Everything a foreigner needs to know to become a soldier in the Russian Armed Forces

Everything a foreigner needs to know to become a soldier in the Russian Armed Forces SCIENCE & TECH SEPT 26 2019 NIKOLAI LITOVKIN

To put it simple: you'll need to be a good and strong person with no legal issues back home.

In 2015, Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing any foreign citizens to join the country’s Armed Forces.

So, If you’re itching to start running with a brand new AK-12 in notorious Ratnik-2 battle gear, here’s what you need to know and what you need to do.

Passport Since 2015, you DON’T need a Russian passport to join Russia’s military - any citizenship will work for you. Age

In order to become a soldier in Russia you have to be at least 18 and not older than 30 years old.

Gender The Russian Armed Forces welcomes both men and women. Yet, no woman will be running on a battlefield with an AK-12 in her hands. Every woman who's willing to become a soldier is welcome, but only for work assigned to military headquarters or as a nurse.

It’s worth mentioning that it doesn't matter what kind of jobs women end up being assigned to, they will also have to pass all sorts of military training - including running, shooting and learning battle tactics. They are, however, basic courses, which every soldier needs to know.

If you wish to become a “badass” with an AK-12, you’ll have to train hard and follow your instructors’ every command. In order to do so, you MUST speak Russian. You'll have to pass a Russian language test to evaluate if it is possible for you to serve in the Russian Armed Forces. They take this issue very seriously, so be aware that you will have to seriously prepare for yourRussian language test.

This is another very important issue for anyone wanting to join the military. The Russian Armed Forces doesn't accept in its ranks former convicts and people involved in criminal or any other jurisdictional investigations.

The bottom line is - only good guys with good relations with their governments are welcomed into Russia’s military. Russian citizenship

If you're willing to become a Russian citizen, joining the military is also an option for you, because after five years of service, you are eligible to get the country's passport.

Your first contract with the Russian Armed Forces is signed for FIVE years. So, for this period of life, you won’t have to worry about a job, money or medical care (yes, every soldier and HIS/HER FAMILY in Russia has health insurance and is taken care of).

Foreigners will serve on positions of privates, corporals, sergeants and sergeant-majors. In all honesty, you won’t become a general or an admiral in Russia.

The minimum wage of a private is around 30,000 rubles ($480). Wages usually depend on the type of your military unit and your region of service. For example, people defending Russia in the North get more than those serving in the Moscow region.

As long as you serve in the Russian Armed Forces, you and your family will be living in a military town located close to your base. You will receive an apartment, if you are bringing a family, or a room, if you’re single.

After three years of service, you’re able to join a 20-year-long military mortgage program. Simply put - as long as you serve in the Russian Armed Forces, the government will pay your mortgage and in time you get yourself your own apartment in Russia.

No. Foreigners can’t join services engaged with information of national importance, intelligence and secret service issues.

Will I be fighting wars for Russia? Yes, you will. There are no exclusions for foreign soldiers in the Russian Armed Forces in a case of war - these people WILL join the ranks. How do I sign up? In order to sign up for the Russian Armed Forces, you have to go to an enlistment office in any Russian city. And if your documents and paperwork are good and you have no legal issues back home, you’ll sign a contract, proceed through a medical exam, pass psychological tests and will then be sent to a military unit best suited for a person with your skills and qualifications.

A Russian Foreign Legion? Wow, is he that desperate for warm bodies?

Are we? I bet the US Army has 10X more foreigners in it that the Russian Army. I bet the vast majority of foreigners in the Russian army are from former Soviet Republics. In many cases that means their fathers may have served in the Red Army, so it's a family tradition, interrupted by changing borders.

Here's the only stat I found so far: "As of February 2008, there were 65,033 foreign-born individuals on active duty in the U.S. military. This number includes both naturalized citizens and noncitizens."

Our rules for foreigners:

United States

United States Armed Forces - Permanent Residence/Green Card. Many have also served in the war zones and have received US citizenship after a period of service.[28]

Citizens of Palau, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands may also join the US armed forces under the Compacts of Free Association, though some officer positions may be restricted.[29]
Canadian-born Native Americans/First Nations may also join the US Armed Forces if they are of at least 50% blood quantum.[30]
The Korean Augmentation To the United States Army (KATUSA) is a branch of the Republic of Korea Army that consists of Korean drafted personnel who are augmented to the Eighth United States Army (EUSA). KATUSA does not form an individual military unit, instead small numbers of KATUSA members are dispatched throughout the most of the Eighth United States Army departments, filling in positions for the United States Army enlisted soldiers and junior non-commissioned officers. KATUSAs are drafted from pool of qualified volunteers who are subjected to mandatory military service for Korean male citizens. While ROK Army holds the responsibility for personnel management of KATUSAs, KATUSA members are equipped with standard United States Army issues, and live and work with the U.S. enlisted soldiers.[31]
Additionally, under the Military Accessions Vital to National Interest (MAVNI) program, skilled foreigners such as translators may be recruited as needed, along with, as of
September 2014 illegal immigrants with clean records and who have graduated high school if they were brought to the United States as children.[32] As of December 2016, MAVNI is under review and closed indefinitely.

I also found this article from the LA TImes from 1992:

Navy to Stop Recruiting Filipino Nationals : Defense: The end of the military base agreement with the Philippines will terminate the nearly century-old program..
The Navy says it will stop recruiting Filipino nationals Dec. 31, ending a unique program that each year afforded about 400 of the brightest young men in the Philippines an opportunity to escape grinding poverty by joining the service.
Recruiting will cease both because the military base agreement with the Philippines is ending and because U.S. armed forces are scaling down, said Navy spokeswoman Lt. Deborah Carson in an interview Wednesday from Washington.
Tens of thousands of Filipinos have served in the Navy since the end of the Spanish-American War, when the Philippines became a U.S. colony. Filipino sailors have fought in every conflict involving the U.S. armed forces since 1900.

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