| Suffering
for the good of mother Russia Stephen Dalziel BBC Russian affairs analyst "It's not important to me that you serve. It's only important to me that yousuffer." These words, spoken by a Soviet Army officer in the 1980s, remain true for many Russian conscripts today, according to a report by the international pressure group Human Rights Watch. The report, called The Wrongs of Passage, makes sickening reading. It makes it clear that the ritual of organised bullying in the Russian Army - known as "dedovshchina" - has not only continued since Soviet times but has become harsher. Dedovshchina is a self-perpetuating system. There are two conscription periods a year where conscripts are enlisted for two years. That means that at any time there are four distinct groups of conscripts in any barracks. 'Horrific violence' Dedovshchina especially concerns the senior soldiers - in their last six months - and the newest recruits. The seniors are in many cases given free rein to treat the juniors as little more than slaves. And if the juniors do not do as they are told, the seniors often use horrific violence to enforce their rule. Juniors tolerate it, because next year the boot will be on the other foot. Thousands more are left physically and or mentally scarred. Hundreds are killed or commit suicide The situation is exacerbated by the fact that most conscripts are ill-educated and frequently come from backgrounds with severe social problems. And many junior officers either do not care about the welfare of their soldiers, or passively encourage the bullying as it gives a certain "discipline" to the barrack block. The report claims that tens of thousands of soldiers run away from their units every year because of the widespread abuse Thousands more are left physically and or mentally scarred. Hundreds are killed or commit suicide. The abuse has been known about for several years. But the human rights organisation points out that the Russian leadership has done nothing to address the problem. Need for protection The report even quotes the Defence Minister, Sergei Ivanov, as implying that there is something suspicious about the Committees of Soldiers' Mothers, which have done much to help those victimised by the system. Human Rights Watch concludes that the very least that could be done would be the establishment of an ombudsman to protect the rights of Russian servicemen. The ombudsman would have the right of access to military bases at any time, could speak in private to any serviceman, and have access to documents and correspondence from soldiers who are often too terrified to speak of their ordeal. As Human Rights Watch points out, this is not merely an internal Russian matter. Dedovshchina and those who carry it out - or tacitly encourage it - are preventing Russia from complying with human rights obligations in international conventions willingly agreed to by the Russian government. The Russian authorities, though, do not have a history of bowing to pressure from non-governmental organisations. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/3756866.stm Published: 2004/10/20 00:29:52 GMT © BBC MMIV |