Letters to Oryentir confirm that not all of the social guarantees enshrined in the laws can be implemented in practice.

If you read at least a cursory glance at the Federal Law of the Russian Federation "On the Status of Military Personnel," you can immediately conclude that there is simply nothing for a military man in Russia to worry about other than exemplary performance of his military duty. All of his non-military-related problems are taken care of by the caring executive branch, based on the provisions of relevant legal acts. And why should a serviceman worry about housing when he is guaranteed housing by a Federal law (of direct effect) within three months, and in addition to his salary, he receives a variety of allowances and compensations, as well as a full wardrobe of military uniforms, a monthly ration of food, free travel on all modes of transportation, long vacations, and the opportunity to improve his already robust health, not only for himself but also for his well-off family members...

All. Don't tear the magazine into small pieces - I won't continue, as I'm also afraid of upsetting my own family members.

So, let's leave the irony behind and turn to the "Orientir" mail.

Most often, we are contacted by people who are concerned about the most pressing issues of life support: housing, salaries, food, and clothing. They write about what people lack and what they cannot live without. We also receive letters about the unlawful actions of representatives of military administration bodies and local government authorities. These topics are raised by military personnel and their families, who are hoping for the best, namely, for a more or less complete realization of their rights, benefits, and social guarantees.

As you can see from our publications in the "Social Protection" section (in particular, under the "Your Lawyer" heading), the editorial board of "Orientir" pays close attention to the entire range of issues that concern our subscribers, as we are also deeply concerned about the same matters. However, I would like to focus on some technical aspects of our work. For example, many readers who send letters to the editorial office, asking questions about housing or pension provision, immediately start calling all the editorial offices in an effort to receive a response as soon as possible. Meanwhile, we usually receive dozens of messages with a wide range of questions in just one day. The magazine is published once a month, and unfortunately, we do not have full-time legal consultants. So, draw your own conclusions...

So, the work with letters is structured as follows. The most typical questions are selected from the issues on one common problem, and our lawyer friends prepare the answers, which are then published under the heading "Your Lawyer". Another direction is the preparation of summarizing materials, in particular interviews with competent officials, devoted to the most acute social and legal problems and ways of their solution. In any case, none of the issues raised in the messages of our subscribers is left without attention and response. In addition, we publish addresses and phone numbers where military personnel and their families can receive legal advice.

By the way, when reviewing our mail, we also try to help readers solve their business and everyday problems. Thus, the publication of an article by our non-staff legal adviser Oleg Tsukanov entitled "Benefits for undeclared war soldiers" (Orientir No. 6 for 1999) aroused wide reader interest. Along with gratitude to the author, a question is addressed. In general, the question can be formulated as follows: do participants in the armed conflict in Chechnya have the right to join their basic leave with an additional 15-day leave as combatants? We have received a large number of such questions from units of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. At the request of our readers, Oleg Valerievich Tsukanov once again comments on the situation:

- Paragraph four of Article 5 cm. 11 of the Federal Law "On the Status of Military Personnel" dated May 27, 1998, No. 76-FZ, on extending the basic leave by 15 days for participants in military operations, states: "This extension of the basic leave also applies to military personnel who are veterans of military operations in other countries...

In accordance with the provisions of Federal Law No. 75-FZ of May 16, 1995, benefits, guarantees, and compensations for participants in military operations in foreign countries are actually extended to military personnel who served in the Chechen Republic. In accordance with Article 1 of this Law, the Law of the Russian Federation "On Additional Guarantees and Compensation for Military Personnel Serving in the Territories of the States of Transcaucasia, the Baltic States, and the Republic of Tajikistan, as well as for Military Personnel Performing Tasks in Emergency Situations and Armed Conflicts" of 1993 applies to military personnel, as well as to enlisted and officer personnel, cadets, and students of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, who are performing or have performed tasks in the context of the armed conflict in the Chechen Republic.

At the same time, this Law instructed the Government of the Russian Federation to determine the zone of armed conflict in the Chechen Republic, the time that military personnel, as well as enlisted and officer personnel, cadets, and students of educational institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, perform tasks in this zone, and the procedure for providing them with additional guarantees and compensations.

In accordance with the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 1210 dated December 11, 1995, which was issued in fulfillment of this requirement, the entire territory of the Chechen Republic is included in the area covered by the Law of the Russian Federation "On Additional Guarantees and Compensation for Military Personnel Serving in the Territories of the Caucasus, Baltic States, and the Republic of Tajikistan, as well as for Those Performing Tasks in Emergency Situations and Armed Conflicts."

Thus, it is not particularly difficult to establish the fact of military service in the territory classified as the territory of an armed conflict in the Chechen Republic, i.e., the territory where military service within its borders entitles one to receive benefits, guarantees, and compensations provided for by the aforementioned federal laws and regulations.

