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http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20110527/164267834.html
The Russian Orthodox Church has given the country's Airborne Troops a mobile chapel to accompany them on military drills and combat missions, a paratrooper spokesman said on Friday.

The church is part of a wider project to restore full-scale military priesthood, which existed in Russia from the 18th century to the start of the Soviet era.

"Russian paratroopers received their first mobile church in May, financed by the Russian Orthodox Church," the spokesman said.

The chapel is built on the frame of a truck trailer and is equipped with a life-support module, an electric generator and multimedia equipment.

It is serviced on the field by a priest and a five-man support team.

The chapel will be tested during forthcoming airborne exercises.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said in 2010 that Orthodox Church military chaplains will soon appear in the Russian army.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, two thirds of the country's servicemen consider themselves religious. Some 83 percent of them are Orthodox Christians, about 8 percent are Muslims, and 9 percent represent other confessions.

MOSCOW, May 27 (RIA Novosti)

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Originally Posted by bergschlawiner
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, two thirds of the country's servicemen consider themselves religious. Some 83 percent of them are Orthodox Christians, about 8 percent are Muslims, and 9 percent represent other confessions.

It wouldn't surprise me to learn that the practice of religion was higher among the military than the general population, considering those in the military are traditionally more conservative and nationalistic.

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It wouldn't surprise me to learn that the practice of religion was higher among the military than the general population, considering those in the military are traditionally more conservative and nationalistic.

The Russian military is conscripted, not volunteer. So, the Russian military rank and file are pretty much a cross section of the lower half of Russian society (the upper half managing to get themselves excused or deferred). Russian military life is particularly brutal, with senior conscripts ruthlessly hazing new recruits. Alcoholism is rife, and suicide is very common. If Russian conscripts are religious, it is not because of their innate conservatism--they did not volunteer to be soldiers--but because religion is one way of dealing with the misery of military service.

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Originally Posted by StuartK
[quote].The Russian military is conscripted, not volunteer.

Not 100% true any more, the Russian Army is becoming an all-volunteer Army and is undergoing many changes to make soldiers more professional. They anticipate doing away with conscription in time.

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Is becoming. The process has been extremely slow and has met with many obstacles, including low pay, endemic corruption, and the lack of a professional corps of non-commissioned officers. This makes it difficult to attract high-quality volunteer recruits. I have written about this subject several times, including this article [weeklystandard.com] from 2007. Nothing much has changed since then, except that the situation has gotten worse, according to my friend and colleague Reuben F. Johnson [weeklystandard.com].

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A recently published WikiLeaks cable signed by U.S. ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder revealed that NATO officers who observed the two major 2009 Russian military exercises came back less than impressed. According to the cable (and as many former Russian military personnel and other specialists have attested), the exercises “demonstrated that Russia has limited capability for joint operations with air forces, continues to rely on aging and obsolete equipment, lacks all-weather capability and strategic transportation means, .  .  . has an officer corps lacking flexibility, and has a manpower shortage.”

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Stuart is right, I think. See for example this recent article in the Wall Street Journal:

"Russia's Faded Army Fights Losing Battle to Reform Itself" [online.wsj.com] (April 20, 2011)


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