The army in Russia has long turned into a school of pederasty and sadism. Hazing has killed more than two soldiers since the early nineties Chechen wars, but the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation continues not to see it, and the Russian elite is cultivating the opinion that the bullying of a soldier by his grandfathers makes him a man.
All this is aggravated by national hatred within the army, Caucasian and other fraternities. Partly because of such an army, more than 1 million people (mostly Russians) left Russia forever during Putin's rule. And they took their children with them.
Anton Porechkin. Athlete, member of the Trans-Baikal Territory weightlifting team. He served on Iturup Island (Kuril Islands), military unit 71436. On October 30, 2012, during the 4th month of service, he was beaten to death by drunken grandfathers. 8 blows with a mining shovel, little was left of the head.
Ruslan Aiderkhanov. From Tatarstan. Drafted into the army in 2011, he served in military unit 55062 in the Sverdlovsk region. Three months later he was returned to his parents in a coffin. There were signs of beatings everywhere on the body, an eye was knocked out, limbs were broken. According to the military, Ruslan caused all this to himself when he tried to hang himself on a tree not far from the unit.
Dmitry Bochkarev. From Saratov. On August 13, 2012, he died in the army after days of sadistic abuse by his colleague Ali Rasulov. The latter beat him, forced him to sit for a long time on half-bent legs with his arms extended forward, striking him if his position changed. Also, by the way, Sergeant Sivyakov mocked private Andrei Sychev in Chelyabinsk in 2006. Sychev then had both legs and genitals amputated, but he remained alive. Ali Rasulov went further. Before the army, he studied at a medical school, so he decided to practice on Dmitry as a doctor: he cut him with nail scissors cartilage tissue from the nose, damaged during the beatings, he sewed up tears in the left ear with a household needle and thread.
“I don’t know what came over me. I can say that Dmitry annoyed me because he did not want to obey me,” Rasulov said at the trial. Taking into account the fact that he carried out sadistic experiments on the victim for 1.5 months and tortured her to death, the sentence of the Russian court to Rasulov should be considered ridiculous: 10 years in prison and 150 thousand rubles to the parents of the murdered man. Compensation type.
Alexander Cherepanov. From the village of Vaskino, Tuzhinsky district, Kirov region. Served in military unit 86277 in Mari El. In 2011, he was brutally beaten for refusing to deposit 1000 rubles. to the phone of one of the grandfathers. After which he hanged himself in the back room (according to another version, he was hanged dead in order to imitate suicide). In 2013, in this case he would have been sentenced to 7 years ml. Sergeant Peter Zavyalov. But not for murder, but under the articles “Extortion” and “Excess of Official Power”.
Nikolai Cherepanov, father of a soldier: “We sent this son to the army, but this one was returned to us...” Nina Konovalova, grandmother: “I began to put a cross on him, I saw that he was covered in wounds, bruises, bruises, and my whole head is broken..." Ali Rasulov, cutting out cartilage from Dima Bochkarev's nose, did not know "what came over me." And what came over Pyotr Zavyalov, who for 1000 rubles killed another Russian guy in the army - Sasha Cherepanov?
Roman Kazakov. From Kaluga region. In 2009 recruit of the 138th motorized rifle brigade (Leningrad region) Roma Kazakov was brutally beaten by contract soldiers. But apparently they overdid it. The beaten man lost consciousness. Then they decided to stage an accident. The soldier, they say, was asked to repair the car, but he died in the garage from exhaust fumes. They put Roman in the car, locked him in the garage, turned on the ignition, covered the car with an awning to guarantee... It turned out to be a gas van.
But Roman did not die. He was poisoned, fell into a coma, but survived. And after some time he spoke. The mother did not leave her son, who became disabled, for 7 months...
Larisa Kazkakova, the mother of a soldier: “At the prosecutor’s office I met with Sergei Ryabov (this is one of the contract soldiers - author’s note), and he said that they forced me to beat recruits. Battalion commander Bronnikov beat off my hands with a ruler, I have a criminal record, the conviction has not been expunged until 2011, I could not do otherwise, and had to follow the order of the battalion commander."
The case was closed, information about hematomas disappeared from medical documents soldier, the car (evidence) unexpectedly burned down a month later. The contract soldiers were fired, the battalion commander remained to serve further.
