The army in Russia has long turned into a school of pederasty and sadism. Since the early nineties, hazing has killed more soldiers than two Chechen wars, but the Russian Ministry of Defense continues to ignore it, and the Russian elite cultivates the opinion that the bullying of grandfathers against a soldier makes a man out of him.

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 out the cartilage tissue from his nose with nail scissors, damaged during the beatings, and sewed up tears in his 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 battalion commander’s order.”

The case was closed, information about hematomas disappeared from the soldier’s medical documents, and 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 bullying 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 the 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 used physical violence against him and made illegal demands for the transfer of funds.”

Systematically humiliated the human dignity of the deceased. The Russian system is like this, so what can you do? Of course, the cotton army is only a special case of general lawlessness in Mordor.

We all know how difficult it is in the Russian army because of the hazing that exists there. Some were simply beaten half to death, and some were even driven to suicide. Grandfathers mock recruits and the saddest thing is that all this happens with the permission of the officers. Also, the situation with hazing is getting worse from year to year due to national hatred within the army. Read on for the terrible stories of soldiers who became victims of hazing. Not for the faint of heart.

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 like this:

Traces of beatings, a knocked out eye, broken limbs. 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. But Dmitry was brought home in a coffin.

Before the army, Ali Rasulov studied at a medical school, so he decided to practice on Dmitry as a doctor: he cut out the cartilage tissue from his nose with nail scissors, damaged during the beatings, and sewed up tears in his 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.

Dmitry irritated him because he did not want to obey...

Taking into account the fact that Rasulov carried out sadistic experiments on the victim for 1.5 months and tortured her to death, the sentence of the Russian court to the sadist 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 is the kind of son he 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 his head was all broken...” Ali Rasulov, cutting out cartilage from Dima Bochkarev’s nose, did not know “what came over me.” And what happened to Peter 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 Kazakova, 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 was not expunged until 2011, I could not act differently, and had to follow the battalion commander's order".

The case was closed, information about hematomas disappeared from the soldier’s medical documents, and 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.

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 Tuvan.

Ilnar Zakirov. From the 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 used physical violence against him and made illegal demands for the transfer of funds.”

Systematically humiliated the human dignity of the deceased. The system is like this, so what can you do? The army is only a special case of general lawlessness in the country.

In recent weeks, the Russian media and the Internet have been covered by a whole wave of publications about the alleged return of such a criminal phenomenon as hazing to the army. The story of the execution of the guard by Private Shamsutdinov is being discussed in every possible way. Let me remind you that on October 25, conscript soldier Ramil Shamsutdinov opened fire on his colleagues on the territory of a military unit in the closed military town of Gorny near Chita, killing eight of his colleagues, two of whom were officers.

At the same time, the version of hazing was thrown into the field of public attention literally immediately after the news of the shooting, before any circumstances of the tragedy were clarified, and since then, like an echo, it has been walking around the Internet, collecting more and more likes, comments and causing whole discussions.

Experts immediately questioned the version of hazing. All the killed conscript soldiers were of the same draft as the murderer, which in itself excludes hazing, since it is based on discrimination against junior conscripts by seniors. Further more! During the investigation, it turned out that the two colleagues killed by Shamsutdinov were generally considered his friends and the private repented of their murder. Then it turned out that the main source of Shamsutdinov’s breakdown was one of the officers, who allegedly harassed him with his demands, and the topic of hazing was dropped as such. There is hazing!

But what's the difference? - one of the readers will say now. - This does not change the essence of the matter! There is bullying, and it provoked crime.

Nevertheless, there is a difference, and it is serious if we want to fight such phenomena and defeat them.

Confusing hazing with hazing is like a doctor confusing cholera with food poisoning! Hazing is a SYSTEM of discrimination against junior conscripts by senior ones, which mechanically applies to all military personnel of a unit or unit and is maintained and transmitted from one conscription to another.

And hazing is a whole category of individual or group violations of the requirements of statutes and crimes. And there are many different options. For example, compatriotism is the support of military personnel of one nationality for their fellow countrymen to the detriment of other military personnel. This is abuse of authority, a falsely understood concept of seniority, individual hostile relationships, when a serviceman does not have good relationships with colleagues, and much more.

Trying to classify these violations as hazing means simply making an incorrect diagnosis and then “treating” the disease with unsuitable means. For example, how to deal with hazing in the barracks, where compatriotism flourishes, if only a “countryman” drafted into the army is immediately placed in a privileged position in relation to “non-countrymen”, even if they have already served most of their service life?

According to the logic of the fight against hazing, it is necessary to deal with and punish those same old-timers who themselves are the object of bullying by a group of “countrymen” welded together...

So, today, despite all the efforts of both conscientiously misguided and quite consciously stirring up the topic of hazing, hazing as a mass phenomenon has practically ceased to exist in the army, having been reduced to isolated cases. There is simply no soil left for her! Service for a period of 12 months in a single conscription practically eliminates the “seniority” of one conscription over another.

There is also a fight against hazing. And here, of course, there is still a lot to be done, but it is hardly possible to completely exclude them from the life of the army simply due to the wide range of crimes and violations that fall under this concept. Thus, just last year, the military prosecutor’s office identified 1,300 crimes against military service, which include violations of the statutory rules of relations between military personnel, the procedure for being in military service, performing special types of military service, as well as saving military property.

According to the acting head of the Directorate for Supervision of the Execution of Laws by the Military Command Bodies of the Main Military Prosecutor’s Office, Andrei Prokudin, at the end of 2018, there was a decrease in the level of injuries and offenses against military personnel in the troops. We are talking about the notorious hazing and hazing in departments.

The number of criminal cases related to violence against conscripts decreased by 18%. But 329 people suffered from so-called hazing,” said Andrei Prokudin.

According to the military prosecutor's office, the number of crimes in the army is decreasing compared to previous years. And most importantly, the crime rate associated with hazing is falling - by more than a third over the past 2018.

At the same time, hazing is a problem not only for the Russian army, but in general is the scourge of almost all armies in the world, even those that for many years we have been accustomed to cite as examples to follow - American, French, German.

1,300 “hazing” crimes of our army are just a drop in the ocean against the backdrop of internal Pentagon reports published by the New York Times, according to which about 10 thousand acts of sexual violence against military personnel are committed annually in the US Armed Forces. But the matter is not limited to rape and harassment! There are also serious crimes: mutilations, murders, mass shootings, escapes with weapons and murders of civilians. Also widely publicized was the case of Private Frederick Tanner of the 1st Infantry Division, who was periodically beaten by his superiors, leaving him disabled.

Among the latest cases, we can mention the murder by fellow soldiers after much bullying of the Green Beret special forces soldier Logan Melgar. It is noteworthy that the maximum sentences for the killers did not exceed 4 years in a special military prison.

There is even a term for mass shootings in the United States - mass shooting, and the army here is not far behind the high-profile massacres in schools and universities. For example, in 2009, psychiatrist Major Nidal Hassan shot 13 fellow soldiers and wounded 30 at the Fort Hood base. Five years later, at the same base, the tragedy repeated itself. This time, soldier Ivan Lopez, who returned from Iraq, shot his colleagues, killing three and wounding 16 colleagues.

