Long gone are the days of the countless legions of the Soviet "Red Army". With Moscow's international debt repayments peaking at $19 billion in 2003, next year is being eyed by Kremlin reformers as a golden opportunity to cut troop numbers. Boris Nemtsov, parliamentary leader of the Union of Right-Wing Forces (SPS) had a private meeting with President Putin on the 19th, during which they discussed the SPS plan to create a volunteer regular army and improve pay by slashing Russia's armed forces over five years. The new force would muster 400,000 (down from 1.2 million members today) and be supported by a 160,000-strong reserve of conscripts serving only six months. - Adam Geibel