The Constitution of Russia will protect CIS citizens, who serve in the Russian army, Chief of the organizational conscription board of the general staff of the Armed Forces of Russia, colonel general Vasily Smirnov told Krasnaya Zvezda Russian newspaper. In his words, "CIS citizens serve to get Russian citizenship, their service in the military units is based on common grounds and they get the same salary, as Russian citizens. Thus, it will hardly be possible to speak of instituting criminal proceedings against them in compliance with laws of those states from where they have arrived. In the general's words, it does not seem possible, as the servicemen are protected by the Russian Constitution and cannot be conveyed to another state for actions, which are not considered criminal in Russia."