Colleagues from the French Foreign Legion, historically famous for hazing and harsh treatment of soldiers and recruits, are not far behind the Americans. Thus, in 2015, a whole group of military personnel went to trial after a young soldier from Slovakia died as a result of their ill-treatment.

Even the German Bundeswehr is not free from problems of hazing and sexual violence. In 2017, a whole group of Bundeswehr soldiers went on trial for “sadistic sexual rituals” and hazing at a military base in Pfullendorf.

These examples in no way justify domestic violators of the charter and criminals, and any hazing should receive an appropriate legal assessment, no matter how they are justified. But they only emphasize how serious the phenomenon we are fighting is. And we must under no circumstances stop it or rest on our laurels. How unacceptable it is to use hot facts of hazing for unscrupulous propaganda purposes to discredit military service and the army as a whole.

Hazing

Hazing(analogue in the Navy - anniversary) - an unofficial hierarchical system of relationships that has developed in the Armed Forces (of any state) between lower-level military personnel (soldiers, corporals, sergeants), based on their ranking, “sorting” based on the amount of actual service of each individual and associated with This discrimination is one of the types of hazing. It usually manifests itself in the form of exploitation, psychological and physical violence.

To a greater or lesser extent, it is characteristic of all soldier groups, including cases in elite troops.
There is no single, generally accepted opinion regarding the causes of such a phenomenon as hazing. Both socio-economic, biological, historical and cultural factors are put forward as leading factors. (For more details, see the section Reasons for the occurrence and sustainable existence of the phenomenon). The division of military personnel along national, racial, ethnic and religious lines is not a manifestation of hazing, but of the so-called fraternity. The leading, determining factor in hazing is the difference in terms of service.

Legal qualifications

Manifestations of hazing are described by the term “hazing”. Non-statutory relationships include the entire range of relationships between military personnel that are not described in general military regulations (including superior-subordinate, subordinate-superior relationships). “Hazing” in a narrow sense covers only those violations of regulations that are related to the relationship between senior and junior military personnel.

In addition, the modern science of criminal and administrative law distinguishes between crimes committed within the framework of the so-called “hazing” and “barracks hooliganism”. A distinctive feature is the subjective side of the offense. In the first case, the offender’s intent is aimed at establishing his status as an old-timer, forcing a young soldier to perform chores, perform certain rituals associated with the “traditions of hazing,” etc. In the second case, the unlawful actions of the offender are motivated by personal hostile relations, interethnic, interethnic , religious hostility, property relations, suddenly arose hostile relations, etc. (commentary of the criminal code to articles providing for liability for crimes against the person, honor and dignity; Gazette of the Supreme Court of the USSR, Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (judicial practice)).

Thus, violations within the framework of “hazing” of the statutory rules of relations between military personnel who are not in a relationship of subordination can be qualified as encroachments by senior military personnel on the rights, honor, dignity and personal integrity of junior military personnel.

One of the key negative factors in the existence of “hazing” as a phenomenon is that this army subculture seriously undermines the authority of the army among young people of conscription age and is one of the main reasons for evading military service.

A similar phenomenon, although not as pronounced as in the army, is also observed in some schools, boarding schools and other educational and social institutions. The victims are usually those who are physically weaker, lack self-confidence, or are simply younger in age. For the higher education system, hazing (not typical) is only partially characteristic, mainly in military universities and other paramilitary ones, where the fourth year is disdainful of the first; it is noticed in the same capacity in a number of completely civilian universities, in cases where the dormitory and university courses are located in one fenced area, see Eton College below.

Responsibility

Violations of statutory relationships according to the degree of public danger are divided into:

The last category includes violations that, from an objective point of view, fall under the disposition of the current articles of the Criminal Code (beatings, torture, actions grossly insulting human dignity, robbery, etc.). Responsibility arises in accordance with the general criminal procedure. The actions of a serviceman who has committed hazing, which does not fall under the concept of a crime, should be regarded as a disciplinary offense (violation of the procedure for joining a shift, coercion to perform household chores (if not associated with physical violence), coercion to perform hazing rituals ( also without physical violence), etc.). In this case, responsibility arises in accordance with the requirements of the Disciplinary Charter of the Armed Forces.

Story

The socialization of boys is always carried out not only vertically, but also horizontally, through belonging to a peer group. In these groups, informal rules and customs are often formed, the adherence to which is so important for young people that they are primarily guided by them, rather than written laws and regulations.

Markov A.L. "Cadets and Junkers":

The techniques of this infant “tsuk” amazed with their diversity and originality and were obviously developed by entire generations of predecessors. Severe “majors” of the first class forced newcomers to simply “eat flies” as a punishment, made “virgula” and “grease” on their short-cropped heads, and simply blew them off on any occasion and even without it.

“Zuk” was an open mockery of the elders against the younger ones: the younger ones were required to salute in a manner not reserved for senior cadets; forced to do squats, howl at the moon; they were given offensive nicknames; they were woken up many times at night, etc. Officer-educators of military educational institutions not only knew about bullying, many of them were sure that “pulling up gives the junior class discipline and drilling, and the senior class the practice of using power.”

It should be noted that participation in such customs was relatively voluntary: when yesterday’s cadet, high school student or student entered the walls of the school, the elders first of all asked him how he wanted to live - “whether according to the glorious school tradition or according to the legal charter?” Anyone who expressed a desire to live “according to the rules” got rid of the “tsuk”, but they did not consider him “one of their own”, they called him “red” and treated him with contempt. Low-level commanders - platoon cadets and sergeants - found fault with the “red” with particular meticulousness, and most importantly, after graduating from the school, not a single guards regiment accepted him into their officer ranks. Therefore, the overwhelming majority of cadets preferred to live according to “tradition,” the costs of which were written off as comradely bonds.

The first case related to hazing in the Red Army was recorded in 1919. Three old-time servicemen of the 1st Regiment of the 30th Division beat to death their colleague, Red Army soldier Kupriyanov, a native of the Balakovo district of the Saratov region, born in 1901, because the young soldier refused to do their work for his “grandfathers.” According to the laws of war, those responsible for the death of a soldier were shot. After this, officially recorded cases of hazing in the army of Soviet Russia and the USSR disappeared for almost half a century.

According to one version, hazing was indeed not characteristic of the Soviet Army until the reduction of conscription service in 1967 from three years to two in the ground forces and from four to three in the navy. The reduction coincided with a wave of conscript shortages caused by the demographic consequences of the Great Patriotic War, due to which the five million-strong Soviet army was to be shortened by as much as a third. By decision of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, people with a criminal record began to be drafted into the army, which had previously been completely excluded. Ideologically, this was presented as a correction for fellow citizens who had stumbled, but in reality it led to the fact that criminal orders were transferred to the army, thieves' jargon penetrated soldiers' speech, and former criminals introduced ritual humiliation and bullying. The reduction in service life affected only newly drafted people; those who had already served served out their full term. For a certain period of time, in the same military unit there were at the same time those who served for the third year, and new arrivals who were supposed to serve one year less. The latter circumstance angered those who had already served for two years, and they often took out their anger on the new recruits.

