MOSCOW - The commander of an elite Russian division had been dismissed after a brief desertion by 16 soldiers protesting abuses, a top general said.

Sixteen unarmed soldiers of the 2nd Taman Guards Motorized Rifle Division left their base on Tuesday afternoon after signing a joint letter of protest against abuses by their commander.

The soldiers traveled by train to the Moscow office of the Committee of Soldier's Mothers, a non-governmental organization that defends the rights of servicemen. After counseling the soldiers, the group notified the military, which brought them back to their unit and launched an investigation.

During the probe, "the guilt of the company's commander was proven," Ground Forces chief Col.-Gen. Nikolai Kormiltsev said at a news conference Friday.

Kormiltsev said the officer had beaten a sergeant who led the deserters, insulted other servicemen and stole their wages.

"The company's commander has been dismissed and a criminal investigation has been opened against him," Kormiltsev said in
televised remarks.

He also said that in a separate incident on the day of the desertion, other servicemen from the same unit stole three Kalashnikov assault rifles and sold them to a criminal gang. A criminal investigation was started.

The Taman division has long been considered one of the most elite units of the Soviet and then Russian armed forces, taking part in military parades and hosting foreign visitors.

Desertions, shootings and suicides have plagued the demoralized and underfunded Russian military. Draft-dodging has become widespread as young conscripts seek to avoid miserable condition, vicious hazing of young conscripts by older soldiers and officers and the war in Chechnya (news - web sites).

In September, 54 soldiers left their unit in southern Russia and marched nearly 35 miles (56 kilometers) to the city of Volgograd to protest beatings by their officers.