Russia’s Interior Ministry has issued a warning to its pudgy police officers: lose weight or get the sack.
The move comes as Russia seeks to cut its bloated police force and improve its image abroad. President Dmitry Medvedev has vowed to cut the police force by a fifth, and increase its professional level.
The officers have even got a new uniform, with a more tailored look. Now they have just a month to pass tests to prove their suitability in the force.
“The fat and paunchy will not get through,” Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev reportedly told a private meeting last week. But his chief spokesman, Oleg Yelnikov, said Nurgaliyev made the comment unofficially and the written rules for testing did not specify weight, only physical targets. – Sapa-AFP