According to another version, since the late 1960s, some unit commanders began to widely use soldier labor for personal material gain. The non-statutory economic activities of military units required the organization of a system of non-statutory relationships, in which old-timers played the role of supervisors over the first-year soldiers performing work. Such relationships required the unquestioning submission of young soldiers to any instructions of the old-timer; In order to break them and turn them into slaves, conscripts were pressured and subjected to violence. Thus, according to this version, hazing arose as a method of managing non-statutory economic activities of military units. Over time, in a number of military units, officers began to use hazing as a method of management, since they themselves did not want to engage in training young people, as well as educational work.

Also, by the end of the 60s, the Armed Forces no longer had the same number of front-line commanders who were the majority in the Armed Forces at the end of the Great Patriotic War and who knew from personal experience that a healthy moral environment in the unit entrusted to them was the key to their own lives .

However, there are reasons to doubt all of the above versions. According to the candidate of sociological sciences A.Yu. Solnyshkov, already in 1964 the first and most productive works of Soviet scientists dealing with hazing issues appeared, which in itself shows that the phenomenon existed until the mid-1960s and its roots are much deeper. In addition, according to him, over forty years of research into the phenomenon of hazing, domestic scientists have not been able to make significant progress compared to the productive work of A.D. Glotochkin and his students, carried out in the early 60s.

The bulk of publicized cases of hazing in the Russian army are associated with the use of the labor of young soldiers for personal gain by the command staff of military units. Hazing arose in the 60s of the 20th century in the Soviet army as a method of managing non-statutory economic activities of military units and continues to develop today, acquiring various forms that are widely known from serfdom in the 18th-19th centuries, but look wild in the 21st century.

Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Vladimir Ustinov, speaking at the board of the Prosecutor General's Office, noted: “One gets the impression that the ‘selling’ of soldiers is an ancient sacred tradition, which can only be eradicated together with the entire Russian officer corps.” .

Samara region In August 2002, senior lieutenant R. Komarnitsky demanded that privates Tsvetkov and Legonkov leave their unit home in Samara and earn money in activities not related to army service. They had to pay the officer 4 thousand rubles monthly. The soldiers refused, but the demands were repeated, accompanied by pressure and beatings from the old soldiers.

October 2003, Samara, guards motorized rifle regiment of constant readiness. The servicemen who worked at Karton-Pak LLC explained that they did not engage in combat training during the “break-in” period. As a result, during the entire period of service they never acquired the necessary combat skills. Private E. Goltsov, for example, said that he only fired once from his personal weapon.

Volgograd region. On October 10, 2003, near military unit No. 12670 of the Railways, human rights activists from the organization “Mother’s Right” made a video recording. Dozens of soldiers were filmed being transported to work: 32 people, 10 people for weeding. at Rotor (Volgograd football club). 3 or 4 foreign cars with businessmen and minibuses driving away soldiers arrived. There is information that about 200 soldiers were taken from the unit on one day. Checks followed. The first deputy commander of the Federal Railway Service, General Gurov, came from Moscow. Passed a prosecutor's check. The military unit commander and his deputy were brought to disciplinary liability. However, by October 2004, illegal work continued. True, the violators became somewhat more careful and organized “leftist” work - knocking together container boxes - on the territory of the unit.

Stavropol region. Since February 2004, three military personnel have worked at a furniture factory in the village of Nadezhda (a suburb of Stavropol). None of them received monetary or other allowances, which went into someone’s bottomless pocket. The damage to the state from such “write-offs” alone, according to the conclusions of the investigation, amounted to 120 thousand rubles.

An incident that occurred on New Year's Eve 2006 in the support battalion of the Chelyabinsk Tank School, where Private Andrei Sychev and seven other soldiers were subjected to bullying, received enormous resonance. Sychev, who turned to military doctors, did not receive the necessary medical care on time. Only towards the end of the holidays, due to a sharp deterioration in the young man’s health, was he transferred to a city hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with numerous fractures and gangrene of the lower extremities and bruises of the genitals. The legs and genitals were amputated. .

The young soldier died under undisclosed circumstances in the Elan military unit No. 55062, Sverdlovsk region. 20-year-old Ruslan Aiderkhanov was sent to his relatives in a zinc coffin with a notification that the young man had committed suicide three months after being drafted. According to the command of the unit, on August 31, 2011, the young man left the territory of the unit, and on September 3 he was found hanged from a tree in the forest. The dead soldier was sent to his home village of Araslanovo in a zinc coffin, which was strictly forbidden to open. Despite the ban, relatives insisted on observing Muslim traditions. They opened the coffin to wash the body and wrap it in a white shroud and were horrified. Judging by the way Ruslan looked, Ruslan was severely beaten and tortured before his death. “They wanted to deceive us. They said that Ruslan had committed suicide, so he needed to be buried quickly. The military did not know that we were Muslims, and according to their customs we must wash the body before burial. And so the terrible truth was revealed,” says Ruslan’s aunt Gamilya Gilmanova. Despite numerous traces of beatings on the young man’s body, the initial examination assured: the cause of death was asphyxia and no traces of violent death were found on the body. At the same time, the relatives were never given a conclusion about the cause of death, citing its unavailability. Later, when the case was made public, experts concluded that all the wounds that were found on the young man’s body were received by him during his lifetime. A criminal case has been opened into the incident and investigations are underway.

The essence of hazing as a phenomenon

Hazing consists of the presence of unofficial hierarchical relationships parallel to the main formal ones, not excluding the case when officers not only know about hazing, but also use it to maintain “order.”

It should be noted that in official statements, some high-ranking military officials talk about the diseases of society that are transferred to the army. For example, such a statement was made in a television interview by Admiral Vyacheslav Alekseevich Popov, former commander of the Northern Fleet, now a member of the Federation Council, member of the Defense and Security Committee.

Objective research says that hazing is a product of unregulated economic activity in the armed forces. By “objective research” we mean one single article, which cannot in any way be assigned scientific status. The above conclusion of the “research” is refuted by the fact that hazing is also present in those parts where “non-statutory economic activity” is not practiced

At the same time, hazing is an auxiliary tool in the hands of the commanding staff, who can shift most of their responsibilities for maintaining order to the leaders of the informal hierarchy, in return offering them certain benefits (extraordinary dismissals, a lenient attitude towards misconduct, a reduction in physical activity, and others).

Often, informal relationships are accompanied by humiliation of human dignity and physical violence (assault). The direct victims of the phenomenon are team members who, for one reason or another, have a low status in the unofficial hierarchy (status can be determined by length of service, physical, psychophysiological characteristics, nationality, etc.). The basis of status is physical strength and the ability to insist on one’s own, conflict resistance.

