08/25/10 The Ministry of Defense issued a memo, deliberately preparing recruits for service not according to the charter
From the NVO dossier

Hazing in the Armed Forces of the USSR, and now in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and in a number of armies of the CIS countries, is the most common form of hazing, which is a violation of the statutory rules of relations between military personnel called up for service and based on an informal hierarchical division of soldiers and sergeants by conscription and term services.

The ideological basis of hazing is made up of traditions, customs and rituals passed down from conscription to conscription. Very often, the traditions and rituals operating within its framework are associated with facts of humiliation of the honor and dignity of military personnel of a later draft. AT modern conditions the difference in service life cannot be more than six months. However, even this recent positive change did not save the army from hazing. As before, in order to maintain the authority of the old-timers and compel the young to perform certain chores, they are subjected to psychological pressure and physical violence. There are facts when, as a result of beatings, serious bodily injuries or bodily injuries of medium gravity were inflicted on servicemen. In some cases, hazing led to death.

As part of the “month of rallying military teams” held since the beginning of August, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, apparently having exhausted all its possibilities to eradicate the evil called hazing in the army, decided to shift its functions of ensuring their safety onto the shoulders of recruits. War Department educators began handing out handouts to newly converted fighters, which listed a whole bunch of recommendations on how young soldiers should protect themselves from this scourge.

The essence of the instructions, oddly enough, boils down to the fact that "saving the drowning is the work of the drowning themselves." These documents contain recommendations, strictly following which, young soldiers allegedly will be able to completely avoid the outrages of zealous "grandfathers", take advantage of their complete defenselessness and minimize the possible consequences of their attacks. First of all, of course, recruits are recommended in any circumstances to strictly follow the norms of Russian legislation, strictly comply with the requirements of military regulations, the instructions of commanders and superiors, and also not give reasons for humiliation and blackmail by senior comrades in the service. Well - the preamble is quite understandable and, so to speak, traditional, one might say - familiar. But further...

The memo formulated several rules, following which, an ordinary soldier can avoid hazing or maximally weaken all possible serious consequences of attacks by old-timers on his freedom. Educators recommend that soldiers who have arrived at the service do not do anything “for which they will be ashamed later.” “If you find yourself in a situation where they try to humiliate you, insult you, and making sure that you are one of those who are easy to get scared, they threaten you with physical violence, do not pretend that you are scared,” the drafters of the document recommend. They are deeply convinced that it is precisely this behavior of recruits that supposedly will help them, in a moral sense, to stand head and shoulders above their offenders and win a “psychological and moral victory” over them.

The mentors of the defenders of the Fatherland advise them to strengthen their fighting spirit and after that begin to look for effective ways of personal protection. "Don't go for aggravation, try to reason with the scoundrels with words," the creators of the memo advise. However, they, not excluding the possibility of physical clashes, advise the fighters to remain men to the end and defend their rights even with their fists, but at the same time not exceed statutory necessary self-defense measures. Therefore, young soldiers are urged not to use weapons to punish their offenders.

The fact that conscripts will begin to distribute leaflets with the rules of action in case of manifestations of hazing, it became known in early August this year. As news agencies recently reported, all this action related to educating young soldiers about hazing takes place as part of the so-called month of uniting military teams, which is organized under the auspices of the Ministry of Defense and will take place throughout August.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the Main Military Prosecutor's Office announced this action at the beginning of this month. The officials of these departments said that they would teach soldiers to resist hazing, and instill in military leaders of all levels the necessary skills to effectively resolve conflicts that arise in army teams.

The press service and information department of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation said in a statement that “during the month, methodological exercises will be held with commanding officers of all levels on the prevention of violent offenses, including conflict situations between military personnel in multinational military collectives. The report also refers to the already mentioned memos containing an algorithm of actions in “various situations of increased risk of unlawful actions of a violent nature by colleagues”, indicates options for contacting unit commanders, military courts and military prosecutors, and even contact numbers.

REFLECTIONS OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE AND THE PROSECUTOR

In the middle of June of this year former general Army, Secretary of State - Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Nikolai Pankov at a joint meeting of the collegiums of the Ministry of Defense, the Prosecutor General's Office, the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Sports and Tourism called "communication skills" acquired by recruits in informal youth groups one of the main reasons for the manifestations of hazing in the Russian army extremist kind.

He noted that today in Russia there are about 150 such groups, which are located mainly in major cities, but emphasized that their influence could spread to the entire Russian Federation.

According to the Deputy Minister, recruits arriving in the Armed Forces from the Perm and Primorsky Territories, Saratov, Nizhny Novgorod and Kaliningrad Regions, as well as from North Ossetia and Buryatia, show a particularly high level of crime. Named Pankov and regions, conscripts from which are unfit for military service due to drug use. These include the Krasnodar Territory, Moscow, Kemerovo, Sverdlovsk and Amur Regions, as well as Bashkiria.

In 2009, according to the secretary of state, more than 3,000 Russians were recognized as limited or completely unfit for military service. “The diagnosis of drug addiction, unfortunately, is becoming a common factor for draft boards of the subjects of the Federation,” said Pankov.

And Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Yuri Chaika noted that over the past 20 years, the number of men of military age fit for military service has decreased by almost a third. According to him, the level of physical fitness of many conscripts for a variety of reasons does not fully meet the requirements of military service. However, he also stressed the fact that recently among young Russian citizens there has been an increase in interest in serving in the ranks of the Armed Forces. The Prosecutor General considers this trend to be a very positive shift in the mood of Russian youth.

The conscripts who have not yet put on their uniforms are already being warned about an imminent meeting with the "grandfathers".

NOT SO SIMPLE

Meanwhile, one of the officials of the Ministry of Defense, in a conversation with an NVO observer, noted that there are a lot of difficulties in the problem of hazing. He noted that relationships in closed teams, which today are called hazing, have a very long tradition. “If my memory serves me, similar phenomena were observed in the 16th-18th centuries at Eton College in England. There, the power of fellow students over their party comrades was even more cruel than the lawlessness of their teachers, who were extremely cruel,” the source said.

In the middle of the 19th century, in the most privileged military educational institution Russian Empire- The page corps, as Peter Kropotkin testifies, was also dominated by very tough morals. The older pupils, chamber-pages, "gathered newcomers into one room at night and drove them in nightgowns in a circle, like horses in a circus." Some of the chamber-pages stood in the circle, others outside it and mercilessly whipped the boys with gutta-percha whips.

At the beginning of the 20th century, as Prince Vladimir Trubetskoy wrote, in the Nikolaev Cavalry School, bullying of the elders over the younger was also practiced: forced to do squats, howl at the moon; they were given derogatory nicknames; they were repeatedly woken up at night, etc.” Officers-educators of military educational institutions not only knew about bullying, many of them were sure that "a pull-up gives the younger class discipline and drill, and the older one - the practice of using power."

All this smoothly passed into military practice under the Soviet regime. In 1919, the first case of hazing in the Red Army was recorded. Then the old-timers of one division beat their colleague to death, who refused to do their job. According to the laws of wartime, all three were shot.

