The image of Cold War 2.0 - Young Russian conscripts queue in snow to fight for Putin
RUSSIA'S latest army conscripts stand patiently in long queues as a Siberian snow drift blows in, in these new pictures showing how Cold War tensions continue to heat up between Moscow and the West.
A conscript seen during a send off ceremony at a military recruiting office
The young recruits are joining Vladimir Putin's expanding armed forces as relations between Russia, Europe and the US have deteriorated to their worst point since the collapse of communism.
Men aged 18-27 are obliged to to spend at least one year in national service in Russia and many will be deployed along Russia's border with Europe amid an unprecedented military build up in the region.
Pictures show men signing up in Omsk, a city in southwestern Siberia which lies close to the border with Kazakstan.
Each conscript is subjected to rigorous medical and fitness tests, including dental check-ups and optician inspections, as well as receiving the customary 'buzzcut' and green army uniforms.
They are allowed a few minutes to say goodbye to their loved ones before they embark on a 12-month placement with the Russian military that could see them deployed in combat zones from the Middle East to the Arctic.
The mandatory term of conscription was reduced from two years at the beginning of 2008 but many recruits are encouraged to sign up for the army full-time and will become life-long service members.
President Putin has slowly increased spending on his military, up from 2.71 per cent of GDP in 2011 to 3.49 per cent in 2014.
Russian boys are registered for the draft at 17 years of age and must undergo one year of service, although conscripts can only be sent to combat zones after six months of training.
Boys can also enrol in military schools from the age of 16.
A conscript undergoing a medical examination
New recruits enjoy their first military meal
Each conscript is subjected to rigorous medical and fitness tests
However, Russia's chief of the general staff mobilisation directorate announced in March 2015 that for health reasons, only around three-quarters of draftees called up during the spring 2015 draft campaign were fit for military service.
Fresh tensions between Moscow and the West over wars in Syria and Ukraine have sparked a renewed interest in Russia's military capabilities.
Britain said on Wednesday it would send fighter jets to Romania next year and the United States promised troops, tanks and artillery to Poland in NATO's biggest military build-up on Russia's borders since the Cold War.
Men aged 18-27 are obliged to to spend at least one year in national service in Russia
Conscripts smoke during a send off ceremony
One of the new recruits collecting his uniform
Putin's secret Russian spy weapon spotted in action in Syria
Germany, Canada and other NATO allies also pledged forces at a defence ministers meeting in Brussels on the same day that two Russian warships armed with cruise missiles entered the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Denmark.
Russia has also deployed an eight-ship carrier battle group - including Russia's sole aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov - that is expected to join around 10 other Russian vessels already off the Syrian coast.
In August, Express.co.uk reported that Germany's Angela Merkel was considering reintroducing consecution to the armed forces there.
A paper on civil defence says drafting in civilians to boost the armed forces would be necessary in times of national crisis, including an incursion by an enemy state on NATO territory.