As the present draft brings more and more young men into the Russian Armed Forces, questions often arise regarding the religious life of the conscripts. With this regard, a member of the State Legislative Assembly from the United Russia party Mr. Sergei Kolunov has offered clarifications:

“Many of the volunteers and conscripts going belong to various religious confessions. They must certainly have an opportunity to pray and read holy books. Christians take, for example, a cross with an icon, a prayer book, and a Bible with them . . . and this is the right thing to do”.

He also noted the necessity of the free access of the servicemen to the clergy at the front line, referring to those clergymen who "in the time of the WWII prayed under the bullets and fearlessly went into battle, saving people physically and spiritually, just as it should be the case even now”.

Sacred texts of the traditional religions contain substantial encouragement to defending the homeland.

“Reading the Holy Scripture and prayer like nothing else promotes courage and unity among servicemen. Remembrance of God and entreating Him helps to relieve psycho-emotional stress in the most difficult situations”, - concluded the lawmaker.