Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu says the country should move towards a contract army, the private Dozhd TV channel reports.
According to the minister, the number of young people conscripted to the military will be decreased by many thousands in 2014, while the number of paid soldiers will be increased.
"We should understand that we have either to move towards a contract type of army, or to conscript young people for at least 5 years. Modern defense technologies are so complicated that it's impossible to teach someone how to use them in a year or two," Minister Shoigu is quoted as saying.
