Hazing is on the increase in the Russian army

The number of hazing-related crimes in the Russian army has increased 30% in the current year while the general crime rate has reduced two times. Speaking at a press conference on September 3, chief military prosecutor Alexander Savenkov said that many army officers simply do not know that assault and battery is punishable. According to him, this year alone over 2,000 servicemen have been subjected to this kind of physical abuse, and 16 soldiers died. 167 army officers have been convicted.

Savenkov said he has already signed an order, obliging bodies of the military prosecutor's office dealing with hazing to more closely cooperate with human rights organizations. The chief military prosecutor called for restoring the system of putting offenders in the guardhouse which had been abolished after introducing the new Code of Criminal Procedure last year. However, he stressed that this punishment should be used only by court order. A draft law "On disciplinary arrest of servicemen" has already been prepared and sent to the government for consideration.

Taking questions, Savenkov said that due to the amnesty in Chechnya criminal cases against 27 servicemen have been dropped. On the K-159 nuclear submarine tragedy in the Barents Sea, Savenkov said he considers defense minister Sergei Ivanov's statements on this issue to be "balanced" but not as something belonging to "criminal law". He confirmed that deputy commander of a submarine division Sergei Zhemchuzhny has been charged with violation of navigation rules.