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Defense Ministry Offers Bulletproof Vest to Russian Army Whistleblowers

Russians will be offered bulletproof vests and protective gear for exposing wrongdoing. D. Grishkin / Vedomosti

The Defense Ministry is offering Russians the chance to win a bulletproof vest and other protective gear by writing a report on wrongdoings in the country's military.

The contest, which will run for a month, aims at "raising the prestige of the military service and improving the defense capability of the country," according to military news site Voennoe.rf, which will accept entrants' submissions.

Entrants can refer to violations of law and regulations, violations of the rights of military servicemen and civilian employees, or other similar cases in the Defense Ministry itself or at the enterprises of the military industrial complex, the report said.

The contest, which opens on Feb. 23 — the Defenders of the Fatherland national holiday — is open to any adult Russian citizen, and those who submit reports "with the most significant information" will win prizes, according to the contest description.

The military news site said its employees would look into the submissions to determine their accuracy and would report to government officials, with contest winners to be announced within two weeks by a panel including Defense Ministry officials and military industry representatives.

Winners of the two top prizes will each receive a Skol bulletproof vest, protective goggles and Kevlar gloves, while runners-up will get just the goggles or the gloves — and they would not even need to revel their identity in order to compete, according to the military news site.

Voennoe.rf said it would protect the confidentiality of contenders who wish to remain anonymous, but that entries involving "military or state secrets" would be disqualified.

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