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Russians are signing up to serve in the country's armed forces on their own initiative, Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated.
A military service contract is the formal legal agreement a citizen enters with the state to perform military service for a defined period. Putin described the process as voluntary.
What voluntary means here In military recruitment, the word "voluntary" carries a specific legal and civic meaning.
It marks the difference between a contract system, where a citizen chooses to approach the military and agree to terms, and conscription, where the state issues legally binding orders requiring service.
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