#3 - JRL 7139 Russian army more than halved since 1992 - Defense Ministry MOSCOW. April 9 (Interfax) - In the past eleven years, the general number of Russian armed forces has been reduced by more than 50%. "At the moment, the Russian army numbers 1.162 million people. In 1992, this index was 2.88 million people. In other words, during the process of optimizing the personnel structure, the army has been more than halved," Lt. Gen. Vasily Smirnov, a senior official from the Russian General Staff, said live on Echo Moskvy radio on Wednesday. Over half of the Russian army is made up of drafted soldiers and sergeants, he said.