Roman Suslov. From Omsk. Drafted into the army on May 19, 2010. The photo below was taken at the station before boarding the train. He had a one and a half year old son. I didn’t make it to my duty station (Bikin, Khabarovsk Territory). On May 20, he informed his family via SMS about the abuse on the train by an officer and a warrant officer who accompanied the conscripts. On the morning of May 21 (the second day in the army) he sent an SMS: “They will kill me or leave me disabled.” May 22 - hanged himself (according to the military). There were signs of beatings on the body. Relatives demanded a re-examination of the causes of death. The military prosecutor's office refused.
Vladimir Slobodyannikov. From Magnitogorsk. Called up in 2012. Served in military unit 28331 in Verkhnyaya Pyshma (also in the Urals). At the very beginning of his service, he stood up for another young soldier who was being bullied. This caused the fierce hatred of grandfathers and officers. On July 18, 2012, after 2 months in the army, I called my sister and said: “Valya, I can’t do it anymore. They will kill me at night. That’s what the captain said.” That same evening he hanged himself in the barracks.
Pechenga, Murmansk region. 2013
200th motorized rifle brigade. Two Caucasians mock a Russian guy.
They are.
Unlike Caucasians, Russians, as always, are atomized. We are not in solidarity. They would rather mock the younger conscripts themselves than help someone during the lawlessness of national minorities. The officers also behave as they once did in the tsarist army. “Dogs and lower ranks are not allowed to enter” there were signs in the parks of Kronstadt and St. Petersburg, i.e. the officers did not seem to consider themselves and the lower classes to be one nation. Then, of course, the sailors, without regret, drowned their nobles in the Gulf of Finland and cut them into pieces in 1917, but what changed?
Vyacheslav Sapozhnikov. From Novosibirsk. In January 2013, he jumped out of a 5th floor window, unable to withstand the bullying from the community of Tuvans in military unit 21005 (Kemerovo region). Tuvans are a small people of the Mongoloid race in southern Siberia. The current Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation S.K. Shoigu - also from Tuva.
Ilnar Zakirov. From Perm region. On January 18, 2013, he hanged himself in military unit 51460 (Khabarovsk Territory), unable to withstand days of torture and beatings.
Sergeants Ivan Drobyshev and Ivan Kraskov were arrested for incitement to suicide. In particular, as military investigators reported: “...Junior Sergeant Drobyshev, from December 2012 to January 18, 2013, systematically humiliated the human dignity of the deceased, repeatedly using physical violence and made illegal demands for the transfer of funds."
Systematically humiliated the human dignity of the deceased. Russian system like this, it means what can you do. Of course, the cotton army is only a special case of general lawlessness in Mordor.
Hazing in the army is a real scourge of our time. Although it is believed that the first cases of hazing began to appear during the Great Patriotic War in the USSR, in fact, this problem is hundreds of years old. Even in the days of knights, mercenaries often abused recruits.
Hazing was and is in almost every army in the world. Proof of this can be the novels of Remarque, who describes hazing in the German troops, and Junpei, who described the life of the Japanese army. Now many are interested in whether there were hazing between employees in the tsarist army, or whether this only appeared in Soviet time. Before the deadline He had 25 years of military service, so, logically, one could become a “grandfather” only after 12 years.
Dyadkovshchina and hazing - what are the differences?
During the times of Pushkin and Lermontov, soldiers served for 25 years. At that time there was dyadkovism. The famous “tell me, uncle, it’s not without reason...” is the appeal of a young soldier to an experienced comrade. Since times were turbulent, each recruit was assigned an experienced soldier who taught him how to behave correctly in a new environment.
The famous corporal punishment and massacres, which were widely practiced in the tsarist army, were the work of non-commissioned officers, although sometimes senior command staff did not disdain them. The soldiers themselves tried to make life easier for each other, since it was already difficult for them. But the non-commissioned officers, who themselves were former soldiers, were real “grandfathers” in the modern sense of the word. Fist reprisals were not considered something out of the ordinary unless the soldier became crippled as a result.
At the same time, the best officers and commanders understood that it was impossible to humiliate the dignity of the defenders of the fatherland, so they actively fought against the assault of lower ranks in their units. Along with hazing, the extent of which no one knew for sure, until 1904 there were also official corporal punishments. In 1915, due to the difficult situation at the front, they were introduced again, completely undermining the morale of the army of Tsarist Russia.