Now there are many versions explaining the reasons for the appearance of hazing in the army. But the official of the Ministry of Defense is of the opinion that this phenomenon fully manifested itself only in 1967, although certain signs existed even earlier. This year, the term of service in the army was reduced from three to two years. Then came the first wave of shortage of conscripts, associated with a drop in the birth rate after the Second World War. Evidence appeared that the Soviet army, which numbered 5 million people, could not recruit more than 1.5 million conscripts into its ranks.

The Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU decided to conscript citizens with a criminal record into the army, which was previously strictly prohibited. Ideologically, this was framed as an opportunity for stumbled fellow citizens to take the path of correction. However, in life, everything happened just the opposite. Along with the criminals, the order of the zone also came to the barracks, the thieves' jargon appeared in the soldier's speech, and the former prisoners introduced ritual humiliation and bullying, adopted behind barbed wire.

In addition, by the end of the 60s, there were practically no commanders left in the Armed Forces of the USSR who participated in the Great Patriotic War. And they clearly understood what criminals were bringing to the troops, and were able to actively resist their actions.

In the summer of 1982, the USSR Armed Forces received a secret order No. 0100 on the fight against hazing. Thus, at the very height of the era of stagnation, the authorities recognized that hazing had become deadly dangerous, and tried to start fighting it.

Subsequently, there were many terrible cases of hazing in the Russian army, starting with the “case of Sakalauskas”, a young soldier from Lithuania, who in February 1987 shot a guard of seven old-timers at the entrance to Leningrad. Already in modern times, the case of Private Andrei Sychev, who served in the supply battalion of the Chelyabinsk Tank School, received a wide response. The soldier lost both legs due to bullying by the sergeant. There were many more similar incidents, ending either in death or severe mutilation of military personnel.

The interlocutor of NVO believes that the new "papers" of the commanding educators from the military department testify only to their complete impotence. Soldiers come to the army with different education and upbringing, with different cultures, different life experiences, communication skills, etc. It is simply impossible to change their views, morality and forms of interaction with each other in one year. This takes years. It is necessary to radically reconsider all approaches to the education of the younger generation, starting with the school, laws, the system of moral training of future fighters and ending with the powers of their commanders. No other is given. And primitive memos will not help here in any way. Just another checkbox will be put that the appropriate measures have been taken.

Violation of the statutory rules of relations between military personnel in the absence of subordination relations between them

hazing- the most common form of hazing - which is a violation of the statutory rules of relations between conscripts, based on the informal hierarchical division of soldiers and sergeants by conscription and service life.

The ideological basis of hazing is made up of traditions, customs and rituals passed down from conscription to conscription. Often, these traditions and rituals are associated with the facts of humiliation of the honor and dignity of military personnel of a late draft by military personnel of an earlier draft. Often, in order to maintain authority and compel the "young" to perform certain chores, psychological or physical violence can be used against the latter. There are cases when, as a result of beatings, serious or moderate bodily injuries were inflicted on servicemen. In exceptional cases, there are also deaths.

Features as offenses

It should be taken into account that hazing is a broader concept than hazing. Hazing includes the whole range of relations between servicemen that are not described in the combined arms regulations (including the relationship of chief-subordinate, subordinate-chief). "Hazing" in a narrow sense covers only those violations of the charters that are associated with the relationship between military personnel of senior and junior conscription.

Besides, modern science criminal and administrative law distinguishes between crimes committed in the framework of the so-called "hazing" and "barracks hooliganism". A distinctive feature is the subjective side of the offense. In the first case, the intent of the offender is aimed at asserting his status as an old-timer, forcing a young soldier to perform chores, perform certain rituals associated with the traditions of "hazing", etc. In the second case, the offender's illegal actions are motivated by personal hostile relations, interethnic, interethnic, religious hostility, property relations, hostile relations that suddenly arose, etc. (Commentary of the Criminal Code to the articles providing for liability for crimes against the person, honor and dignity; Vedomosti of the Supreme Court of the USSR, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (jurisprudence)). okefjkow Thus, violations within the framework of "bullying" of the statutory rules of relations between military personnel who are not in a relationship of subordination can be qualified as encroachments by military personnel of an older draft on the rights, honor, dignity and personal integrity of military personnel of a younger draft.

Often the phenomenon of hazing is directly due to the ratio of the physical and spiritual strength of “grandfathers, grandfathers, veterans, old, demobilized (gentlemen)” and “devils, spirits, dushars, security officers, checks, salabons, drischs, young, elephants (slaves)”.

Discrimination against military personnel on national, racial, ethnic and religious grounds does not fall under the concept of hazing, since in this case such a main criterion of hazing as the difference in terms of service between the offender and the victim is not taken into account.

This phenomenon is called "community".

One of the negative factors in the existence of "hazing" as a phenomenon is that this army subculture seriously undermines the authority of the army among young people of military age and is one of the reasons for evading military service.

A similar phenomenon, although not as pronounced as in the Army, is also observed in schools, boarding schools and other social institutions. The victims are usually physically weaker, insecure or simply younger children.

A responsibility

Violations of statutory relationships according to the degree of public danger are divided into

• disciplinary offences;

• criminal offenses.

The latter category includes violations that objectively fall under the disposition of the current articles of the Criminal Code (beating, torture, actions grossly insulting human dignity, robbery, robbery, fraud, etc.). Responsibility comes in a general criminal order. The actions of a serviceman who has committed hazing that do not fall under the concept of a crime should be regarded as a disciplinary offense (violation of the procedure for joining a shift in an outfit, coercion to perform household work (if not related to physical violence), coercion to perform hazing rituals ( also without physical violence), etc.). In this case, liability arises in accordance with the requirements of the Disciplinary Charter of the Armed Forces.

Story

The first case of hazing in the Red Army was recorded back in 1919. Three old-timers of the 1st regiment of the 30th division beat to death their colleague, a Red Army soldier Kupriyanov, a native of the Balakovo district of the Saratov region, born in 1901, due to the fact that the young soldier refused to do their work for the "grandfathers". According to the laws of wartime, those responsible for the death of a soldier were shot.

The issue was discussed at a meeting of the Politburo, and a solution was found. People with a criminal record began to be drafted into the army, which had previously been completely excluded. Ideologically, it looked like the correction of stumbled fellow citizens. However, in reality, everything happens differently: the internal life of the army is changing for the worse. Together with the criminal element, criminal orders come to the barracks, the thieves' jargon penetrates the soldier's speech. Copying prison rules, former criminals introduce ritual humiliation and bullying.

Also, by the end of the 60s, there were no commanders left in the Armed Forces who participated in the Great Patriotic War and from personal experience who know that a healthy morale in the unit entrusted to them is a guarantee of their own life.

Description of the phenomenon

Hazing lies in the presence of informal hierarchical relations parallel to the main formal ones. As a rule, it is accompanied by humiliation of human dignity and physical violence (assault). The direct victims of the phenomenon are members of the team who, for one reason or another, have a low status in the unofficial hierarchy (the status can be determined by experience, physical, psychophysiological characteristics, nationality, etc.). The basis of the status is physical strength and conflict resistance (the ability to insist on one's own). At the same time, hazing can be an auxiliary tool in the hands of the commanding staff, which can shift most of its duties of maintaining order to the leaders of the informal hierarchy, in return offering them certain benefits (extraordinary dismissals, condescending attitude to misconduct, reduction of physical activity, and others). The latter became more widespread as a result of changes made to army regulations after the collapse of the USSR in the course of army reforms, when unit commanders actually lost the opportunity to discipline conscripts within the framework of the charter.

