Conscripts in the Russian army are subject to an extreme form of hazing known as Dedovshchina which translates into “rule of grandfathers”. It features brutal beatings, humiliation of every kind ...

The Russian army today, like any other army, is an institution for organising and channelling violence in the pursuit of some concept of the national interest. But violence is not easy to control, and ...

Over the recent New Year’s holidays, Private Andrei Sychyov’s superiors tied him to a chair and beat him continuously for hours and hours, taking breaks only to sustain their drinking binge. When it ...

Throughout the first year of their military service, hundreds of thousands of new recruits in the Russian armed forces face grossly abusive treatment at the hands of more senior conscripts. Under a ...

Dedovshchina has devastating and lasting consequences for the physical and psychological well-being of conscripts. Tens of thousands of young conscripts try to flee their units every year because of ...

Russia has always had a conscript army. In the nineteenth century serfs had to serve first for 25 years, later reduced to 20. With the abolition of serfdom, the period of service for every Russian ...

Over the recent New Year’s holidays, Private Andrei Sychyov’s superiors tied him to a chair and beat him continuously for hours and hours, taking breaks only to sustain their drinking binge. When it ...