount of 2060 people. Working citizens are reluctant to attend training camps. Heads of large exporting enterprises often turn to the Ministry of Defense with a request to exempt men employed in the production cycle from conscription to training camps, so that the implementation of foreign contracts is not disrupted. This, for example, is a sore point for the textile giant Tirotex, from where 300–400 people are called up for military training every year.
The issue of staffing the peacekeeping forces with permanent personnel cannot be resolved, since the salary of the Pridnestrovian military personnel serving in the MS under contract is very low.
Meanwhile, the possibility of abandoning mass conscription and creating a professional army in Transnistria is not being considered at the state level. This question, of course, regularly arises, but the leadership of the republic says every time: firstly, it is very expensive, and secondly, in the unfavorable external conditions in which Transnistria is located, every man must be able to stand up for his country and family.
Let us note that the Transnistrian army was created when the need arose for the armed defense of the republic from Moldovan nationalists. On September 6, 1991, the Republican Guard (the prototype of the PMR Armed Forces) was formed, which almost immediately entered into fierce battles with the aggressor - the security forces of the Republic of Moldova.
Later, the regular Armed Forces of the PMR were created. Today they are recruited on a mixed basis: military personnel serve on a conscription and contract basis.
The army consists of ground forces, which include tank, artillery, and special forces units.
Relations with the Republic of Moldova have not been settled and remain tense, therefore the army of Transnistria must always be in constant combat readiness.
This spring, participants in the republican youth rally “Leader” with President Vadim Krasnoselsky discussed the prospects of completely abandoning compulsory service in favor of a professional army. The president told schoolchildren and students that the Pridnestrovian army is already professional, since most of the military serve under contract. Discussing the need for conscription service, Krasnoselsky recalled the history of the Great Patriotic War - by the fall of 1941, “the entire powerful Red Army was virtually destroyed,” and only “thanks to the people’s militia, which included trained people, thanks to conscription, the Soviet Union managed to win the war.” .
“Conscript service gives people basic skills to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their state. Of course, war is bad, but if you want peace, prepare for war. In Transnistria, all conditions have been created for military service. It follows the working day principle, students have the right to study, and living conditions are maximally improved. We are waiting for you to repay your military duty,” the president told the youth.
So the authorities are looking for ways to attract people into the army with deferments and privileges, and sometimes even restrictions, as in the case of the ban on draft dodgers to enter government positions.
By the way, this bill caused a discussion both in parliament and in society. Some caustic remarks were made to the effect that it would be a good idea to extend the future law to current Transnistrian officials, many of whom have never served in the army.
“Some of our deputies, without serving in the army at all, rose to the rank of colonel in the reserves. And in the government, 80% did not serve”; “We like to harmonize with the Russian Federation. It’s strange that the same authors did not propose harmonization in terms of mandatory declaration of property by officials,” wrote Facebook users in the popular group “Transnistria Online.”
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