Manifestations of hazing can be very different. In mild forms, it is not associated with a threat to life and health or a serious humiliation of dignity: recruits perform household chores for old-timers and, from time to time, their household assignments. In its extreme form, hazing comes to group sadism, when recruits are forced to fully serve the “grandfathers” (for example, to wash their clothes), take away money, things and food, subject them to systematic bullying and even torture, severely beaten, often inflicting grievous bodily harm. Recently, extortion of money has been very common in order to credit them to a cell phone account. Recruits are forced to call home and ask their parents to top up their "grandfather's" account or buy him a top-up card, which will then go to the same account. Often a military unit is not much different from a "zone". Hazing is the main reason for the regular escapes of conscripts from units and the high suicide rate among them. In addition, a significant part of violent crimes in the army is associated with hazing: in some cases, these are the crimes of “grandfathers” identified and brought to trial, in others, the response of recruits. There are cases when a recruit, who first entered the guard with military weapons, immediately shot his colleagues, who had mocked him before.

Hierarchical steps

The meaning of the terms may vary from the traditions of the branch of service or military unit.

Basic definitions in army slang for military personnel by service life:

• “Smells”, “Dryschi”, “Incorporeal Spirits” - military personnel who are quarantined before the oath.
• "Perfume", "Salagi", "Beavers", "Salabony", "Vaska", "Fathers", "Kids", "Hedgehogs", "Sparrows (VV)", "Checks (VV)", "Chekists (VV )”, “Karasi (fleet.)” - military personnel who served up to six months.
• "Elephants (Airborne Forces)", "Pomosa", "Shoelaces", "Crows (VV)", "Greyhounds (Navy)", - military personnel who served for six months.
• "Skulls", "Choppers (VV)", "Godki (Navy)", - military personnel who served one year.
• "Grandfathers" - military personnel who served for a year and a half. The name of the phenomenon comes from the stable term "grandfather".
• “Dembel”, “Citizens (VV)” (already considered to be almost civilian): conscripts, after the release of the order to transfer to the reserve.

In the navy: "Spirit" corresponds to the land "Spirit", "Karas" - "Lace", "Greyhound crucian" - "Sheep", and accordingly "Godok" - "Grandfather", therefore in the navy "Dedovshchina" is called "Anniversary".

Changing hierarchy levels

Transition from one hierarchical level to another carried out during the ritual of "interrupting", "translation". A soldier who does not enjoy the respect of his colleagues or violates the principles of hazing may remain "unkilled" - in this case, he is not entitled to the privileges of higher levels of the unofficial hierarchy, but is equated with "spirits" or even "smells", but this happens infrequently.

The transition to the next level is accompanied by a strong physical impact: blows with a belt (badge) on the rear of the person being translated (in the navy or with a stool). The number of blows is different for different levels (for example, those who are transferred from “scoops” to “grandfathers” are entitled to more blows than those who are transferred from “chekists” to “scoops”). The transfer to the higher caste from “grandfathers” to “demobilization” is symbolic, without the use of physical impact: the future demobilization is “beaten” on the backside with a thread through a layer of mattresses and pillows, and a specially selected “spirit” “screams in pain” for him. For the badges deserved by the time of the "transfer" (the rank of corporal or sergeant), additional blows are due.

As a rule, the “transfer” takes place on the first night after the Minister of Defense’s order “On transfer to the reserve ...” is issued (usually on September 27 and March 27), but it can also be delayed for several days, since the command of any unit is well aware of the procedures "translation" and often in the first days and nights after the release of the "Order ..." especially severely monitors compliance with the Charter.

Places of existence

It is usually believed that the most malicious forms of hazing are characteristic of "second-rate" units and branches of the armed forces, especially for the construction battalion, but the facts of hazing are often revealed in units and formations that are considered "elite". Hazing is traditionally much less common in the border troops "... this sad phenomenon almost did not affect the border troops" Materials of the seminar "The origins of hazing in the Russian (Soviet) army." (partly because fighters get their hands on military weapon). In addition, hazing is extremely uncommon in active air units, but not because soldiers of all terms often fly on the same plane (if they fly, it is only as a landing party or an object of transportation), but because there are very few conscripts in aviation units .

Ethnic hazing is also known, and even "hazing" in women's hostels (because of a different sex, it can be called "babovshchina"), and so on.

With a fairly significant spread in the USSR, in the military units of the Russian Federation and in the armies of the CIS member countries, hazing is a multi-level socio-psychological phenomenon, in fact, it is an army subculture that requires study by experts from various disciplines.

Reasons for the appearance

There are different points of view on the causes of hazing. According to some experts, the origin of hazing is directly related to the practice of conscripting prisoners from prisons into the USSR army. If so, then in the pre-war Red Army (and before that in the army of pre-revolutionary Russia) there was no hazing, and it dates back to 1942-43. It was then that prisoners began to be drafted into the active army, who brought part of their "zone" subculture into the Soviet Army. There is also an opinion that the "start" of hazing was given in the 1960s, at the time of the reduction of the service life in the Soviet Army (from three to two years in the ground forces and from four to three in the Navy), when old-timers, forced to finish their three or four years, began to take out evil on the recruits who came, who were to serve a year less. Hazing as a phenomenon finally acquired its present form in the late 80s - early 90s and during the devastation of the first years of independence of the post-Soviet states, when the disorder and neglect of the army reached its apogee.

The opinion is expressed that the appearance of hazing in one form or another is natural in the presence of a number of provoking factors, among which the following can be noted:

• The closeness of the community, the inability to easily leave it, all the more - the forced stay in the community (in the army - conscription service).
• Insufficiently comfortable living conditions (crowding, lack of hot water and other amenities of a civilized hostel).
• The absence of internal mechanisms designed to protect some members of the community from aggression from others (in the army, officers are officially responsible for order, in fact, they perform this function as much as they want).
• A community-cultivated notion that it is immoral to counter violence by appealing to law enforcement agencies or persons performing their functions. Simply put, the notion that "knocking" is mean. In the army - a complaint to an officer about an old-timer who beat a recruit automatically makes this recruit an "outcast" among his conscription, and, above all, in his own eyes. However, some believe that it is better to be an "outcast" than to be physically and psychologically abused. Everyone chooses how to act depending on the specific circumstances. From prison expressions, a person is awarded the nickname "goat".
• The need to perform work that is not related to the immediate goals and objectives of the community, but takes time and is not popular (in the army - household work). There is an opposite point of view, according to which bullying develops in conditions of excess free time among military personnel, and that it is better for a recruit to do household work than to sit in the barracks and be the object of hierarchical experiments of "grandfathers".
• Management's lack of interest in maintaining order. In the army, officers often succumb to the temptation to move away from the current work, shifting it to the "grandfathers".
• Evaluation of the activities of the leadership in the absence of officially registered incidents (in the army, they prefer to hide even obvious crimes on the basis of hazing, since unit commanders are punished for detected cases). Nevertheless, since hazing often results in suicides (often resulting from humiliation, much less often - rape), the facts of hazing “emerge”, and a trial is conducted with the participation of the army prosecutor's office.