It often happened that some tyrants “non-commissioned officers” and officers mocked their subordinates for no reason:
- General Arakcheev did not hesitate to personally pull out the mustaches of offending grenadiers;
- In 1903, Lieutenant Kuidorov forced his orderly to lick his boots, since he did not have a shoe brush. For this, the unit commander sent the lieutenant under arrest;
- In 1916, the reprisal of a rear lieutenant against a Cossack front-line soldier led to an uprising at the recruiting station;
- Non-commissioned officers often organized competitions among themselves to see who could knock out the most soldiers' teeth with one blow. It happened that the soldiers themselves dealt with them, and the authorities turned a blind eye to this.
If we take the situation as a whole, then hazing in the tsarist army was expressed only in the taking away of part of the salary and the forced exchange of uniforms with old-timers.
Hazing in the Red Army before and during the Second World War
The Soviet government, which personified freedom from slavery, had to immediately abolish corporal punishment, which it did. Although the former non-commissioned officers who occupied many command positions in those years were still not above assault, the situation was much better than under the Tsar. Any victim only had to report such a case, after which the culprit was quickly dealt with.
According to eyewitnesses who served in the Red Army in the 1920s and 1930s, there were no flagrant cases of hazing in any of the places of service. Any attempt to unite all the old-timers was regarded as the creation of a counter-revolutionary group. Hazing among soldiers was expressed only in jokes and practical jokes, which showed the recruit his place in the army.
As for military service during the Great Patriotic War, according to eyewitnesses, hazing was initially expressed as follows:
- “Voluntary” shoe exchanges were widely practiced;
- If a newcomer received new uniforms, they changed them too;
- Food that was collected for the future soldier by relatives was taken away.
In general, such cases were suppressed by sergeants and foremen, and the squad commanders did not welcome it. At the front, newcomers quickly joined the friendly soldier family, and the status of the “newcomers” changed after the first battle.
The first to widely introduce hazing in the USSR army were prisoners released in 1941. Although back then there were rarely real criminals among them, prison life had already left its mark. New soldiers often tried to shift some of their responsibilities to new recruits, suppressing them both mentally and physically.
The situation changed radically in 1943, when a new batch of prisoners entered the army. These were real criminals and murderers. In each detachment, in which there was one “thieves”, groups quickly appeared, reminiscent of the prison hierarchy in their structure. But since the brotherhood of soldiers was not yet an empty phrase, and the presence of weapons in the hands of potential victims stopped the bandits, hazing never became widespread.
In 1950-1960, military service was considered necessary and honorable. The stories of their fathers about the war were still fresh in their memory, so the soldiers tried to support each other in everything. Although by that time there had already been a clear division between “newcomers” and “old men,” cases of beating of fellow soldiers were extremely rare. They tried to help the recruits, but sometimes they mocked them. During the young fighter’s training course, such cases were completely excluded, since the junior command staff closely watched the newcomers.
In the 1970s, when society began to gradually degrade against the backdrop of a long era of “stagnation,” the first mass cases of hazing began to appear. Most main problem became the size of a huge country. Moreover, representatives of warring parties often met in the army. ethnic groups who tried to humiliate their opponents. Service far from the homeland gave rise to complete impunity, so hazing in the USSR began to rapidly progress.
Victims of hazing in the 1970s and 1980s
For those who served in the USSR army in the 70-80s, the word “hazing” is familiar firsthand. It was in those years that military discipline began to be based on hazing. Many platoon commanders transferred all the work with their subordinates to sergeants, who controlled their colleagues with their fists. At the same time, any attempt to talk about hazing in the army was brutally suppressed.
It was almost impossible to combat military hazing. The old-timers were a tightly knit group that strictly looked after their vital interests. Senior conscription soldiers were covered by commanders who could make the life of a young soldier unbearable. In addition, any physical rebuff to a senior in rank was considered a war crime.
According to the oral military code, it was forbidden to complain about old-timers. Such a soldier was immediately identified by an officer, after which the “grandfathers”, at best, gave him psychological persecution. At the same time, the sergeants could calmly complain about their subordinates, which was strongly welcomed.
The dissatisfied “spirits,” who in the early days managed to find friends among the young soldiers, tried to resist as a group. If they succeeded, then the “grandfathers” acted together with the officers. The disobedient were convinced that hazing in the unit was inevitable, it was better to endure a little, and then become a “grandfather” yourself.
