Russia is planning an organized form of alternative service for those conscripts who don't want to serve in the armed forces. Some 400,000 young men are drafted for two years of service each year. But even in peacetime, the Russian armed forces is a dangerous place to be. Civilian veterans and support groups say that there are 3,000 non-combat deaths each year in the 1.2 million man armed forces. And a third of those deaths are suicides.
