St. Petersburg, Russia
The Russian army is investigating claims that young conscripts in St. Petersburg units are being forced to work as male prostitutes. Military prosecutors began looking into the allegations last week, after the Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers went public with the charges. Other activists said the Leningrad Military District had known about the prostitution ring, run by older soldiers, for years. “We gave them deserters’ statements in which they complained about being forced into prostitution to earn money for old-timers,” activist Ruslan Linkov told Ekho Moskvy radio. “Nobody did anything.” The Russian military has had serious problems with hazing of new recruits. Some youths have been beaten to death; others have lost limbs.
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