Overcoming hazing

Despite the fact that hazing has many objective prerequisites, there are cases (the Volga-Ural Military District) when a junior conscription created an organization, a kind of "trade union", and with the support of the command of the unit, got rid of the manifestations of hazing in general. Valery Miroshnikov. Overcoming hazing. Experience 2008 (2008). Retrieved April 2, 2009.

Reflection in works of art

Hazing in cinema and literature

Dedovshchina received a great public outcry in the USSR during the period of so-called glasnost after the publication in the year of Yuri Polyakov's story "One Hundred Days Before the Order" (written in). This work was devoted to acute social problems in the army, which until that time were under an unspoken taboo. Later the story was filmed under the same title.

Below is an incomplete list of films in which, to one degree or another, the problem of hazing is reflected (including in a parody style):

• In the feature film "DMB: Army Story" () directed by Roman Kachanov, an attempt was made by comedic means to relieve the social tension caused in Russian society by hazing and the reaction to it from soldiers' mothers. The films "DMB-2" () and "DMB-3" () gained much less success from the viewer.

Notes

• Fellowship is a variant of hazing, based not on the hierarchy of service life, but on belonging to a certain group of soldiers in one unit, who were called up for service from one city, region or republic. Often these soldiers are of the same nationality. This grouping does not always make up the majority, but it always acts as a united front, together, and they crush all other soldiers under them by force and dictate their own rules, which "non-compatriots" are obliged to observe.
• One of the variants of the army, navy folklore in the 80s-90s of the XX century, the so-called prayer or lullaby for "grandfather", usually performed by the "spirit", "salabon" standing on a bedside table or a pyramid of stools ("jars"), at night , after the "light out", when the fathers-commanders left the location of the company. Cases are described when recruits pretend to leave for their homeland at night for the "demobilization" - they rock the bed and imitate the sounds of the train.

Foreign analogues

• Hazing
• Fagging
• Ragging
• EK-Bewegung (German)

Hazing in the USSR army flourished in the 1970s and 1980s, but its roots should be sought outside the period of stagnation. Cases of hazing in the Armed Forces occurred both in the early years of Soviet power and in tsarist Russia.

origins

Up to early XIX centuries, attempts at relations not according to the charter in the Russian army were successfully suppressed. This was connected both with the authority of the officers and with the level of discipline of the personnel. However, closer to the middle of the century, with the liberalization of society, the orders become more free among military personnel.

The scientist and traveler Pyotr Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky in his memoirs recalled his stay at the School of Guards Ensigns and Cavalry Junkers, where he entered in 1842 as a 15-year-old boy.

“The newcomers were treated with humiliation: under all possible pretexts, they were not only beaten mercilessly, but sometimes they were directly tortured, although without brutal cruelty. Only one of the pupils of our class, distinguished by cruelty, walked with a belt in his hands, on which a large key was tied, and beat the newcomers with this key even on the head, ”wrote Semenov-Tyan-Shansky.

At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, cases of hazing began to occur much more often. The Nikolaev Cavalry School even had its own vocabulary, reflecting hazing. The younger ones there were called "beasts", the older ones - "cornets", and the repeaters - "majors".

The methods of bullying the elders over the younger ones in the school were striking in their diversity and originality and, according to contemporaries, were developed by entire generations of predecessors. For example, the harsh "majors" of the first class could force newcomers as a punishment and just "eat flies."

The first case of hazing in the Red Army was recorded in 1919. Three old-timers of the 1st Regiment of the 30th Infantry Division beat their colleague born in 1901 to death because the young soldier refused to do their work for the old-timers. According to the laws of wartime, all three were shot. After this incident, for almost half a century there were no official reports of recorded cases of hazing in the USSR army.

Return

When in the late 1960s Soviet army cases of hazing began to be noted again, many, especially veterans of the Great Patriotic War, did not want to believe in it, calling it fiction, nonsense. For gray-haired front-line soldiers, for whom morale, honor and mutual assistance in the war were above all, this was not easy to accept.

According to one version, hazing returned to the army after the reduction of the term of conscription in 1967 from three years to two in the ground forces and from four to three in the navy. For some time, there was such a situation that in one unit there were conscripts who served their third year, and those who were destined to spend a year less in the army. The latter circumstance infuriated the employees of the old conscription, and they took out their anger on the recruits.

There is another reason. The change in service life coincided with a shortage of conscripts caused by the demographic effects of the war. The five millionth Soviet army was to be reduced by a third. In order to somehow compensate for the demographic losses, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU was forced to make a decision to draft men with a criminal record into the army, which had previously been completely excluded.

Functionaries explained this event as the correction of stumbled fellow citizens. However, in fact, the former inhabitants of prisons and zones began to introduce into the army the rules and rituals of their former places of residence.

Other observations place the blame for hazing on the unit commanders, who began to make extensive use of soldier labor for personal material gain. Economic activity not provided for by the charter led to the fact that the old-timers began to act as overseers of the soldiers of the first year of service.

However, sociologist Aleksey Solnyshkov notes that already in 1964 a number of works devoted to hazing issues appeared, which means that this problem existed earlier and has deeper roots. Moreover, some experts on hazing in the army argue that hazing never went away, but was always and everywhere.

The sickness of society

For many researchers hazing in the Soviet army is a direct consequence of the changing social background in the country. Admiral Vyacheslav Popov, former commander of the Northern Fleet, believes that hazing is a disease of society that has been transferred to the army environment.

In the 1960s, a breakdown occurred in Soviet society, when the elite, finally escaping from the total control of the Stalinist system, began to shake the decades-old system of subordination and subordination. Responsibility has been replaced by irresponsibility, and pragmatism has been replaced by voluntarism.

Scientist and publicist Sergei Kara-Murza connects hazing with the fall of the communal principle of building the Union and with the transition of the entire population to Eurocentric and individualistic rails. Kara-Murza calls this "in fact, the first call of the catastrophic destruction of public morality."

It was a time when ships and planes were cut into scrap metal, and there were big reductions in the officer corps. The generals who tried to oppose the destructive process from their point of view were immediately displaced. In their place came a new, "parquet" generation of military leaders, who were more concerned not with increasing combat readiness, but with personal well-being.

At the turn of the 1960s and 70s, few people believed in an external threat, and this greatly discouraged the Armed Forces. However, the army cannot exist without hierarchy and order. All this was preserved, but according to new trends, it was transformed into hazing methods of maintaining discipline. As Kara-Murza notes, the emasculation of Stalinism from the army led to the fact that the explicit and harsh form of suppression of the individual was replaced by a softer and more hidden one.