At the same time, there were many units where real officers served, who strictly suppressed all cases of hazing. In such units, the internal service regulations were strictly observed, and sergeants spent whole days training soldiers at training grounds.
The history of hazing in the 90s
After the collapse of the USSR, hazing in the Russian army sharply intensified. The main reason for this was the huge outflow of qualified military personnel, who were not satisfied with the low salaries in those years. They were replaced by graduates of military departments who had practically no understanding of military affairs. The so-called “jackets” were satisfied with the rules that their “grandfathers” established in their companies. This gave them the opportunity to do nothing, while ordinary soldiers suffered from extortions.
This situation in the army remained until the mid-2000s, after which the prestige of the military profession began to revive again. A host of benefits and salary increases have once again made the army a desirable place for many professional soldiers. With their arrival, hazing began to weaken, but it has still not been possible to remove it.
Hazing in the US Army
Many people believe that there is no hazing in the United States Army. To some extent, this is true, because the American army is completely professional. Every young recruit who joins the army immediately goes to a special training center, very similar to Russian training. There, sergeants, who in the USA are professional military men, get down to business. They are not only military personnel, but also psychologists who determine the abilities of new soldiers.
In addition, professional soldiers of the American army, as a rule, have gone through several local wars, so they are not interested in the chaos that can happen in the barracks. A person who has entered into a military contract clearly knows why he came here and will not assert himself at the expense of others. An important role is also played by the fact that among the sergeants there are often women, to whom men must also unconditionally obey.
If a recruit is not satisfied with something, he can complain to the military chaplain. This is not just a priest, but an officer who is endowed with serious powers. He must understand a variety of religions in order to advise soldiers of different faiths. If a recruit is not fit for further service, the chaplain can have him discharged.
However, a lot has changed in the US military over the past 20 years, and hazing now occurs there too. This is due to the fact that these principles are drilled into the military. educational institutions. All cadets can be divided into two categories, freshmen and seniors. Freshmen are called rats, and they are in a subordinate state throughout the year.
Any complaints are not allowed to proceed, calling this state of affairs glorious educational traditions. In these educational institutions, cases of escape from hazing are not uncommon. If you can still leave school, then in the army such flight is called desertion and is punishable by law.
The second reason for hazing in the American army was that many street gangs specifically send their “fighters” to the army so that they learn how to professionally use weapons and master combat skills. Once on duty, street criminals continue to maintain contact with gangs, threatening and beating not only soldiers, but also officers.
Features of hazing in the Belarusian army
The Army of the Republic of Belarus has its own characteristics. In the “dashing 90s,” hazing here sharply declined, since they had to serve in a small country, not far from hometown. Any “grandfather” could simply be threatened that he would be punished right next to the unit by the young soldier’s friends. Due to the country’s tough political course, aimed at establishing the “cruelest” order, hazing, it would seem, was completely destroyed.
Every case that came into the hands of the press was immediately reviewed and measures were taken. It would seem that any mother of a soldier could sleep peacefully. But suddenly in 2018 all the former Soviet Union Tragic news spread - the body of a hanged guy was found in a Belarusian educational institution known as “Ovens”.
Details of the death of Alexander Korzhich
On October 3, 2018, the body of a hanged soldier with his legs bound was found in a military unit near Borisov. It turned out to be conscript soldier Alexander Korzhich, who had disappeared a few days earlier. According to the official version, the soldier turned out to be psychologically unstable and committed suicide. There were no further official statements.
Relatives and friends of the deceased did not agree with the investigation's version, since the young man always had a cheerful and cheerful disposition. By using social networks, they managed to raise public awareness and find a lot of video materials that proved that hazing in a military unit near Borisov is commonplace.
It soon became known that several sergeants organized a real gangster group in the unit, which extorted money from recruit soldiers. The mother of the deceased was allowed into the case by personal order of the president, but she still does not know how everything will be decided. The mother who survived such a blow was informed that all the sergeants of this company were taken into custody and an investigation was underway.
Nevertheless, thanks to the initiated case, it was possible to restore order in a single company, but it is unknown how many such companies remain. The authorities are deliberately trying to hide the truth from Belarusians, saying that this case is isolated.
Hazing in modern Russia
There is no clear answer to the question of whether hazing exists today. If we look at the official information provided by the Russian Ministry of Defense, hazing has been defeated in the Russian army. However, numerous videos on the Internet and stories from soldiers indicate that hazing is still the main evil in the army.