Manifestations of hazing can be very different. In mild forms, it is not associated with a threat to life and health or serious humiliation of dignity: recruits perform chores for old-timers and, from time to time, their household tasks. In its extreme expression, hazing reaches the point of group sadism. Hazing in the Russian army consists of forcing recruits to fully serve the “grandfathers” (for example, washing their clothes), taking away money, things and food. The “old-timers” subject the “young people” to systematic abuse and even torture, severely beating them, often causing serious bodily harm. Recently, extortion of money to be credited to a cell phone account has become very common. Recruits are forced to call home and ask their parents to top up their “grandfather’s” account or buy him a top-up card, which will then go to the same account. Conscript service in the RF Armed Forces is often not very different from the “zone”. Hazing is the main reason for regular escapes of conscripts from units and suicides among them. In addition, a significant part of violent crimes in the army is associated with hazing: in some cases these are crimes of “grandfathers” identified and brought to court, in others – retaliatory actions of recruits (“Sakalauskas case”). There are known cases when recruits, who entered guard duty with military weapons, shot their colleagues who had previously mocked them, in particular the case that formed the basis of the film “The Guard”. In recent years, the level of hazing has decreased significantly due to enhanced training, explanations to soldiers of their rights and active actions on the part of the military prosecutor's office.

Hazing among officers

Hierarchical ties not provided for by the Charter exist not only among conscripts (soldiers, sergeants, sailors and foremen). To a certain extent, this phenomenon also occurs among junior and senior officers.

Manifestations of such hazing among officers differ significantly from hazing (anniversary), and, as a rule, are not directly related to physical violence (although they do not exclude it).

Usually, the meaning of hazing among officers is to secretly provide “old-timers” with more comfortable conditions of service, which is reflected, for example, in the distribution of regular military assignments (outfits), better quality service in the officers’ mess (wardroom), etc.

Some naval traditions that were followed on a number of warships of the Soviet Navy, and which also run counter to the requirements and norms of the Charter, deserve special mention:

Hierarchical steps

The meaning of the terms may vary depending on the traditions of the branch of service or military unit, as well as the length of service.

Text of the Order of the USSR Minister of Defense in the newspaper “Red Star”. In the traditions of hazing relationships and rituals, such regular orders of dismissal and conscription had a particularly important role. The counting of all hierarchical levels and many rituals were associated precisely with the dates of their publication.

Basic definitions in army slang for military personnel by length of service:

• "Smells", "scraggy", "disembodied spirits", "quarantines", "bulls"(bullish) - military personnel who undergo quarantine before taking the oath.
• "Perfume", "elephants"(Navy), "newcomers" ("salabones"), "greenery" ("green"), "beavers", "geese"(ZhDV), "Vaska"(construction battalion), "fathers", "kids", "hedgehogs", "sparrows", (BB), "checks"(BB), "Chekists"(BB), "Goldfinches", "CHIZHI"(backronym for "man who grants wishes") - military personnel who served for up to six months.
• "Elephants", "crows"(VDV and VV), "pomoza", "laces", "geese", "crows"(BB), "crucian carp"(Navy), "young", "salabones", "walruses", "Goldfinches", "mammoths"- military personnel who served for six months.
• "Skulls", "scoops", "years old"(Navy), "greyhound crucian carp"(Navy), "pheasants", "boilers", "brush brushes"- military personnel who have served for one year.
• "Grandfathers", "grandfathers", "old men"- military personnel who served for one and a half years. The name of the phenomenon comes from the stable term “grandfather”.
• "Demobilization", "tenants", "citizens"(VV) (considered almost civilian): conscripts after the issuance of an order to transfer to the reserve.

In the navy (at least until 1990), there were exactly 7 hierarchical levels:

• up to six months - “ spirit“(according to the “elders”, a creature is ethereal, sexless, understands nothing, can do nothing, knows nothing, is only suitable for dirty work, and is often helpless);
• six months - " crucian carp"(a fighter who has been trained in real service, firmly knows the customs, traditions and his duties, but due to the sluggishness of the “spirits” he is often beaten);
• 1 year - " greyhound crucian carp“(knows the service well; is responsible for the execution of work by “crucians” and “spirits”; is subjected to physical influence in exceptional cases);
• 1 year 6 months - " one and a half tosh"(the first stage of the “untouchables”; is subjected only to moral pressure from senior employees for neglecting their subordinates; the “one and a half-year-old” is considered the most evil and merciless creature; at this stage people with low moral principles are very clearly manifested);
• 2 years - " age old“(the most liberal level; tired of the moral stress of “one and a half hours”, not particularly “bothering” with service problems, they simply relax);
• 2 years 6 months - " one year old", or, as an option, which was in circulation at the Pacific Fleet: "saracot"(apparently, this is why in the navy “hazing” is called “godkovshchina”; the really leading upper caste of old-timers; they personally resort to physical violence in exceptional cases, mainly acting through “one and a half men”; in turn, informal influence on the team by the officers is carried out exclusively through "godkov");
• 3 years - " trade union», « civil"(this “title” was awarded after the publication of the order of the Minister of Defense on transfer to the reserve; a “one-year-old” immediately after the order of the Minister of Defense was informally recognized as transferred to the reserve and removed from pay, but since “by the will of fate” he was forced to remain in the unit, he was supposedly maintained at the expense of naval trade union; lives in a unit or on a ship as a civilian wearing a military uniform).

Traditions of transfer to the next level of the hierarchy

Transfer from a lower hierarchical level to a higher one is carried out during the ritual of “interruption”, “translation”. A soldier who did not enjoy the respect of his colleagues or violated the principles of hazing, as well as who refused to “life according to hazing” within three “golden days” after arriving at a military unit (the so-called “statutory”, “extended”), may remain “unkilled” - in this case he has no right to the privileges of higher levels of the unofficial hierarchy, but is equated to “spirits” or “smells”. This happens infrequently, as an exception.

The transition to the next level is accompanied by the infliction of physical pain in a special ritual way: a soldier who has served for a year (previously, when the service life was 2 years) is struck on the buttocks with a belt (plaque), stool or metal ladle (scoop). The number of strokes usually equals the number of months served. The transfer from “grandfathers” to “demobilizer” is symbolic in nature, without the use of physical force: the future demobilizer is “beaten” on the backside with a thread through a layer of mattresses and pillows, and a specially allocated “spirit” “screams in pain” for him. For badges earned by the time of “transfer” (the rank of corporal or sergeant), in some units additional blows are awarded.

The navy also had a considerable number of customs and traditions, but it is worth highlighting only two main ones, which were often found in various fleets.

• When transferring from “crucian carp” to “one and a half”, the so-called “washing off the scales.” Depending on the weather conditions and the scene of action, the “crucian carp” is “washed off” by throwing it overboard, dipping it into an ice hole, dousing it with a fire hose, etc., trying to carry out the transfer ceremony unexpectedly for the “initiate.”
• “year-old rupture” - at the moment the first printed version of the order of the Minister of Defense “On transfer to the reserve ...” appears (for example, in a newspaper), the entire military uniform currently on it, including socks and underwear, is torn into small shreds on the “year-old”. The ritual is also carried out unexpectedly for the “one year old”. After the “break,” the “year” becomes a “Trade Union,” that is, a civil one. Any serviceman, even the “spirit,” has the right to take part in the “break.”

