MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti commentator Boris Kaimakov.)
A new Russian word is slowly but steadily becoming international. The world media have started using the term "dedovshchina" on a par with such words as sputnik or Molotov cocktail. The new term stems from the root "ded" or grandfather, a nickname for older recruits. Having served most of their term in the Army, they are at the top of the ladder, and monitor order and discipline. Officers rely on them in the barracks, and quite often charge them with routine problems, as well as with control of compliance with the Manual. Sometimes this control becomes brutal and the book is thrown away. "Dedovshchina" is a colloquial term for this violence of older recruits towards younger soldiers.
Russia has been in a state of shock for the past few days. A young soldier from the Chelyabinsk Armor Academy had his legs and genitals amputated following the beating and torture on New Year's Eve. The young man was forced to crouch for more than three hours, and was severely beaten whenever he tried to move. He only received medical aid on the third day when the signs of gangrene had already become apparent.
Torture and humiliation of young solders in the army is common knowledge. The Committee of Soldiers' Mothers has reported incidents of hazing more than once. Young people in Russia know about it, and try to escape the draft by hook or crook. A bribe to the head of a military recruitment office or to a doctor will do the job. Recruiting young men from the poorest strata, the Army is becoming marginalized. The Committee's attempts to draw public attention to hazing were suppressed by top military command and many Deputies to the Duma, who accused it of trying to weaken the army from within. Criticism of the Committee was particularly strong, because it belongs to NGOs, many of which are financed from abroad.
Now that the Federal Security Service has reported that British professional agents in Moscow paid Russian opposition NGOs, the debates on foreign funding have reached boiling point. During his recent meeting with Angela Merkel Vladimir Putin pointed out that funding of Russian non-government organizations by foreign secret services discredited the image of human rights champions in the public eye.
But after the Chelyabinsk tragedy the position of the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers could no longer be ignored. It caused an uproar even in the Army, and Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov made a public statement on TV, and demanded a thorough investigation of the drama.
High-ranking generals have been sent to Chelyabinsk; the Prosecutor's Office has started investigation; the guilty officers and men have been put under arrest. Moreover, it was declared that the Armor Academy would be disbanded, but later the Defense Ministry itself disavowed this information. Private Andrei Sychev is in grave condition in hospital.
There is no doubt that the officers and men who tortured him would be punished. Some of them will be stripped of their ranks and ousted from the army; others will receive terms in prison. But will these measures save future young soldiers from humiliation by older recruits? The advocates of a professional army give a negative answer to this question because the main problem remains unresolved. They stand for a Western-style army of professionals with high salaries, who would respect each other and enjoy prestige in society. This is the only way to eradicate hazing.
The Chelyabinsk tragedy has raised one more problem. What is the mental condition of soldiers, if they can be so sadistic to their comrades? Can they be trusted to control sophisticated weapons? Won't this lead to unauthorized use of weapons?
Replying to this question, Head of the Personnel Building Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces Col.-Gen. Nikolai Reznik said: "We have submitted to the State Duma our proposal on using polygraph, a lie detector, in the Army."
He believes that it is particularly important to prevent mentally unstable servicemen from getting into the strategic missile and air defense forces, submarine fleet, aviation and armor corps.
"When an army serviceman is ill, he can trigger off an emergency, even a tragedy on a global scale," said the Russian general. Only independent experts and human rights defenders used to make such statements before. Now generals from the Defense Ministry have adopted their language.
