That number — 766,055 — is how many officers and soldiers Russia’s Audit Chamber says were paid to serve in the armed forces on 1 January 2013, according to RIA Novosti.
This confirms what’s been said by various military commentators over the past year or so. Several said about 750,000 or below 800,000.
The Audit Chamber is a quasi-independent and pretty reliable source, something akin to America’s GAO.
Walk this back . . . take 766,055 and subtract 220,000 officers, 186,000 contractees reported at the beginning of 2013, spring 2013 and fall 2012 draft contingents of 153,200 and 140,140, and you are left with 66,715.
That leftover number roughly corresponds to cadets in VVUZy.
Undermanning — below the statutory authorization of one million — has been confirmed officially.
This is the truest, most accurate manpower baseline we’re likely to see.
Russian Defense Policy 
According to the report there are 10.594 civilians among the 766.055 personel. That means from my point of view approx. 56121 cadets.
Please correct me if i was wrong.
That 10,594 didn’t sound like part of the 766,055. It reads like there are 766,055 servicemen, and 10,594 civilians are serving in military billets. Two separate thoughts in the same sentence. Haven’t counted how many cadets there might be. 50 or 60 thousand is probably too high, so there’s probably some (but not too much) slop in the numbers.
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