But it is at this point that the fundamental question of Chechnya's status within Russia arises. This is not a political issue; it is a matter of legal interpretation.

Despite the fact that since the early 1990s, after the establishment of a criminal political regime in Chechnya, this administrative-territorial entity has effectively fallen outside of Russia's jurisdiction, which led to the restoration of constitutional order and the outbreak of hostilities, the definition given to the events in Chechnya (namely, "an armed conflict of a non-international nature") unfairly narrows the range of benefits, guarantees, and compensations provided to military personnel who have served in combat zones in other countries.

The absence in the legislation of the Russian Federation of a definition of participants in the armed conflict on the territory of Chechnya as participants in military operations on the territories of other states does not provide for their direct right to acquire such a benefit as a 15-day additional leave (this right was directly provided for military personnel only during their service on the territory of Chechnya). However, the events of recent months, the resumption of the conflict on the territory of the North Caucasus, and the draft decisions on the status of Chechnya indicate the relevance of this issue, which is extremely important for the participants of the "Chechen Undeclared War".quot; since today, military personnel who took part in combat operations on the territory of Chechnya can only be referred to as such in quotation marks, and they are not eligible for the title of "veteran of combat operations on the territories of other (foreign) countries".

Another unresolved issue that readers often ask us about is the right of military personnel and their family members to travel free of charge to their vacation destinations and, of course, back. This issue is raised by those who spend their vacations with their parents, who live in the former Soviet republics. This is a sensitive topic for many people. According to the mail, many Russian Armed Forces personnel have family ties in Ukraine. They are only paid for travel to the Mikhailovsky railway border checkpoint, and they must pay for their own travel to the final destination. By the way, Ukrainian military personnel can only travel on vacation within the territory of this fraternal state. However, on February 14, 1992, the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States adopted the Agreement "On Social and Legal Guarantees for Military Personnel, Persons Retired from Military Service, and Their Families," which stipulates in Article 1 that these individuals shall retain the rights and benefits established by laws and other regulations of the former USSR. It is also noted that restrictions on these rights and benefits are not allowed. Thus, military personnel and their family members have the right to free travel to and from their main (vacation) leave (once a year) by rail, air, water, and automobile (excluding taxis). This right is enshrined in Article 20 of the Federal Law of the Russian Federation "On the Status of Military Personnel" dated May 27, 1998, No. 76-FZ.

Our freelance legal adviser, retired Colonel of Justice Grigory Petrovich LESHKEVICH, commented on the situation:

- Indeed, as follows from the Agreement between the CIS Member States dated February 14, 1992, military personnel, retired military personnel residing in the CIS Member States, and their family members retain the rights and benefits established by the former USSR's legal acts, and restrictions on these rights are not allowed. On the contrary, the CIS Member States have the right to take measures to enhance the social protection of these categories of their citizens. However, unfortunately, it is challenging to practically implement the same right to free travel to a vacation destination outside the Russian Federation.

This issue was addressed by the Economic Court of the CIS at the request of the Council of Ministers of Defense of the Commonwealth of Independent States. In its decision, the Court confirmed that "for individuals who were in military service on the date of the Agreement's signing, February 14, 1992, as well as for their family members, the laws of the former Soviet Union continue to apply regarding the reimbursement of travel expenses to their vacation destinations within the territory of the former Soviet Union. The same rules shall apply in cases where the national legislation of a Commonwealth member state does not provide for the procedure for compensating the travel expenses of the specified category of military personnel and their family members on leave in the territory of the former USSR.

However, despite the existence of an international agreement supported by a decision of the Economic Court of the CIS and the provisions of the Federal Law (which is directly applicable), this right remains only on paper. Currently, the only real way to exercise this right is through legal proceedings.

It can be added that there is no guarantee that, for example, the garrison military court will decide to reimburse the transport costs of a serviceman on vacation. Similar decisions were made, as described in the article " Payback... for travel", published more than two years ago ("Landmark" No. 6 for 1997), but in our country there is no case law, and therefore decisions of different courts of the same instance concerning similar issues may turn out to be completely different from each other.

However, it cannot be said that no one other than the military personnel who are personally interested in resolving this issue is thinking about it. The Central Department of Military Communications of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, to which we also addressed the question of our readers, explained that they had prepared proposals for financing the travel of military personnel to their vacation destinations outside the Russian Federation. These proposals were sent to various agencies that have some influence on the decision. Unfortunately, there have been no positive responses so far...

So, we can conclude that the economic situation in the country does not allow us to fully realize the numerous rights, benefits and social guarantees provided by the legislator to military personnel, persons dismissed from military service, and members of their families. This is the reality. And so we will proceed from what we have. In the meantime, there is a "Landmark" with "Social Protection" and "Your lawyer". So subscribe and ... write letters.