The ideology of hazing is well illustrated by the words of one of the ensigns: “Hazing is beneficial to me. What is the most important thing for me? That the order was and everything was carried out clearly and on time. I will ask the grandfathers, and they - let them demand from the young.

hazing language

Hazing in the army is a long-established principle of life and a way for soldiers to communicate with each other. Naturally, hazing also requires specific vocabulary, which among conscript soldiers emphasizes hierarchy. Vocabulary varies according to the types of the Armed Forces, the characteristics of the unit and the location of the military unit. However, any hazing language is clear to everyone. Here is the most commonly used dictionary:

A soldier who has not yet taken the oath and lives in a separate barracks: “salabon”, “mammoth”, “smell”, “quarantine”;

Serviceman of the first half of the year of service: "spirit", "goldfinch", "chizhik", "goose";

Serviceman of the second half of the service: "elephant", "walrus", "senior goose";

A soldier who has served for more than a year: "cauldron", "scoop", "shaving brush", "pheasant";

A soldier who has served from one and a half to two years: "grandfather" or "old man";

A serviceman who is in the unit after the release of the order to transfer to the reserve: “demobilization” or “quarantine”.

Some terms require deciphering. “You are not even “spirits” yet, you are “smells”, - so the “grandfathers” said to the recruits who had just arrived in the unit. Why "smells"? Because the conscripts still smelled of grandmother's pies, with which they were fattened before the service.

The next step of the recruit is "spirit" (also "salabon" or "stomach"). He is nobody in the army. He doesn't have any rights. No one owes him, but he owes everything.

"Elephants" were called conscripts who were already drawn into the everyday life of the army: they are not yet accustomed to idle and are ready to withstand any load.

When a soldier entered a turning point in his service, he was considered a "scoop". To acquire the status of "initiate" in the "scoops" had to withstand twelve blows with a ladle on the buttocks. The task of the "scoop" is to ensure that the "spirits" and "elephants" do not interfere with each other. He's not seriously straining, but still doesn't have many rights.

rituals

The transition of military personnel to the next hierarchical level was accompanied by a special rite - translation. Its forms were different, but the essence is the same. For example, a soldier was beaten with a belt as many times as he has months left to serve, and he must endure all this in silence. However, when moving into the category of "grandfathers", the blows were applied with a thread, while the soldier had to scream at the top of his voice, as if suffering from severe pain.

The Navy had its own rituals. So, when transferring from the category of “carp” to “one and a half”, the rite of “washing off the scales” took place. Depending on the weather conditions and the place of action, the "crucian" was thrown overboard, dipped into an ice hole or poured over from a fire hose, trying to carry out the rite of translation unexpectedly for the "initiate".

In the Soviet army, more stringent rituals were also practiced, such as “punching an elk”. The old-timer forced the soldier of the new draft to cross his arms at some distance from the forehead, after which he struck him in the crosshairs of the hands. The strength of the blow depended on the mood of the "grandfather" or on the guilt of the recruit.

Often the ritual side of hazing faded into the background, and the old-timers began to openly mock the newcomers. Sometimes it ended in tragedy. Not just for spirits. Widely known during the period of perestroika was the "case of Sakalauskas" - a young soldier from Lithuania, who in February 1987 shot a guard of seven senior colleagues at the entrance to Leningrad.

Among the dead were the offenders of Sakalauskas: the cook Gataullin, who regularly poured half a glass of salt or sand into a portion of the "spirit", deprived him of breakfast or lunch; senior sergeant Semyonov, who repeatedly dipped his face into the toilet bowl, putting him on duty for 10 hours. After the incident, Sakalauskas, who was diagnosed with a chronic mental illness with a continuously progressive course, was sent for compulsory treatment.

And there were many such tragic consequences of hazing. How did the military leadership react to this? Back in the summer of 1982, a secret order No. 0100 was issued to combat hazing. However, by this time hazing had become so widespread that it was almost impossible to fight it.

Moreover, the highest party and military officials were not particularly in a hurry to eradicate hazing. Firstly, their children were protected from this scourge by birthright, and secondly, in order to declare war on hazing, it was necessary to publicly acknowledge its existence. Well, how could there be hazing in a country of developed socialism? ..

It is impossible not to notice that recently the population's confidence in the Russian army has increased so much that military craft regained the status of a priority privileged occupation, and military service is gradually turning into a school of life, as it was called in the once existing union. As soon as the state took a course towards modernization and re-equipment, cardinal changes were not long in coming.

However, the deplorable state of the armed forces of the 1990s will remain in the memory of many people for a long time to come. Even some combat officers today are surprised how such Hard times Russia managed to maintain its integrity. The defense capability left much to be desired, but it was not even a matter of technical equipment. The motivation of citizens to military service was practically reduced to zero.

Why young people do not want to serve in the army

One of the reasons for this situation was hazing in the Russian army of the nineties. The opinion poll showed that the vast majority of young men are afraid of military service not because of the difficult military life, but because of hazing. Fears were reinforced by feature films, video materials, chronicles and stories of experienced people about the hard life of the young replenishment of soldiers.

Is it worth recalling specific cases when a young man was injured or everything ended in death? To this gloomy list it is necessary to add wholesale desertion, executions of colleagues, suicide.

In 1998, the first human rights organization for conscripts was created, which is called the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers. We can say that this was a desperate step aimed at combating hazing, since it was this manifestation in the army that was named as the main reason for the above acts.

Positive or negative social phenomenon

In order to talk sensibly on the topic of hazing, you need to set yourself up for the fact that this issue is quite multifaceted, and when one truth is established, even more disputes arise. The first paradox is that they have been trying to eradicate this manifestation for many decades, but most of the men of the older generation, at the mention of a peculiar hierarchy in the army, will only smile thoughtfully. Moreover, they often note that it is thanks to the upbringing by the "grandfathers" that the "spirit" becomes a real soldier.

What is this contradiction? Undoubtedly, in families that have suffered from the consequences of hazing, they will talk about the complete eradication of this remnant of society, and former military personnel whose fate did not suffer a tragedy believe that everyone must go through such trials. The reason for the disagreement lies in the ambiguous understanding of hazing, as such.

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On the one hand, it is represented by a strict school, which is arranged by old-timers for young recruits. What's bad about it? Of course, the form of education is peculiar, but as a result, the recruit becomes independent, learns to serve, first of all, himself, observe subordination, live in a team, follow orders, and march correctly.

On the other hand, educational measures sometimes cross not only conceivable boundaries, but also the framework of legality. There are hazing, lawlessness, which is interpreted as a crime against the person. They are expressed by public humiliation, beatings, and other terrible deeds. Thus, with all the negativity, hazing will be remembered with good irony by a decent share of storekeepers, but we, nevertheless, will talk about the dire consequences of this phenomenon.

When did

The next paradox arises when trying to determine the time when hazing appeared in the army. According to the stories of real witnesses, even before the 50s, such a concept was not even discussed. The origin of the hierarchy took place during the thaw period, when many prisoners were amnestied, for whom military duty was provided.

As a result of such reforms, part of the “Zon concepts” migrated to the armed forces. But the reasons for the emergence of hazing should be discussed separately, and in this respect it should be noted that hazing in the Soviet army of the 50-60s became the basis of modern battles.

And in this matter it was not without the ubiquitous "BUT". Some documents, including works of art, point to the peculiar attitude of old-timers to recruits back in tsarist times. And this is not surprising, since military service was calculated for decades, so experienced servicemen could not help claiming certain concessions with all the consequences.