As a rule, the “transfer” occurs on the first night after the release of the order of the Minister of Defense “On transfer to the reserve...” (usually September 27 and March 27), but it can be delayed for several days, since the command of any unit is well aware of the procedures “translation” and often in the first days and nights after the release of the “Order...” especially strictly monitors compliance with the Charter.

Distribution of the phenomenon depending on service conditions

It is usually believed that the most malicious forms of hazing are characteristic of “second-rate” units and branches of the military, especially the construction battalion, but facts of hazing are often revealed in units and formations considered “elite”. Hazing is much less common in troops or units whose soldiers have constant access to personal combat weapons (for example, internal troops). In addition, hazing is not very common in air units. Hazing is not widespread in small, remote units (for example, air defense radar reconnaissance units). It should be noted that the least manifestations of hazing are observed in those units where unit commanders do not use the labor of soldiers for personal gain. This phenomenon is in no way directly related to either the branch of the military or the type of military units.

Reasons for the occurrence and sustainable existence of the phenomenon

There are different points of view on the causes of hazing.

Socio-economic

Some researchers believe that the economic basis of hazing is the possibility of obtaining material benefits through the use of the labor of “young” soldiers in work not provided for by the charter and not related to the economic activities of the unit.

The influence of criminal culture

According to some experts, the increase in hazing is directly related to the practice of conscripting prisoners from prisons into the USSR army. In this case, there was no hazing in the pre-war Red Army (and before that in the army of pre-revolutionary Russia), and it dates back to 1942-43. It was then that prisoners began to be drafted into the active army, who brought part of their “Zon” subculture into the Soviet Army. There is also an opinion that the “start” of hazing was given in the 1960s, at the time of the reduction in service life in the Soviet Army (from three to two years in the ground forces and from four to three in the Navy), when old-timers were forced to serve out their three or four years, they began to take it out on the new recruits who had to serve a year less. Hazing as a phenomenon finally acquired its present form in the late 80s - early 90s and during the devastation of the first years of independence of the post-Soviet states, when the disorder and neglect of the army reached its apogee.

Legal

In military collectives, which are formed by conscripts, commanders of military units have many formal, but ineffective levers of influence on the privates and non-commissioned officers serving in conscription. These include in particular:

• rebuke,
• a severe reprimand (in relation to a conscript, reprimands are completely useless, since they have no consequences),
• extraordinary outfit (in most military units there is a chronic shortage of manpower, which is why military personnel join the outfits every day for many months, sometimes they are even placed in the outfits in which warrant officers must go. In such conditions, no extraordinary outfit can be considered out of the question, since there is no “queue” itself - the command simply plugs holes in the daily squad of the unit with people as best they can),
• deprivation of an excellent student badge (conscripts are awarded such badges in exceptional cases),
• deprivation of the next dismissal (due to a shortage of workers in the military unit, conscripts receive dismissal in exceptional cases, 1-2 times during the entire service, in addition, in remote garrisons and abroad dismissals are simply excluded),
• demotion (conscripts rarely occupy valuable positions),
• reduction in military rank by one step (about 80% of conscripts are in the lowest military rank),
• arrest with detention in a guardhouse (this type of punishment is not applicable to units located in remote areas, since the guardhouse is usually located in the building of a military commandant's office, which exists only in large cities, and it takes 3 days to transport there and 3 days to transport back the offender so that he is there He served 5 days - not a punishment, but an encouragement, since most of the time he will be on the road, that is, outside the part that bothered him).

Determining factors

The opinion is expressed that the emergence of hazing in one form or another is natural in the presence of a number of provoking factors, among which the following can be noted:

• The closedness of the community, the inability to easily leave it, especially the forced presence in the community (in the army - conscription service).
• Insufficiently comfortable living conditions (crowded conditions, lack of hot water and other amenities of a civilized hostel).
• Lack of internal mechanisms designed to protect some members of the community from aggression from others (in the army, officers are officially responsible for order; in fact, they perform this function as much as they want).
• The idea cultivated in society that it is immoral to counter violence by contacting law enforcement agencies or persons performing their functions. Simply put, the idea that “knocking” is mean. In the army, a complaint to an officer about an old-timer who beat a recruit automatically makes this recruit an “outcast” among his conscription, and, above all, in his own eyes. However, some believe that it is better to be an “outcast” than to be subjected to physical and psychological violence; for them, the moral contempt of colleagues in this case does not matter. Everyone chooses for themselves what to do depending on specific circumstances.
• The need to perform work that is not related to the immediate goals and objectives of the community, but takes time and is not popular (in the army - household work). There is an opposite point of view, according to which hazing develops in conditions of excess free time among military personnel, and that it is better for a recruit to do household work than to sit in the barracks and be the object of hierarchical experiments of “grandfathers”.
• Lack of interest from management in maintaining order. In the army, officers often succumb to the temptation to distance themselves from their current work, shifting it to their “grandfathers.”
• Assessing the activities of the leadership based on the absence of officially registered incidents (in the army - even obvious crimes based on hazing are preferred to be hidden, since for identified cases, unit commanders face strict measures - the risk of not being promoted to the next rank or being demoted, or even dismissed from the ranks of the Armed Forces strength). However, since hazing often results in suicide, the facts of hazing “come to light” and an investigation is carried out with the participation of the army prosecutor’s office. The actions of the military prosecutor's office are not always effective.

Some rituals associated with hazing traditions

• “Prayer” or lullaby for “grandfather” - performed by the “spirit”, “salabon” who, standing on a bedside table or a pyramid of stools (“jars”), at night, after “lights out”, when the officers leave the company location, reads a certain rhyming text about upcoming dismissal. Its content varies depending on the part, so the “lullaby” has a large number of variations. The newspaper "Moscow News" gives the following:

I ate the butter - the day passed, the foreman went home.
Demobilization became a day shorter, good night to all the “grandfathers”.
Sleep little peephole, sleep the other one, sleep dear grandpa.
Let them dream of their home, a woman with a lush pussy,
A sea of ​​vodka, Taz beer, Yazov’s father’s order(another option: “...and Ustinov’s order.”).