Violation of the statutory rules of relations between military personnel in the absence of subordination relations between them is regulated by Article 335 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Persons affected by this law may be imprisoned for up to 10 years. Despite this, most cases are hidden from the public, and criminals continue to abuse their colleagues.
Modern hazing is significantly different from the Soviet one and even the one that existed in the 90s. Since in modern society Money plays the main role, then the army becomes the same. Hazing has long taken the form of a special form of racketeering, which is so popular in places of detention. Having money in the army, you can pay off beatings and abuse, hire yourself a bodyguard or servant who will do most of the hard work.
The task of real commanders, for whom the honor of the uniform is not just a sound, is to promptly stop such phenomena by bringing the criminals to military court.
Hazing exists in any army. Only professional troops are susceptible to this infection to a much lesser extent. Professional soldiers are a close-knit family where fighters have to rely on each other in battle.
I didn’t write anywhere that this is the norm.
I would like to be wrong and be happy for Lithuania, but the situation is a little more complicated than it seems. Perhaps you've heard of the Stanford Prison Experiment?
Volunteers selected not from criminals, but randomly selected healthy socially adjusted adults were randomly divided into guards and prisoners. So a third of the guards showed sadistic tendencies. This is the result of a closed society (barracks situation in the army) and imposed social role(subordinate soldiers and soldiers, one way or another appointed to control and restore order). Second, i.e. the appointment of "guards" is optional.
In any team (medium and large) there are people who take pleasure in showing aggression towards others. In any team there are people with weak wills who find it easier to endure than to enter into conflict.
I asked and talked with my fellow soldiers, so imagine, they also believe that there was no hazing. But this does not mean that it really did not exist.
There are two rules. What doesn't concern you, you don't notice. What may torment your conscience, but you cannot change, you do not notice. If people’s psyches did not have such a property, they would quickly burn out emotionally. This is what happens to those who are professionally obliged to notice. It is a medically documented fact, not in Russia alone, but everywhere, and initially studied in Britain and the USA, that doctors, teachers, and police officers suffer from burnout syndrome.
You don’t pay attention, but aggression, pressure on the weak, is everywhere. The fact that people don't notice this in schools, for example, which everyone goes through, is sad. When your neighbor teased the fat, weak-willed boy in your class, that was what would later become “hazing” in the army.
When the USSR began conscripting criminals into the army, this did not give birth to hazing, but made its forms criminal.
As long as it does not take criminal forms, we simply do not notice it and do not understand it. In our unit, for example, no one noticed anything special and no one thought that anyone was doing anything criminal. Well, yes, ordinary stupid jokes, ordinary stupid half-joking attacks, demands, the strong one will simply smile and send, and then answer Vitas’ question - “we had nothing, what are you talking about?” But we got a weak one, and everything was bad in his family, he couldn’t stand it and shot himself. It turned out that what was ordinary was criminal.
Regarding history, returning to criminals and the USSR, in fact, violence as everyday life in the army was born before the Red Army itself. Open the encyclopedia of Russian life "Quiet Don" - how Gregory begins to serve in the army. I think there are plenty of other examples, this is the first thing that comes to mind.
The problem of army hazing worries school graduates from the moment they begin to prepare to enter university. Indeed, the best way to defer military service at the moment is to continue studying. But is there hazing in the army and is it as terrible as they describe? Let's figure it out.
Call
In order to better understand the problem, let's begin to consider the entire year of a conscript's army life in order. So, imagine that a young man receives a summons, arranges a farewell, and the next morning goes to the recruiting station. He is awaiting a medical commission, and then distribution.
KMB
This is a course for a young fighter - the period before the guy is sworn in and officially serves in the army. It seems that the soldier has not yet been assigned to any company or division, but hazing in the army begins here.
For example, a “grandfather” comes into the location and demands that all the young animals get up from their stools (beds), and one person must shout: “Get up!” Is this hazing? Some may think so. However, in practice, this trains young recruits to rise when a senior officer enters the position. And this is already the charter of military service, and the sooner a young fighter learns to fulfill it, the better for his unit. After all, the main principle in any army is: “If one messes up, everyone suffers.”