Reasons for the formation of hazing

We agreed that such a phenomenon as hazing has a complex structure. It manifests itself as a set of certain rites, sometimes causing the laughter of the recruits themselves and can have significant varieties, reaching illegal acts. We will consider this social phenomenon in a negative plane and try to determine where the reasons for the emergence of hazing in the USSR lie.

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After the demobilization of all the military - participants in the Second World War, volleys of shells of real hostilities in human memory began to gradually subside. Already in 10-20 years it was possible to talk about peace and a cloudless sky. Oddly enough, but it was this fact that brought the destruction of the former solidarity into society. If a common misfortune unites, then the absence of external conflicts gives rise to internal ones. The army, on the other hand, was a kind of “mirror” of the state of society, and taking into account the fact that criminal elements fell into the structure of the troops, the Armed Forces began to gradually replenish with hazing.

The next vector could be the destruction of the Stalinist foundations. By the beginning of the 60s, the government elites, having escaped from fear of punishment, turned from creators into consumers, which was reflected in the leadership of the army. Freethinking led to the degradation of the commanding staff. This does not mean that the General Staff was replenished with incompetent commanders, but low ranks firmly settled in the field, whose responsibility was reduced to zero. The connivance of the officers did not become the reason, but was the catalyst for the appearance of general hazing.

The thaw of the 1960s was remembered by all the negative attitude towards denunciations and informing. From the political background, these terms migrated to the army. At that time, a report of infliction of bodily harm was considered as a snitch. And if the state stopped such manifestations, then what could be said within the military unit. Gradually hazing in the army began to include fights and beatings, which were silent on both sides of the conflict.

The urbanization of society and the conflict of generations usually stand in the same row, since the motive is the same. Just as the old-timers could not accept the foundations of the newly arrived soldiers, the city dwellers placed themselves above the rural ones, both in terms of social and mental development. On a regional scale, the periphery constantly clashed with Muscovites.

What do we have today

Returning to the question of whether there is hazing in the army at the present time, we will begin to cover the period from the end of the 90s. Attempts to stop this phenomenon have been made repeatedly. The top leadership finally began to understand that if you do not get rid of the manifestation of non-Ustavism, then problems with the contingent will arise in every draft campaign. It should be noted that all attempts were in vain, since the phenomenon, like a virus, hit the armed forces at all levels.

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Among all the proposals on how to deal with hazing, quite realizable ones were put forward, but crumbled about the cruel reality of the deplorable state of the army.

• To occupy the soldiers, especially the old-timers, so that they simply do not have time to torture the young replenishment. For implementation, officer cadres were required, which were not available.
• Increase the number of officers. This proposal required significant financial outlays. For the budget of that time, the task was considered overwhelming.
• Introduction of regulatory bodies (independent). Such an approach is fraught with the simulation of the military personnel themselves in order to sabotage military orders.
• Transfer of the army to a voluntary basis. The geopolitical situation does not allow such steps to be taken. The territory of Russia is large enough, so there is a risk of not getting enough troops.
• Tightening responsibility for the manifestation of hazing on officers. There were banal cases of revenge, when, thanks to his own authority, an officer gave orders that humiliated a soldier. Everything happened in accordance with the charter, so hazing smoothly transposed into "Ustavshchina", which practically did not change the essence.

One of the key negative factors in the existence of "hazing" as a phenomenon is that this army subculture seriously undermines the authority of the army among draft-age youth and is one of the main reasons for evading military service.

A similar phenomenon, although not as pronounced as in the army, is also observed in some schools, boarding schools and other educational and social institutions. The victims are usually physically weak, insecure or simply younger. For system higher education hazing is not typical, not a single fact of phenomena has been recorded, although in some ways they resemble hazing in civilian higher educational institutions. This is due to the lack of an economic basis (basis) for hazing in universities and other civilian higher education institutions.

2. Responsibility

Violation of statutory relationships according to the degree of public danger are divided into:

• disciplinary offence;
• criminal offenses.

The latter category includes violations that, from the objective side, fall under the disposition of the current articles of the Criminal Code (beating, torture, actions that grossly insult human dignity, robbery, etc.). Responsibility comes in a general criminal order. The actions of a serviceman who has committed hazing that do not fall under the concept of a crime should be regarded as a disciplinary offense (violation of the procedure for joining a shift in an outfit, coercion to perform household work (if not related to physical violence), coercion to perform hazing rituals ( also without physical violence), etc.). In this case, liability arises in accordance with the requirements of the Disciplinary Charter of the Armed Forces.

3. History

The socialization of boys is always carried out not only vertically (adult men socialize boys), but also horizontally, through belonging to a group of peers. In these groups, informal rules and customs are often formed, the observance of which is so important for young people, they are primarily guided by them, and not by written laws and charters.

Pyotr Alekseevich Kropotkin described the manners that prevailed in the middle of the 19th century in the most privileged military educational institution of the Russian Empire - the Corps of Pages. The older pupils, chamber pages, "gathered newcomers into one room at night and drove them around in nightgowns in a circle, like horses in a circus. Some chamber pages stood in a circle, others outside it and mercilessly whipped the boys with gutta-percha whips."

At the beginning of the 20th century, in the Nikolaev Cavalry School, the younger ones were called "beasts", the older ones - "Cornet", and the repeaters - "majors".

Markov A.L. "Cadets and Junkers":

The techniques of this children's "tsukau" were striking in their diversity and originality and were obviously produced by entire generations of predecessors. Severe "majors" of the first class forced newcomers as punishment and just like that "eat flies", made "virguly" and "lubricant" on short-haired Golovenko, and simply zaushala for every occasion and even without it.

"Zuk" was a frank mockery of the elders over the younger ones: they demanded from the younger that what is not considered to be the junkers of the senior classes of salutation; they were forced to do squats, howl at the moon, they were given offensive nicknames, they were repeatedly woken up at night, etc. Officers-educators of military educational institutions not only knew about bullying, many of them were sure that "a pull-up gives the younger class discipline and drill , and to the elder - the practice of using power.

It should be noted that participation in such customs was relatively voluntary: when yesterday's cadet, gymnasium student or student fell into the walls of the school, the elders first asked him how he wanted to live - or "according to the glorious tradition of the school or the legal charter" ?. Those who expressed a desire to live "according to the charter" got rid of the "tsukau", but they did not consider him "one of their own", they called him "red" and treated him with disdain. The lower-level commanders - platoon cadets and sergeant-major - clung to the "red" with particular meticulousness, and most importantly, after graduating from college, one guards regiment did not accept him into his officer environment. Therefore, the vast majority of the junkers preferred to live according to tradition, "the expenses of which were written off as comradely rations.

The first case of hazing in the Red Army was recorded in the year. Three old-timers of the 1st regiment of the 30th division beat to death their colleague - the Red Army soldier Kupriyanov, a native of the Balakovo district of the Saratov region, due to the fact that the young soldier refused to do their work for the "grandfathers". According to the laws of wartime, those responsible for the death of a soldier were shot.

