Moscow
Thousands of army conscripts are injured every year in harsh hazing rituals, and dozens die, Human Rights Watch said this week. The Russian military tradition known as the “rule of the grandfathers” subjects first-year soldiers to brutal treatment at the hands of their older peers. The hazing often includes random beatings, starvation, and even gang rape. In the first half of this year alone, 25 Russians were killed by hazing, and 60 of 109 suicides among servicemen were attributed to the practice. The Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers, a Russian advocacy group that has long accused the military of condoning brutal conditions, said the report was a welcome international recognition of soldiers’ suffering.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Antony Gormley's Time Horizon – a 'judgmental army' of 100 cast-iron menThe Week Recommends Sculptures are 'everymen questioning the privilege of their surroundings' at the Norfolk stately home
-
'King's horses take free rein through London'Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
-
Is pop music now too reliant on gossip?Talking Point Taylor Swift's new album has prompted a flurry of speculation over who she is referring to in her songs