• “Demobilization Train” is a theatrical performance in which, after lights out, young soldiers participate as extras and “grandfathers” playing train passengers. During the production, the bed actively rocks, imitating the sounds of a station and train movement. There may also be a “conductor” in a white coat bringing tea and food to the “passengers”; “train manager” punishing the sluggish “conductor” and other characters. Young fighters may also be forced to run in one direction past rocking beds with green twigs in their hands (to imitate flashing trees in a carriage window).
• “Exam for the right to drive a vehicle” is a ritual common in automobile units and subunits, during which a young soldier is obliged to run up to a certain floor at the time set by his “grandfathers,” holding in his hands a tire from a passenger car, which symbolizes the steering wheel. It is used as a punishment for violations related to driving a car, or keeping the assigned car in a dirty, technically faulty condition.
• “Night Driving” - Depending on the type of troops (driving an armored personnel carrier, tank, tractor, etc.), a ritual during which a young soldier, with his eyes closed, crawled on all fours under the beds in the sleeping part of the barracks. When given the command “Turn Right” or “Turn Left,” the young soldier opened the corresponding eye and made a turn. At the command “Reverse”, he opened both eyes and backed away.
• “Punching the elk” - in this case, the old soldier forces the new soldier to cross his arms at some distance from his forehead, after which a blow with a fist follows in the crosshairs with a force depending on the degree of the old soldier’s bad mood (or on the amount of guilt of the young soldier).
• “Crocodile” (“Drying the crocodile”) is a ritual common in the Airborne Forces and in reconnaissance units of the Ground Forces, during which all young recruits of the company, after lights out, were required to spend from 5 to 20 minutes resting their feet and hands on the headboards of the bed - thus supporting your body in a horizontal position in weight. This ritual was prescribed by the old-timers in the form of a collective punishment of all young recruits due to the fault of one of them who did not carry out the order of the old-timer on time and properly. Performing this ritual was always considered physically very difficult and was prescribed by old-timers for what they considered to be particularly serious offenses. In some military units, old-timers did not consider this ritual as a punishment at all, but meant by it an additional useful physical training exercise for young recruits, strengthening general muscles. In such cases, the “crocodile” was an almost ordinary, unwritten element of the daily routine.
• “Kalabaha” or “Kalabashka” is a ritual of physical punishment during which a young soldier, who untimely or did not fully comply with the order of an old-timer, was obliged to take a physical blow from the old-timer in a certain symbolic way. When the old-timer commanded “Start Kalabashka,” the young soldier assumed the following body position: his legs are spread wide, his torso is bent parallel to the ground and his arms are straightened to the sides, while his head turns from side to side with his tongue sticking out. The old-timer hits him on the neck with the edge of his palm. The ritual implied an imitation of the death penalty with cutting off the head. After carrying out the strike, the young soldier, under the old-timer’s verbal count of “One-Two-Three”, was obliged to take a drill position “At attention” and make a “report”. The form of the “report” varied depending on the place of service, type of military service and length of service of the old-timer. For example, in OKSVA - the form of the young soldier’s “report” was as follows - “Thank you to the kind “grandfather” for training the crappy “siskin” serving in the DRA” or “Thank you to the greyhound “scoop” for training the schmuck “young” serving in the DRA”. In case of untimely “report” on the count of “Three”, the punishment was repeated. This ritual was especially common in the Airborne Forces and OKSVA.
• “Demobilization questions” - a ritual during which a young soldier grandfather unexpectedly asked curious questions that at first glance had nothing to do with logic. For example - “What size are grandfather’s feet?”, “What is the number of the demobilization train?”, “How much butter?”, “What is two and two?” The ritual boiled down to the fact that every day the young soldier was obliged to remember the number of days remaining before the order of dismissal.
• “Detention of a criminal on the top floor of a building” is a type of punishment in police units for violating the rules of patrol duty by young military personnel. The young fighter is obliged to climb the stairs to the top floor of a multi-story building before his grandfather, who at this time is taking the elevator.
• "Fire" in the premises. The ritual arose in parts where a civil defense/emergency department fire department was provided. Subsequently it spread to other parts. It is often carried out on the orders of company foremen, and in their absence by sergeants. On command, within a certain period of time, the personnel must remove all company property from the barracks to the street - beds, bedside tables, etc. The barracks must remain completely empty. If the company does not invest in the standard, the property is entered back, and everything starts anew. The cause of the fire may be an uncleaned room or the presence of hiding places in the barracks.
• Cigarette under the pillow. When the “hundred days” begins, every morning the demobilizer must find a cigarette under his pillow with the words “so many days until the order” written on it. The cigarette was placed at night either by the spirit “assigned” to the demobilization, or by one of the spirits of the squad. It was considered a special skill to put down a cigarette without waking up the demobilizer, but even if you woke him up, it was not considered a misdemeanor. For this courtesy, the demobilizer gives his portion of butter to the spirit in the dining room. Not having a cigarette was considered a serious offense and the culprit could be severely punished.
• “Feed the hungry.” Only old-timers have the right to eat outside the soldiers' canteen and outside the allotted time for eating. The process of eating in such cases was called the word “paraching”, “squinting”, “sharpening”, “growing around”, etc. A young fighter noticed by old-timers in “parachnika” is expected to receive several types of punishment (depending on the degree of guilt): a) he must eat a loaf of black bread within a certain time (a mug of water “for washing down” may be given), b) the same thing, but the offender eats the bread while doing push-ups from the floor: counting “one” - the offender, bending his arms, bites off the bread lying on the floor, on the count of “two” - straightens his arms and chews, etc. c) the offender must eat the waste located there from the tank, d) a crust of black bread is smeared with shoe polish and “fed” to the offender.
• Team "One!" An analogue of the statutory order “private, come to me.” Only in the case of hazing traditions does the demobilization officer loudly give the command “one!” and any of the “spirits” who heard or could hear this command must immediately stand at attention before demobilization and introduce themselves. (Again, the presentation can be, depending on traditions, either statutory: “Private so-and-so has arrived on your orders”, or hazing, for example, “plywood produced in 1975 is ready for inspection!”) The meaning of the ritual is speed; if the spirit did not appear quickly enough (no more than 1-3 seconds), or did not make all the necessary efforts, the demobilization responds with the command “leave it aside, not abruptly”, the spirit returns to its original position, and this will be repeated again. It is considered a serious offense if there are several “spirits” in the barracks, and none of them decided to come running, or too few came running.
• “100 Days” - A solemn ritual day for “grandfathers”. It consisted of celebrating one hundred days before the release of the Order of the USSR Minister of Defense on the next conscription and dismissal of citizens. This day was easily calculated on the calendar, thanks to the many years of constant issuance of such orders. “Grandfather,” who respected the rules of “hazing,” was obliged to shave his head bald that day. Also, with the beginning of the hundred days, the “grandfathers” refused to use oil until the order was issued, and on the first day of the beginning of the hundred days, oil was thrown at the ceiling.
• “Reading of the Order” (“Solemn Reading of the Order”) - The ritual of reading out the order of the Minister of Defense on transfer to the reserve. The youngest soldier is usually brought in to read the order. It was carried out in the barracks after lights out. The young fighter squatted (“eagle pose”) on several stools placed on top of each other, so that his head was under the ceiling, loudly and clearly read the text of the order from the newspaper “Red Star” (see illustration above). After the end of the reading, one of the old-timers pulled out the lowest stool shouting “Our Stodnevka is over!!!” (there were other variants of shouts). After this, the “grandfather” was obliged to take alcohol, which the young fighters “gave birth to” for him on this occasion.