According to one version, the appearance of hazing in the army was due to a reduction in the term of service per year from three years to two. In time, this coincided with the first wave of shortage of conscripts. It was found that the five millionth Soviet army could be short of a whole third in terms of numbers - the demographic consequences of the Patriotic War affected.

The issue was discussed at a meeting of the Politburo, and a solution was found. People with a criminal record were conscripted into the army, which had previously been completely excluded. Ideologically, it looked like the correction of fellow citizens, they stumbled. However, in reality, everything happens differently: the internal life of the army is changing for the worse. Together with the criminal element, criminal orders come to the barracks, the thieves' jargon penetrates into the soldier's language. Copying prison rules, former criminals introduce ritual humiliation and bullying.

In addition, according to other sources, when the term of service was reduced from three to two years, for a certain time in the same military unit there were both those who had completed their third year of service, and those who had entered the service, who were supposed to serve one year less. The latter circumstance drained those who had already served two years, but still had to serve before their term. The servicemen of the third year of service and drove their anger at the recruits.

However, there are reasons to doubt this version. According to the candidate of sociological sciences A. Yu. Solnyshkov, already in 1964 the first and most works of Soviet scientists dealing with hazing issues appeared. In addition, according to him, over the forty years of studying the phenomenon of hazing, domestic scientists have not been able to make significant progress compared to the productive work of A. D. Glotochkin and his students, carried out in the beginning. 60s

According to another version, at the end of the 60s, some unit commanders began to widely use soldier work for personal material gain. The statutory economic activity of military units required the organization of a system of hazing, in which the old-timers acted as guards over the soldiers of the first year of service who performed work. Such relations required the unquestioning obedience of young soldiers to any instructions of the old-timers, in order to break and turn into slaves the conscripts were subjected to pressure and violence. Thus, according to this version, hazing arose as a method of managing hazing economic activity military units. Over time, in a number of military units, officers began to use hazing as a method of management, since they themselves are engaged in training young people, as well as educational work didn't want to.

Also, by the end of the 60s, the Armed Forces no longer had that number of front-line commanders with whom the Armed Forces were full after the end of the German-Soviet War, and who knew from personal experience that a healthy morale in the unit entrusted to them was a guarantee of their own life. In the summer of the year, the Soviet troops received a secret order No. 0100 on the fight against hazing.

During perestroika, the “case of Sakalauskas”, a young soldier from Lithuania, who shot a guard of 7 old-timers in February 1987 at the entrance to Leningrad, became widely known during perestroika.

5. In the Russian army

Alexander Golts, a military observer? Ezhednevnoy Zhurnal, states: The top military leadership managed to defend the idea of ​​preserving the Soviet-style mass mobilization army. This model, in principle, excludes any serious responsibility of commanders for the life and health of subordinates, reduces the conscript soldier to the position of a slave.

The bulk of hazing cases that have received publicity in Russian army associated with the use of the labor of young soldiers for personal gain by the commanding staff of military units. Hazing arose in the 60s of the 20th century in the Soviet army as a method of managing the hazing economic activities of military units and continues to develop now, it takes on various forms, is widely known from the serfdom of the 18th - 19th centuries, but looks wild in the 21st century.

The Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Vladimir Ustinov, speaking at the board of the Prosecutor General's Office, noted: It seems that the "sale" of soldiers is an ancient sacred tradition, which can be eradicated only together with the entire Russian officer corps. The army of criminals. .

Region Samara In August 2002, Senior Lieutenant R. Komarnitsky demanded that privates Tsvetkov and Legonkov leave the unit and go home to Samara and earn money by activities not related to military service. They were to pay the officer 4,000 rubles a month. The soldiers refused, but the demands were repeated, accompanied by an onslaught and beatings from the old-timers.

October 2003, Samara, guards motorized rifle regiment of constant readiness. The servicemen who worked at Karton-Pak LLC explained that they did not engage in combat training during the "surcharges". As a result, for the entire period of service, they never acquired the necessary combat skills. Private E. Goltsov, for example, said that he fired from his personal weapon only once.

Volgograd region. On October 10, 2003, near military unit No. 12670 of the ZhDV, human rights activists from the Mother's Right organization made a video recording. Dozens of soldiers were removed, who were taken to work: 32 people for weeding, 10 people. to "Rotor" (Volgograd football club). 3 or 4 foreign cars with entrepreneurs, minibuses drove up, the soldiers were taken. There is information that about 200 soldiers were taken out of the unit one day. Checks followed. First Deputy Commander of the Federal Service came from Moscow ZhDV general Gurov. Passed the prosecutor's check. The commander of the military unit and his deputy were brought to disciplinary responsibility. However, until October 2004, illegal work continued. True, the violators became somewhat more cautious, organized "left" work - the failure of container boxes - on the territory of the unit.

Stavropol region. Since February 2004, three servicemen have been working at a furniture company in the village of Nadezhda (a suburb of Stavropol). None of them received monetary and other supplies that went into someone's bottomless pocket. The damage to the state only from such "write-offs", according to the conclusions of the investigation, amounted to 120 thousand rubles.

A case that occurred on the eve of the New Year in the supply battalion of the Chelyabinsk Tank School, where private Andrei Sychev and seven other soldiers were beaten by colleagues for about three hours, who thus "celebrated" the holiday, received a huge resonance. Sychev, who turned to military doctors, did not receive the necessary medical care in a timely manner. Only towards the end of the holidays, due to a sharp deterioration in health, the young man was transferred to the city hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with numerous fractures and gangrene of the lower extremities (which led to further amputation), blows to the genitals (they were also amputated,). They tried to hide information about what happened. Doctors were instructed to keep the medical history of Sychev secret . During the year, the wave of prosecutorial checks and publications related to hazing issues came to naught.

6. The essence of hazing as a phenomenon

Hazing consists in the presence of unofficial hierarchical relations parallel to the main formal ones, not excluding the case when officers not only know about hazing, but also use it to maintain "order".

It should be noted that in official statements, some high-ranking military officials talk about the disease of society, which are transferred to the army soil. For example, such a statement was made in a television interview by Admiral Vyacheslav Alekseevich Popov, the former commander of the Northern Fleet, now a member of the Federation Council, a member of the Defense and Security Committee.

Objective research says that hazing is the product of hazing economic activity in the armed forces. At the same time, hazing is an auxiliary tool in the hands of the commanding staff, which can shift most of their duties of maintaining order to the leaders of the informal hierarchy, in return offering them some benefits (extraordinary dismissals, a condescending attitude towards guilt, reduced physical activity, and others).

Often, informal relationships are accompanied by humiliation of human dignity and physical violence (assault). The direct victims of the phenomenon are members of the team who, for one reason or another, have a low status in the unofficial hierarchy (status can be determined by experience, physical, psychophysiological characteristics, nationality, etc.). The basis of the status is physical strength and the ability to insist on one's own 4.shtml # 1 Conflict resistance.