One more example. You need to know exactly what a specific military unit requires of a conscript. Hazing during KMB is often aimed at educating and accustoming “young animals” to army life. In some "secret" army units it is prohibited to use a mobile phone. In such cases, “grandfathers” often intimidate newcomers by saying that they will take the phone away if they notice. In practice, this only brings benefits. Otherwise, the officer will take the mobile phone, and it will be very difficult to return it. Therefore, the conscript learns to hide his gadget as early as possible.
Oath
Oddly enough, hazing in the army is monotonous and boring. "Grandfathers" have fun forcing the call to be carried out physical exercise. Those who are smarter disguise their activities behind training to walk in formation. But even this benefits the conscript himself. Endurance increases and the necessary skills are developed. And it’s better for “grandfather” to urge the company on one more time, than for the entire unit to then get screwed by the inspection that came because of one careless soldier.
Therefore, everything that was done before the oath was intended to discipline the future fighter. And so the newly minted soldier is distributed and assigned to his new unit, which should become his family for a year. Hazing in the army is just beginning.
Appearance
Military service itself can be divided into many interrelated aspects. We will start with what is checked every morning by the officers - with the appearance of the serviceman. There are several main parameters by which appearance is assessed:
- a haircut;
- the presence of stubble on the face;
- cleanliness of clothes and shoes;
- hemmed collars;
- trimmed nails.
For every omission in any of the points, the “grandfather” can punish the young fighter. Punishments range from a few push-ups to cleaning the toilet. It seems like an atrocity: just because you didn’t shave, you have to scrub the toilet. But let's look at it from the other side. Points 2 and 5 should be done by any self-respecting person. It is necessary to have your hair cut to prevent lice from infesting in unsanitary conditions. Points 3 and 4 are the self-respect of any person. And it’s hardly pleasant for those around you to look at an unwashed ragamuffin. It turns out that, despite the fact that people are forced to do something by threats, all actions are aimed exclusively at their own good.
Work
Another point in which hazing manifests itself in the army is outfits. “Grandfathers” try to get the easiest places for outfits, while “young people” are hunched over anywhere.
Unfortunately, this is inherent in human nature itself. Having been bullied by previous “grandfathers,” the current senior conscripts want to assert themselves at the expense of the “young ones.” This is normal. It is very difficult to stop such a cycle, so any assurances that hazing has been defeated in the Russian army are complete lies.
An increased frequency of young recruits joining a unit is one of the main signs of hazing in a particular unit. But at the same time, it should be remembered that any conscript who wrote to his mother and complained about how his “grandfathers” treated him will happily run to mock the next conscription after him in the same way.
So this is rather the norm for any part. The first six months the “young” one works, the second six months - the next call.
Statute
Perhaps this will be a revelation for many, but in addition to hazing, there are also statutory ones. But which of these is worse is a controversial question.
Often in units where hazing is rampant, this is due to the fact that the officers spit on their subordinates. That is, the officers do not care what the soldiers do. They are rarely sent to work, and the only problem for such units is boredom. That's why "grandfathers" thrive in them.
In the statutory demonstration units, of course, there is no hazing. Simply because even the “grandfathers” do not have the strength to mock the newcomers. Such military units the soldier will have to work until demobilization. And this is the main reason why hazing in the Airborne Forces and other airborne combat units is rare.
If we talk about ordinary, ordinary, military units, then soldiers usually choose hazing themselves. If a conscript was transferred from the authorized part to the “grandfather” part, then, according to him, it’s like going to a resort. Strange but true. Those who served know very well that it is better to endure the “grandfathers” for six months than to lie in front of the officers for the entire period of service.
A striking example. They collect parts from all over the region for a concert in some town. The soldiers from the unit with hazing stand calmly and smoke on the sidelines, and the students of the "regulations", even to go away to smoke, ask the sergeant for permission. Agree, even the illusion of freedom will make it much easier to endure the deprivations of military service.
To be or not to be
How long has hazing been around? This phenomenon also took place in the Soviet army. Of course, this does not apply to the war period, but in most parts, especially in distant and inaccessible ones, hazing has always flourished. After all, the most main reason her appearance is boring. During two years of military service there was nothing to do.
Hazing in the Soviet army was mainly expressed in physical punishment and the use of soldiers as toys. The game "Demobilization Train" was especially popular. The new addition is rocking “grandfather’s” bed and imitating the sounds of a steam locomotive. This is how the senior conscripts imagined their way home.