The most common hazing laws

Contrary to popular belief, hazing is not always associated with physical violence. In units and subunits with strong traditions of hazing, there is no need to physically force young fighters to comply with the rules and traditions of this phenomenon. The very atmosphere of the cult of elders and respect for the elder call creates conditions for the unquestioning submission of younger ones to older ones. In such units, even the very thought of objecting to an old-timer is considered blasphemous and is nipped in the bud by the “council of grandfathers” (dedovet), which has the unconditional support of the sergeants and is secretly supported by some of the officers. In most “non-statutory units” assault was not associated with the traditions of hazing. This phenomenon in most cases became widespread within the framework of barracks hooliganism, or, in prison jargon, “lawlessness.”

Depending on the type of troops, the combat capability of the unit, its location, and recruitment conditions, the laws of hazing differ greatly. In essence, hazing laws are exaggerated interpretations of the provisions of the Charter, or official dogmas, for example: “Orders are not discussed, but carried out.” Despite this, there are a number of provisions (some of which are carried out even by officers) that are typical for most units:

The most common myths about hazing

Recently, a number of statements have appeared in literature, cinema, and everyday life that discuss elements of hazing. Despite the fact that such facts actually occur, they have nothing to do directly with the traditions of hazing. Similar statements include the following:

1. Hazing is based solely on the physical superiority of grandfathers and assault. If there are strong traditions of hazing in a unit, then maintaining them practically does not require assault, since the authority of hazing is supported by sergeants and officers. Obviously, no hazing relationships arise in the life of a military unit unless the unit commander requires it. The unit commander has enough leverage to put an end to hazing on the territory of the unit and to get officers and sergeants to serve strictly according to the regulations. .
2. A young fighter of sufficient physical strength can stand up to his grandfather. Even if a young fighter is physically stronger than his grandfather, but the unit maintains persistent non-statutory traditions, in case of his disobedience he falls into the category of “black people” with all the ensuing consequences: he will be “stirred” by the regulations, he may be put in a guardhouse or subjected to a “dark”. In extreme cases, he can even be raped, which involves not just one grandfather, but a group of several grandfathers. The “educational process” includes sergeants and officers who, in accordance with the regulations, create unbearable conditions for him (the principle applies: “if you want to live according to the regulations, try how unpleasant it is” - the day is scheduled by the second, personal time is limited, the management of natural needs is according to the schedule , retreat-approach to the boss, strict adherence to the norms of the drill regulations).
3. A young soldier with a strong will and tempered character will withstand the pressure of older soldiers, but not a single private can resist the will of the unit commander. In the case of a particularly strong moral and volitional characteristics of the recruit, the entire range of measures available to the command staff is applied. Demands for the strictest execution of the regulations on the part of officers and non-commissioned officers, pressure from senior officers and responsibility to the team according to the principle “One for all” X and that's all X for one." In reality, it looks like this: while a fighter with character rigidly refuses, say, to do push-ups, his entire call is to do push-ups to the point of exhaustion. With an emphasis on the “fact” that they all especially suffer because of the obstinacy of this fighter. Each time, increasing the pressure on a young recruit, the idea is instilled in them that their increased suffering stems from the stubbornness of a colleague. Thus, the stubborn soldier is deprived of the support and tacit approval of the soldiers of their own conscription. On the contrary, very soon the aggression and hatred of the junior soldiers, subject to the manipulation of consciousness by the older soldiers, is transformed and begins to pour out on the resister. The “rebel” finds himself isolated in “airless space.” One example of the use of this method of influencing a soldier in cinema is clearly and clearly shown in the first half of Stanley Kubrick's film Full Metal Jacket.
4. Grandfathers take away new elements of clothing from the young, replacing them with their old ones (belts, boots, hats, etc.). In most parts, the grandfather’s appearance speaks for itself: the sun-bleached uniform and worn-out shoes indicate the long service life of their owner. If the uniform became unusable due to damage (in classes, chores, etc.) and the grandfather received a new uniform, the latter was artificially aged (in particular, boiled in a chlorine solution to give it a faded color). The new shape is a sign of a salobon. However, it should be noted that this thesis does not apply to the dress uniform in which demobilizers return from service. Her grandfather prepares it in advance and, if necessary, will take away from the spirit everything it needs.
5. Grandfathers take butter and eggs from young people at lunch. Eating a lot is the lot of the young, since grandfather will soon be home and he will eat home-cooked food there. In addition, before lunch, grandfathers have the opportunity to have a snack in the teahouse, after which (it is believed) he does not want to eat common food in the soldiers' canteen. In an ideal manifestation of this principle, the grandfather does not eat at all in the dining room, since visits to the teahouse and deliveries of home-made food from spirit parcels are enough for him. In most units, after the order to transfer to the reserve is issued, the grandfathers refuse to eat butter in the canteen, giving it to the young, since the latter still have a long time to serve and they need to gain strength. This act is presented as an exceptional act of generosity.
6. Hazing as an integral part is characteristic not only of the Russian army. Indeed, hazing is rampant in the Ukrainian army and in the armed forces of several other former Soviet republics. In the People's Army of China there are no manifestations of hazing at all, since officers bear personal responsibility (up to capital punishment) for any cases of hazing in the units entrusted to them, and commanders of military units bear personal responsibility for concealing such cases. For NATO member countries, hazing is not typical, since on the one hand it has no economic grounds (related to the illegal economic activities of military units), on the other hand, the rank and file has much more rights and free access to communications (mobile phones and the Internet ) in comparison with the rights of ordinary personnel of the Russian army, and accredited journalists and representatives of public organizations have access to any military unit. In the 1970s, the United States dealt a blow to its own hazing by switching to a contract system. The Israeli army harshly nipped in the bud Soviet-style hazing back in the 1980s. Then people from the Soviet space tried to transfer elements of the Soviet barracks “etiquette” to the Israeli army. For which they were immediately tried under the Criminal Code and received real sentences. The same is true in the armed forces of Germany, which is supported by the strictest implementation of the regulations. However, in reality this is how things are on the pages of newspapers. In reality, hazing is quite common. The difference is that the oil is not taken away from the soldiers, but they force those who are guilty to do push-ups, clean their shoes until they shine, wash the floor with a toothbrush (see the film “Forest Gump”), and arrange a “dark” (see the film “Full Metal Jacket”) "), etc. (see the film “A Few Good Men”). Rape is also common in the US military. According to Newsweek, from 2003 to 2008, the number of raped men was 20 thousand.
7. There is no hazing in military units in hot spots. There was an opinion that in military units participating in hostilities, hazing is impossible due to the easier access of young soldiers to military weapons and, as a result, greater opportunities for reprisals against old-timers with impunity. The most likely option, according to the same public opinion, was that such reprisals were considered possible in battle. The experience of the war in Afghanistan showed the deep fallacy of this opinion. Regardless of what a particular military unit was doing in Afghanistan - constant military raids, motor transport supplies for troops, medical and logistical support, combat security in the formations of outposts - hazing flourished in all of them. Despite frequent cases of hazing, with grave consequences, the officers considered the fight against hazing irrational and practically did not interfere in the relationships of conscripts. In most cases, officers openly supported old-timers. For example, platoon and company commanders personally explained to sergeants who arrived with young recruits from training units to take the positions of squad commanders and crews of combat vehicles that in the first six months of his service in Afghanistan he would be listed as a commander only in the company/battery's official position book - and the actual commander will be an old-timer with the rank of private, indicated by the officers, who is listed under his subordination. The officers' approach, which was strange at first glance, could be explained simply - the complete lack of combat experience and adaptation to local conditions on the part of the newly arrived sergeant. Oddly enough, the young soldiers themselves regarded the fact of hazing in OKSVA positively and with understanding and considered it a difficult but necessary form of mentoring on the part of old-timers in the harsh conditions of war. Hazing during the war in Afghanistan is shown in the film "Afghan break" .

