Moscow, June 25, 1997

Activists of the Anti-militarist Radical Association (ARA) have organized today in the Moscow's downtown on Nikolskaja street near the GUM's entrance, the Street Referendum. The by-passers have been proposed to answer anonymously three questions concerning the military reform by means of putting bulletins into a voting box. ARA's activists didn't vote.

Totally 226 persons have taken part in the Street Referendum which lasted from 12.00 till 20.00. The responses to all the three questions distributed by following way.

1. Are you for adopting an amendment to the Federal Law "On Conscription and Military Service" which would provide reducing duration of military service to 12 months and for persons with high education - to 6 months?

Yes 178 78,8%

No 44 19,5%

Invalid 4 1,8%

2. Are you for adopting a federal law on alternative civilian service which would - according the Russian Federation Constitution - provide possibility to perform alternative civilian service in social sphere instead of military service during the time period equal to the duration of military service for those citizens whose religious, moral, ethical, philosophical, political or other convictions are not compatible with military service?

Yes 193 85,4%

No 30 13,3%

Invalid 3 1,3%

3. Are you for complete transition by the 2000 to the voluntary (professional) principle of armed forces recruitment under condition that number of such armed forces would be reduced within limits allowing defence expenditures not to exceed 3% of country's GNP?

Yes 194 85,8%

No 30 13,3%

Invalid 2 0,9%

In relation to results of the Street Referendum, Nikolaj Khramov, secretary of ARA, made following declaration:

``Of course, it is not matter of sociological poll conducted according scientific rules. Nevertheless, this action permits to judge of opinion of so called "man on the street". The overwhelming majority of polled citizens expressed in favour of professionalization and radical reducing of the armed forces. In principle it corresponds to the results of VCIOM poll conducted in May this year, when 55% of respondents spoke out in favour of abolition of conscription and transition to the professional army.

It is also important that practically the same amount of people taken part in our poll consider as necessity to reduce up to two times duration of military service yet before the full abolition of conscription, making it corresponding to the terms existing in democratic and civilized countries. They also consider necessary to introduce alternative civilian service which would not represent a punishment for conscientious objection but social work for the same time period as military service.

But the most important result of the Street Referendum is that voters - by an informal way for this time, near an improvised voting box on the street and not yet on the polling station - have visually demonstrated: their approach to the questions of military reform and civil rights is opposite to that one which dominates in Okhotny Ryad and which in particular has been expressed on Monday by adopting in second lecture a new militarist and anti-reformist draft law on conscription and military service. I am convinced: before or later Russian voters would be able to answer the today's questions by completely formal way, according the Federal Constitutional Law on Referendum, and not by way of street poll.''