Now, in the era of smartphones and iPods, such bullying is a thing of the past, and what was described in this article is often the maximum that “grandfathers” are capable of.
Struggle
Hazing in the army is a phenomenon that everyone is trying to combat. But how effective this is is difficult to judge. In most cases, everything is very skillfully disguised as regulations and punishments for misconduct, fortunately, there is always something to complain about.
The only advice that can be given here is to not complain about hazing. Well, the “grandfather” will be imprisoned for “bullying,” senior officers will be punished financially, and the victim will be transferred to another unit. But nothing will change, but it will only get worse. Rumors are spreading, and the “informer” will be hated by everyone in the new unit, including the officers and those who were drafted at the same time as him.
And for cases in which soldiers “die due to hazing”, psychologists and psychiatrists are responsible for allowing an unbalanced person to serve.
Finally, I would like to clarify. This article is not at all intended to protect hazing or those who kill conscripts. But such “creatures” exist everywhere, and not only in the army. Robbers, rapists, murderers are also found in Everyday life and in the same way they either escape punishment or receive ridiculous sentences. The main task of this topic is to show that in many ways relationships in the army depend on the conscript himself and on how he places himself in the team.
It is impossible not to notice that in Lately The population's trust in the Russian army has increased so much that military craft has again acquired the status of a priority privileged occupation, and military service is gradually turning into a school of life, as it was called in the once existing union. As soon as the state set a course for modernization and re-equipment, fundamental changes were not long in coming.
However, the deplorable state of the armed forces of the 90s will remain in the memory of many people for a long time. Even some military officers today are surprised how Russia managed to maintain its integrity in such difficult times. The defense capability left much to be desired, but it wasn’t even a matter of technical equipment. The motivation of citizens for military service was practically reduced to zero.
Why young men don't want to serve in the army
One of the reasons for this situation was hazing in the Russian army in the nineties. A sociological survey showed that the overwhelming majority of young men fear military service not because of the difficult life of military life, but because of hazing. Fears were supported by feature films, videos, chronicles and stories from experienced people about the difficult life of young recruits.
Is it worth recalling specific cases when a young man was injured or everything ended in death? To this gloomy list it is necessary to add widespread desertion, executions of colleagues, and suicide.
In 1998, the first human rights organization for conscript soldiers was created, which is called the “Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers.” We can say that this was a desperate step aimed at combating hazing, since it was precisely this manifestation in the army that was named as the main reason for the above acts.
Positive or negative social phenomenon
In order to talk sensibly on the topic of hazing, you need to adjust yourself to the fact that this issue is quite multifaceted, and even more disputes arise when establishing one truth. The first paradox is that they have been trying to eradicate this manifestation for many decades, but most men of the older generation will only smile thoughtfully when they mention the peculiar hierarchy in the army. Moreover, they often note that it is thanks to the upbringing by the “grandfathers” that the “spirit” becomes a real soldier.
What is this contradiction? Undoubtedly, families that have suffered from the consequences of hazing will talk about the complete eradication of this relic of society, and former military personnel whose fate was not befallen by tragedy believe that everyone should go through similar trials. The reason for the disagreement lies in the ambiguous understanding of hazing as such.
On the one hand, it is represented by a strict school, which is arranged by old-timers for young recruits. What's bad about it? Of course, the form of education is unique, but as a result, the recruit becomes independent, learns to serve, first of all, himself, observe subordination, live in a team, follow orders, and march correctly.
On the other hand, educational measures sometimes cross not only conceivable boundaries, but also the boundaries of legality. Hazing and lawlessness appear, which is interpreted as a crime against the individual. They are expressed by public humiliation, beating, and other terrible acts. Thus, despite all the negativity, a decent proportion of storekeepers will remember hazing with kind irony, but we will still talk about the dire consequences of this phenomenon.
When did it arise
The next paradox arises when trying to determine the time when hazing appeared in the army. According to the stories of real witnesses, even before the 50s such a concept was not even discussed. The origin of the hierarchy occurred during the Thaw period, when many prisoners for whom military service was provided for were amnestied.
As a result of such reforms, some of the “Zonian concepts” migrated to the armed forces. But the reasons for the occurrence of hazing should be discussed separately, and in in this regard It should be noted that hazing in the Soviet army of the 50-60s became the basis of modern battles.