Positive facts in the fight against hazing

Despite the fact that hazing has many objective prerequisites, there are cases known (Volga-Ural Military District) when junior conscription created an organization, a kind of “trade union”, and with the support of the command of the unit got rid of manifestations of hazing as a whole.

In popular culture

In literature

• Yuri Polyakov's story "One Hundred Days Before the Order" (1987) received great public attention in the USSR during the period of glasnost. The work is dedicated to the routines of the army, which until that time were under an unspoken taboo. Subsequently, the story was filmed under the same title (the film adaptation differs from the text in being more rigid and naturalistic).
• Sergei Kaledin's story “Stroybat” (1989)
• “730 days in boots or the army as it is” by Primost Valeria most reliably describes modern army morals.
• Oleg Divov's story “Weapon of Retribution” (2007). An autobiographical work dedicated to the presentation of the experience of serving in the Soviet Army of the pre-perestroika period.
• Alexander Terekhov's story “Memoirs of Military Service” (1991)
• Oleg Popov's story “The Steppe Book” (1998) This is perhaps the first truly artistic work on an “army” theme, dedicated to people trying not only to survive, but also to live in conditions of complete isolation from the “normal” world.
• Zakir Dakenov's story "The Tower" (1987, first published in 1990) Along with the story by Yu. Polyakov, one of the first works in the USSR about hazing in the SA.
• Mikhail Elizarov’s story “Red Film” (2005) Very, very closely, if not truthfully, the story of a few days of a recruit’s stay in the glorious Army ranks is told (the action takes place in an army hospital)

In cinema

• I wish you good health or a mad demobilization ()
• DMB-91 () The only reliable documentary about service in the SA.
• A Few Good Men () A film about hazing in the US MP.

Foreign analogues

• Hazing
• Fagging
• Ragging
• EK-Bewegung (German)
• Fala (wojsko) (Polish)

Today we’ll talk about a difficult topic. It is long overdue to write an article about what to do if you are beaten, bullied, or extorted money in the army. As always, before writing the article, I studied what had already been written on this subject before me, so as not to repeat myself. And I found out that all the advisers and commentators on the Internet are divided into two opposing camps:

1. Was the boy hurt? Urgently call and write to the unit, the prosecutor's office, the State Duma, Putin, Shoigu, Trump!
2. If they beat you, it means you deserve it! They don't just beat you in the army. And in general, this is a school of life! What kind of conscripts have gone, the first thing they do is complain to mom! Stop chewing snot, everyone has been through this, grit your teeth and be a man.

Let me tell you right away, the truth is somewhere in the middle. I will state my vision of the situation. If you disagree, write in the comments, it will be interesting to hear your point of view.

So, what should a soldier’s parents do if they bully them in the army, extort money, and beat them?

1. Calm down
2. Collect as much information as possible
3. Act

Calm down

Easy to say, but difficult to do. When a child calls and talks about humiliation and beatings, no mother will remain indifferent. Every minute he will be haunted by the thought: “What if he is being tortured right now?” But panic prevents you from concentrating and planning your actions. And now you need to get together and act. The soldier is counting on you. You can really help him. So try to come to your senses.

Collect as much information as possible

Now let’s talk about the topic “they don’t just beat you in the army.” I agree with this 98.5%. Indeed, conscription service is not a place where you can come, open the door with your foot, and live your normal life, without adapting to local orders. You need to know how to behave in the army for the first time.

I myself have watched more than once how guys ran into trouble for using too long a tongue or unwillingness to strain themselves once again. For example, in civilian life they dressed haphazardly, communicated on their own wavelength, but here you always - even if you are incredibly tired - must have a decent appearance and answer according to the regulations. We, of course, had no hazing, and I wrote about it. But still. In other parts they may be charged for this.

In my opinion, this is not a reason to sound the alarm. Perhaps he will need more time to get used to it, to get used to the new way of life, to understand how to position himself correctly in the army. Keep in touch and observe. If the episodes of assault stop, it means that everything is fine.

Now – about the most difficult part. What to do if chaos is happening? Are they systematically beaten and humiliated, are they not allowed to serve normally, is there a threat to health and even life?

We collect as much information as possible:

• Who beat and bullied you and when? What exactly did he say and do? Names, titles.
• Was it just your son who suffered, or are there others who were similarly unlucky?
• Was this a one-time episode, or did the bullying become systematic?
• Is there a national community? Does the threat come from him?
• Are there any complaints about the order in the unit? We search on the Internet, on thematic forums.
• Are there any witnesses ready to confirm the fact of beatings and threats? (This is the most difficult because snitching is discouraged and potential witnesses may fear retaliation.)

Act

If the situation threatens health and even life, then we must begin to act.

• It’s better to contact the unit’s political officer, preferably in person.
• It’s also better to contact the unit commander on the spot.
• Call the help hotline for conscripts and soldiers (contacts at the end of the article).
• Contact the regional branch of the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers.
• If these actions do not help, you need to go to the military prosecutor’s office, first to the local one, then to the Main Prosecutor’s Office.

In any military unit there is a stand with telephone numbers of hotlines and the military prosecutor’s office, and in large units there are even representatives of the prosecutor’s office on duty, so the conscript can ask for help himself. But this is not always possible, so it is most likely up to the parents to act.

What not to do

A soldier should definitely not run away from his unit if there is no direct threat to his life. There is a penalty for such an offense. What to do if your son has already escaped from the unit? The first step is to take him to the hospital and document the beatings, if any.

But it will be difficult to prove that he received them in the service. The unit's command will insist that he escaped healthy, and that he earned the bruises while on the run. The second thing you need to do is come to the military registration and enlistment office and submit a written request to be sent to another military unit for service.

Is it manly to complain?

I know exactly what Not like a man:

• Attack one in a crowd.
• Humiliate and torture those who are weaker than you.
• Use your superior position to intimidate those who depend on you.

Each new episode of violence inflames even more the one who is the source of this violence. If your kid gets away with bruises, the next guy might end up in a cast, or worse. If your son and you see lawlessness, then it is your responsibility to do everything you can within the law and common sense to stop it.

Once again about the main thing