#12 - RW 269
Growing Violence in Russian Army Seen By Example of Two Cases
Rossiyskaya Gazeta
August 12, 2003
Article by Sergey Ptichkin:
"Friendly Fire. A Reverberating Murder in an Army Training Center Was Preceded by a Silent Suicide"

Another incident has occurred in the Armed Forces. Last Friday (8 August), serviceman from an MVO (Moscow Military District) training center located near Kovrovo shot and killed two officers and one sergeant from a submachine gun. The young soldier, who was drafted a little more than one month ago, took a combat submachine gun for the first time in his life and shot a burst at his commanders: a lieutenant, senior lieutenant, and sergeant. The officers died and the sergeant was hospitalized. The murderer is arrested and an investigation is under way.

It is too early to talk about reasons that urged an absolutely normal 20-year-old youth, a former student of the legal department of Moscow State University, because the investigation has just started. Yet, the first, quite delirious, theories have already appeared, suggesting that the soldier had a nervous breakdown, decided to kill himself, and therefore... killed the officers so that they would not prevent him from committing a suicide. The theory about hazing has been categorically rejected. What hazing? What beating? We are all a military brotherhood here and share, as an old song says, even the last piece of bread, the father commanders of the unit assure.

Alas, there are some serious grounds for having doubts about this army idyll. The point is that 18 days before the officers were killed, a different tragedy took place and was never made public. But had the MVO command adequately reacted to the incident connected with the tragic death of Private Ivanov, other families may not have suffered from terrible grief.

Pasha (diminutive from Pavel) Ivanov, a guy from countryside, joined the Army without hesitation. Although his mother and father were absolutely civilian people, his uncle and aunt were officers as high as the General Staff, which is why the authority of homeland defender was undisputable in his family.

The young soldier was sent to the Kovrovo training center. Unfortunately, instead of cheerful letters Pavel's parents started receiving from him messages full of bitterness. They said only one thing: If their son is not transferred from the training center to any different unit, he will not live to the swearing ceremony, he will be beaten to death.

The influential relatives from the General Staff helped. Young soldier Ivanov was transferred before the swearing ceremony (an extraordinary case in itself) to a unit where hazing was eliminated long time ago. The MVO has this kind of subunits as well.

Pavel Ivanov arrived in a new unit on 18 July, Friday, and was immediately admitted to the medical unit. The commander talked with him and realized that the boy was actually in bad shape. He was offered to stay in the hospital for one month for a checkup and treatment and then separately swear allegiance to the Motherland. However, Pasha literally cried, asking the commander to let him stand in ranks with everyone else. On the following day, on Saturday of 19 July, Pavel Vasilyevich Ivanov took an oath with a hundred of other recruits.

Unfortunately, his parents were unable to attend the ceremony, but his military relatives did arrive. They also took the newly-made soldier for a visit to his native village, which is permitted at present. Pasha stayed at home for one day and met with all his friends. He did not tell them anything sad about his new unit. Even though he did not serve even two full days there, he spoke well about it.

On Monday, 21 June, the same relatives brought him back to the place of service. Private Ivanov reached the checkpoint, and this is where something went awry in his head. Pavel took a cab back to the train station and bought a ticket to Moscow. Several stations later, he got off the train, walked into the forest, and... hung himself.

The parents, relatives, the commanders of the unit, where Pasha took an oath only several days before -- all experienced a shock. The autopsy showed that all his organs were swollen from beating, his leg was injured, and he apparently experienced severe pain all the time. A forensic examination established that he was beaten at least two weeks before his death, or in the unfortunate training center. Yet, no criminal case was instigated because the suicide was committed in a new place of service, where Ivanov was not subjected to any violence and he did not even leave any suicide note. Nor was the tragic death of the young soldier made public.

The Army topic is permanently raised by newspapers. But almost in every case society starts shaking fists when the fight is over and the whole thing ends in purely populist campaigns. For example, everyone was so happy when a ban was imposed on putting soldiers in the guardhouse without a court decision, thinking that some basic elements of the law-governed state had finally reached the military community. However, it never occurred to anyone that officers had been practically left without any other efficient educational arguments than fists.

The Main Military Prosecutor's Office sounded alarm and started severely punishing commanders. Hundreds of officers are already sentenced for violence. There are even more privates and sergeants sentenced for hazing each other. Yet, the problem persists.

The worst thing is that it is an absolutely normal person, with no physical or psychological deviations, that has the toughest life in the Army today. What is an environment where a law-abiding 18-year old youth finds himself after leaving home? The environment that can be called the most glaring section of our, alas, sick society. The number of drug addicts and alcoholics in the Army is nearing a critical figure. Among the recruits, there are 18-year-old people with a record of four (!) convictions. They could not care less about admonishments of their commanders or army regulations and they respect only one law, the law of physical force and a wolf's pack.

There is another problem that can explode as loudly as can be. It is about quite strained relations between the soldiers who came to serve in the Army from the Caucasus and all other recruits. It is a topic for a separate conversation, but one should know that the beatings of Russian soldiers carry increasingly often signs of ethnic hostility. In this not at all ideal environment, which has elements of banditry, modest countryside guys like Pasha Ivanov -- let him rest in peace -- and city intellectuals, who Aleksey Alekhin proved to be, have the hardest life.

It seems that we are about to deal with an absurd question: How should we protect our protectors against themselves? This question should not be asked to the Army command only but also to our whole civilian society. At the same time, one should realize that the much-touted professionalization of military service can only worsen the situation. Military pay will be craved by those who cannot find a place in civilian life and who very often should not be allowed within firing range of either personnel or weapons.

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