Russian military officials deny brutality

Text: HRH/Moscow, by Yanina Savenko. Sources: gzt.ru, gazeta.ru, cnews.ru, newsru.com. Photos: prima-news.ru, nosoldat.ru

Since September 2006 Roman Rudakov, soldier of the 21st engineering company of the Leningradsky military region, has been staying in hospital in severe condition.  He needs a very complicated operation – small intestine transplantation.

Blows every day
Roman often complained of brutal treatment. The witnesses to this are Roman’s letters, which were handed over to human rights activists by the soldier’s sister Svetlana Rudakova.  “I get blows to my head every day without any reason; sergeants just have nothing else to do”; “we squat down 400 times”; “my life in the army is very hard; sergeants often abuse us, especially in the evening, they use us at construction works”. Just before the hospitalization Roman was complaining of abdominal pains, but a lieutenant kicked Rudakov in stomach as a punishment “for simulation”.

As usual military officials deny facts of violence
On January 16th Vice-Prime Minister – Minister of Defense Sergey Ivanov claimed that Rudakov’s disease wasn’t connected with inappropriate relations in the army. “This incident has no relation to the law and order and to discipline in troops as well”, said Ivanov.  Meanwhile, Commander-in-Chief of the Leningradsky military region Igor Puzanov stressed that Rudakov had a “serious blood disease, which is usually diagnosed only by its open manifestations”, so Rudakov had been drafted legally. “The soldier’s disease could have been provoked by a glass of Coca-Cola or by a cold”, added General Puzanov. Military Prosecutor’s assistant of the Leningradsky military region reported that the investigation of facts of the Rudakov’s case wasn’t over and approximate date of investigation completion has not yet been set.

Which statistics is true?
According to official reports, in the year 2006, 554 soldiers perished being on duty for different reasons. “The majority of them – 279 men died in traffic accidents; 27 soldiers perished as a result of inappropriate relations in the army”, said Sergey Ivanov.  However, according to “Mother’s Right” Foundation, about 3000 soldiers perish in the army during military service yearly, and this number remains practically permanent from year to year. Suicide is the most frequent reason of soldiers death (25%), 15% of death cases is due to brutality and 11% – a result of diseases.

Restricted zone: no communication   
After the notorious case of Andrey Sychev in 2006, the Union of Soldiers Mothers Committees of the Russian Federation (USMCR) took the initiative to provide Russian soldiers with mobile phones to help them to fight against “dedovshchina” (brutal rule of elders).  “We know boys who were saved because they had mobile phones”, said Valentina Melnikova, Chairwoman of USMCR. Officially army regulations and Russian legislation don’t forbid mobile phone possession and using by soldiers. However, military officials disapprove of the idea of distributing cell phones among soldiers in barracks. Despite the fact that a few mobile phone companies are ready to offer mobile phones with special tariff for soldiers with some numbers they can call free of charge (such as UCSMR offices, Military Prosecutor Offices and some others), military officials almost everywhere forbid soldiers to use mobile phones.

Principal newsmakers are not politicians now
Recently, cases of violence in the army have been appearing in Russian mass media almost every day. However, this situation doesn’t mean that the Russian army has become more open and is ready to discuss its problems with society. According to Valentina Melnikova, in the situation of absence of political life in the country Soldiers Mothers became the principal newsmakers.