I think everyone has heard about the Russian troops in Ukraine. I will not touch on relations between Russia and Ukraine today, because today I want to tell you about the army.
In the US and Europe, most armies are contract-based. That is, the profession is treated as a profession. But not in Russia. We have a conscription army - every man over 18 must serve a year in the army. At the same time, the Russian Federation is not officially at war with anyone, so why a mandatory army is needed is not clear.
And it would be fine if the conditions in the army were good - but no. A legendary video has been circulated on the Russian Internet, where soldiers are sitting in the dining room at their headquarters. One of them turns the plate upside down - and the food does not fall down. He pats the plate - food does not fall. And this is in every military unit. Below you can see photos of food from the army - oatmeal with sausage, cheap bread and tea "from a bucket" - a so-so combination.
A week ago, I had to go through the first stage of entering the army myself. In January, a summons came to the army, until February it was necessary to collect all the documents. The military enlistment office was housed in an old Soviet building, crowded with hundreds of conscripts like me - in the midst of a pandemic. All in all, it didn't go too bad - except that I had to go back to the urologist, which I don't really like for obvious reasons. It took four hours - paperwork, medical examination, red tape again - and home. Usually everything is worse - they are forced to go through an endless medical examination and paperwork without the right to even go to the toilet. And it takes eight hours. But I arrived early and fired back easily, although it didn’t go without trouble - it turned out that not all the documents were indicated on the agenda, and I had to “collect them again”, although if you don’t do this, no one will say against. Why? Because всем похуй.
There are several ways to "reject" from the army The first is a diagnosis. If you are sick with something, then they will not let you in. Many "picture" diseases for themselves (fortunately, you know how corrupt Russia is, and there are no problems with this). By the way, non-traditional orientation is also considered a "disease" in this list - speaking of Russian homophobia. The second is to bribe the head of the military registration and enlistment office. The third is the university. Many go to universities just to avoid the army.The last way is to say that the army is contrary to your religion or ideology. Those. if you are a pacifist, then you can, in theory, legally hang out from the army. But it is extremely difficult to prove this, and you will still serve, but in a different form - to work as an orderly in a hospital for free. Or the postman. And the term instead of one year - two.
Why is everyone so reluctant to join the army? Because the Russian army is HELL. Living conditions are half the problem.
First, the attitude of the leadership towards recruits. They are not considered human. At best, they are just treated like a burden. Like how an office worker relates to deliverable documents that need to be filled out. At worst, generals treat soldiers like cheap labor. One soldier died under a fallen plank while he and others were building a dacha for the general's mother-in-law.
The soldiers themselves do not consider each other as friends or people either. Hazing flourishes in the army - when more service soldiers (dembelya) mock new soldiers (novichoks). You'll be lucky if they just take away things or money. After all, they can be beaten. Just. And in the worst case - forced to have sex. Yes, you got it right. Homosexual rapes happen regularly in the Russian army.
Some soldiers were forced to fight in other countries - in Syria and in the East of Ukraine (the same Donbas where the separatist republics are fighting against Ukrainian troops). At the same time, they are fighting not as soldiers of the Russian Federation - but as fighters of the Wagner PMC - an organization that, as it were, exists, but it seems to be non-existent. And the bodies of those who died there are not returned to their mothers.
And finally, an interesting fact - the Russian parliament annually increases the budget of the army, cutting medical care, education and benefits, as well as raising taxes. At the same time, the military sector is considered the most corrupt in the Russian government.
