Col.-Gen. Vasily Smirnov said that at present there were 195,000 contract servicemen in the Russian military.
More than 30 Land Forces units have already been transferred to a contract basis, the commander-in-chief of the Land Forces said.
"These are primarily permanent-readiness units," Army Gen. Alexei Maslov said.
Earlier this month, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree reducing draft service from two years to one, starting in 2008.
Former Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said in January that a large part of the Russian Armed Forces will still be manned by conscripts in the future, and that only units on constant combat readiness will be fully manned by contract servicemen.
The Defense Ministry said recently that the Armed Forces have been downsized to a current level of 1,134,000 personnel, and that Russia would continue gradual strength reductions to achieve a level of 1,000,000 by 2010.