And this issue is not without the ubiquitous “BUT”. Some documents, including works of art, indicate a peculiar attitude of old-timers towards new recruits back in tsarist times. And this is not surprising, since military service lasted for decades, so experienced servicemen could not help but claim certain concessions with all that entails.
Reasons for the formation of hazing
We agreed that such a phenomenon as hazing has complex structure. It manifests itself as a set of certain rituals, sometimes causing laughter among the recruits themselves, and can have significant variations, reaching illegal acts. We'll look into it social phenomenon in a negative plane and try to determine where the reasons for the emergence of hazing in the USSR lie.
After the demobilization of all military personnel who took part in the Second World War, the volleys of shells from real combat operations gradually began to subside in human memory. Within 10-20 years it was possible to talk about peace and cloudless skies. Oddly enough, it was precisely this fact that brought the destruction of former solidarity into society. If a common misfortune unites, then the absence of external conflicts gives rise to internal ones. The army was a kind of “mirror” of the state of society, and taking into account the fact that criminal elements were included in the structure of the troops, the Armed Forces began to gradually be replenished with non-statutory procedures.
The next vector could be the destruction of Stalinist foundations. By the beginning of the 60s, government elites, having escaped from fear of punishment, turned from creators into consumers, which was reflected in the leadership of the army. Freethinking led to the degradation of the command staff. This does not mean that the General Staff has been replenished with incompetent commanders, but the low ranks, whose responsibility was reduced to zero. The connivance of the officers was not the cause, but was a catalyst for the emergence of widespread hazing.
The thaw of the 60s is remembered for its negative attitude towards denunciations and snitching. From a political background, these terms migrated to the army. At that time, a report of bodily harm was considered as lying. And if the state stopped similar manifestations, something that could be discussed within the military unit. Gradually, hazing in the army began to include fights and beatings, which both sides of the conflict were silent about.
Urbanization of society and generational conflict usually stand on the same page, since the motive is the same. Just as old-timers could not accept the principles of newly arrived soldiers, city residents placed themselves above rural ones, both in terms of social and mental development. On a regional scale, the periphery was constantly in conflict with Muscovites.
What do we have today
Returning to the question of whether hazing exists in the army at the present time, let’s begin to cover the period from the late 90s. Attempts to stop this phenomenon have been made repeatedly. The top management has finally begun to understand that if we do not get rid of hazing, problems with the contingent will arise in every conscription campaign. It should be noted that all attempts were in vain, since the phenomenon, like a virus, affected the armed forces at all levels.
Among all the proposals on how to combat hazing, some that were quite feasible were put forward, but they fell apart in the face of the cruel reality of the deplorable state of the army.
- Keep the soldiers busy, especially the old-timers, so that they simply don’t have time to torture the young recruits. For implementation, officer personnel were required, which were not available.
- Increase the number of officers. This proposal required significant financial costs. For the budget of that time, the task was considered impossible.
- Introduction of regulatory bodies (independent). This approach risks simulating the military personnel themselves for the sake of sabotaging military orders.
- Transfer of the army to voluntary basis. The geopolitical situation does not allow such steps to be taken. The territory of Russia is quite large, so there is a risk of not recruiting a sufficient number of troops.
- Tightening of liability for hazing on officers. There were commonplace cases of revenge when, thanks to his own authority, an officer gave orders that humiliated a soldier. Everything happened according to the regulations, so hazing was smoothly transposed into “statutes,” which practically did not change the essence.
Approach to the problem in the modern army
Let us first make a reservation, noting that if it is possible to get rid of hazing, it will only be after several generations. However, in the modern army some measures have been taken that have radically changed the picture. In some parts they don’t even remember this phenomenon at all. The reason for the normalization of rotating conscripts was the transition to a one-year conscription system. The difference in experience between old-timers and new recruits is six months. This is not the time when it is appropriate to pretend to be a kind of “seasoned wolf”, so the general fervor of the “grandfathers” has noticeably subsided.
Despite the fact that there are still plenty of draft dodgers, fears of hazing among the conscript’s relatives are gradually being replaced by normal anxiety. The Russian Army is gradually returning to the direction where some manifestations of hazing are of a symbolic nature. We must pay tribute that the moral character of conscripts has become higher. Perhaps this is due to the real changes that have occurred in the army. Increasingly, on forums you can find reviews from former military personnel whose term has recently ended. They openly state that existing level hazing did not cause them to have a negative attitude towards the service as a whole.