A particularly vicious form of hazing had existed in the Soviet army for years. I remember friends in Moscow in the late ’80s desperately trying to get their draft-age son into an American university. It was the dedovshchina (дедовщина) they were worried about, which apparently was getting worse as the Soviet Union devolved into senescence.
I had assumed the problem had abated once the USSR collapsed and a new Russia struggled into existence. Not so. Recently I had begun to see headlines in the Russian press about hazing, but before I had a chance to read the stories, the Los Angeles Times came out with coverage of a particularly horrific incident in Chelyabinsk. The fate of Andrey Sychev has sparked a broad self-examination and calls for deep reform in the armed forces.
Amid the press reports, one can find this letter in Izvestia from a retired US general:
At one time I thought that dedovshchina in the Russian army was a deviation from the norm, that it would disappear after conditions of service improved and the service personnel were better provided for materially. But now I think it’s a problem that’s much more sinister and severe, as confirmed by the recent brutal beating of the soldier Andrey Sychev. I’ll allow myself to break a longstanding rule not to give advice to my Russian colleagues and offer three possible paths to solving the problem.
First, the fact that dedovshchina exists and that other crimes are committed in the military environment must be taken as a lapse in military supervision. All military supervisors, regardless of their official responsibilities, must bear personal responsibility for this.
Second, a special department in the Ministry of Defense must be created whose sole purpose is to investigate possible cases of dedovshchina. Service personnel would be able to turn to specialists in this department if they feel they cannot trust their commanders.
Third, the struggle against dedovshchina would be facilitated by the creation of a professional sergeant rank: instituting such a post would be an investment that would repay itself many times over.
But the main thing is this: eradicating dedovshchina must not be the prerogative of the Ministry of Defense. Dedovshchina is not merely a problem for commanders; it’s a problem for government, for the nation. Parents, teachers, business people—all must understand what becomes of an army weakened by abuse of its soldiers.
—Brig. Gen. Kevin Ryan (ret.),
former military attaché at the US embassy in Russia
It would seem reformers have their work cut out for them. From the LA Times story:
“One should understand one very simple thing: Hazing is wild, barbaric, and also the only system of keeping discipline within barrack rooms,” Moscow military analyst Alexander Golts said. “The Russian army simply doesn’t know another system of keeping discipline.
“This hazing at the end of the day is the result of the entire attitude of the army, and the way it fights,” Golts said. “The attitude is that if a soldier is only needed [to live through] one battle, you don’t need a well-educated and well-trained soldier.”
A small sampling of the ongoing coverage (in Russian):
- Report on the Sychev incident and others:
“Grandfathers” Beat a Soldier to the Point Where His Legs Needed to be Amputated—Izvestia (2006.01.26) - Another hazing incident:
The Best Defense is Prosecution—Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2006.02.10) - “Man-on-the-street” snippets:
“How Do We Get Rid of Dedovshchina?”—Komsomolskaya Pravda (2006.01.28)