Manifestations of hazing can be very different. In mild forms, it is not associated with a threat to life and health or a serious humiliation of dignity: recruits perform state work for old-timers and, from time to time, their household assignments. In its extreme expression hazing comes to group sadism. The origins of hazing in the Russian army.] When recruits are forced to fully serve the "grandfathers" (for example, wash their linen), they take away money, clothes and food, subject them to systematic bullying and even torture, severely beaten, often inflicting grievous bodily harm. Recently, extortion of money has been very common in order to credit them to a cell phone account. Recruits are forced to call home and ask their parents to top up "grandfather's" account or buy him a top-up card, which will then go to the same account. Military service in the RF Armed Forces often does not differ much from the "zone" 2006/02/03/repentance / Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov. An army of criminals. Hazing is main reason regular escapes of conscripts from units and suicides among them. In addition, a significant part of violent crimes in the army is connected with hazing: in some cases, the crimes of "grandfathers" were discovered and brought to trial, in others - retaliatory recruits "the case of Sakalauskas." There are cases when recruits who took up guard duty with military weapons shot their colleagues who had mocked him before, in particular the case that formed the basis of the film "Guard".

7. Hierarchical steps

The meaning of the terms may vary from the traditions of the branch of service or military unit, as well as the terms of service.

Basic definitions in army slang for military personnel by service life:

• * "Smells", "drischi", "spirits incorporeal", "quarantines" - military personnel undergoing quarantine before the oath.
• * "Spirits", "elephants" (Navy), "salagas", "beavers", "salabons", "geese" (ZhDV), "Vaska", "parents", "kids", "hedgehogs", "sparrows" (BB), "checks" (BB), "security officers" (BB), "clicks", "Chizhi" (a backronym for "wish-granting person") - military personnel who served up to six months.
• * "Elephants" (Airborne and BB), "help", "laces", "geese", "crows" (BB), "carp" (Navy), "young", "walruses", "clicks", "mammoths - military personnel who served six months.
• * "Skulls", "scoops" (a backronym for "Man, Nightly Destructive Peace of the Army Barracks"), "one year old" (Navy), "greyhounds" (Navy), "pheasants", "boilers", "shaving brushes" - military personnel serving one year.
• * "Grandfathers", "demobilization" - military personnel who served for a year and a half. The name of the phenomenon comes from the stable term "grandfather".
• * "Dembel", "citizens" (already considered to be almost civilian): conscripts, after the release of the order to transfer to the reserve.

In the Navy (at least until 1990) there were 7 hierarchical levels:

• * Up to six months - "spirit" (The being is incorporeal, asexual, understands nothing, knows nothing, knows nothing, suitable only for dirty work, often helpless)
• * Six months - "crucian" (A fighter, having been trimmed in real service conditions, knows the customs, traditions and his duties, but due to the sluggishness of the "spirits" he is often beaten)
• * 1 year - "borzoi crucian" (This is a grated kalach. He knows the service well. Responsible for the performance of work by "crucian carp" and "spirits". Subjected to physical impact in exceptional cases);
• * 1 year 6 months - "Pivtorishnik" (The first step of the "untouchables". It is subjected only to moral pressure from the old-timers for neglecting the lower ones. "One and a half" is considered the worst and merciless creature. At this step, people with low moral standards are very clearly manifested)
• * 2 years - "podgododo". liberal degree. Those who are tired of the moral stress of "pivoting", not particularly "bothering" with official problems, just rest);
• * 2 years 6 months - "Gododo", or, as an option, which was in circulation at the Pacific Fleet: "Sarakot" (Apparently, therefore, in the fleet, "hazing" is called "Anniversary)". Really leading supreme caste of old-timers. Physical violence is personally resorted to in exceptional cases, mainly acting through "one and a half". In turn, the informal influence on the team by the officers is carried out through "godkov");
• * 3 years - "trade union", "civilian" (This "title" was granted after the publication of the order of the Minister of Defense on transfer to the reserve. "Godok" immediately after the order of the Minister of Defense was informally recognized as transferred to the reserve and withdrawn for supply, but since "by the will of fate "forced to be in the unit, allegedly was at the expense of the naval trade union. Lives in the unit or on the ship as a civilian, wears a military uniform).

8. Traditions of transfer to the next level of the hierarchy

"" Transfer from the lowest hierarchical level to the highest carried out during the ritual of "interruption", "translation". A soldier who did not enjoy the respect of his colleagues or violated the principles of hazing, and equally refused to "life behind hazing" for three "golden days" upon arrival at the military unit (the so-called "Ustavny", "tightened"), may remain "invincible" - in this case, he is not entitled to privileges higher levels informal hierarchy, as equated to "perfumes" or "smells". This happens infrequently, as an exception.

The transition to the next level is accompanied by the infliction of physical pain in a special ritual way: a soldier who has served for a year (previously, when the term of service was 2 years) is struck with a belt (badge), stool or metal ladle (scoop) on the buttocks. The number of strokes is usually equal to the number of months served. The transfer from "grandfathers" to "demobilization" is symbolic, without the use of physical impact: the future demobilization is "beaten" on the backside with a thread through a layer of mattresses and pillows, and for him "screams in pain? a specially selected" spirit ". Well-deserved by the moment "transfer" badges (the rank of corporal or sergeant) in some units are considered additional blows.

The fleet also had a considerable number of customs and traditions, but it is worth highlighting only two main ones, which were often found in different fleets.

• * When transferring from "carp" to "one and a half" there is a so-called. "Washing off the scales". Depending on the weather conditions and the place of action, the “crucian” is “washed off the scales”, throwing it overboard, plunging into an ice hole, dousing a fire hose, etc., trying to carry out the rite of translation unexpectedly for the “initiate”.
• * "Gap of a year old" - at the time of the appearance of the first printed version of the order of the Minister of Defense? linen. The ritual is also held unexpectedly for the "year-old". After the "break", the "year-old" becomes the "Trade Union", that is, civil. Any serviceman up to the "spirit" has the right to take part in the "break".

As a rule, the "transfer" takes place on the very first night after the release of the order of the Minister of Defense? On the transfer to the reserve. translation" and often in the first days and nights after the release of "Nakaz".

9. Propagation of the phenomenon depending on the service conditions

It is usually believed that the most malicious forms of hazing are characteristic of "second-class" units and branches of the armed forces, especially for the construction battalion, but the facts of hazing are often revealed in units and formations that are considered "elite". In the border troops, hazing is traditionally much less common. "This sad phenomenon almost did not affect the border troops." Hazing is much less common in troops or units whose soldiers have constant access to combat personal weapons (eg Internal Troops). . In addition, hazing is not common in aviation units. Hazing did not receive widespread in small, remote parts (for example, parts of air defense radar reconnaissance). It should be noted that the least manifestations of hazing are observed in those units where unit commanders do not use the labor of soldiers for personal gain. This phenomenon is in no way directly related to either the type of troops or the type of military units.

10. Reasons for the appearance

There are different points of view on the causes of hazing. According to some experts, the strengthening of hazing is directly related to the practice of conscripting prison inmates into the USSR army. In this case, there was no hazing in the pre-war Red Army (and before that in the army of pre-revolutionary Russia), and it dates back to 1942-43. There is also an opinion that hazing was "started" in the 1960s, at the time of the reduction of the service life in the Soviet Army (from three to two years in the ground forces and from four to three in the Navy), when old-timers are forced to serve their three or four years, they began to drive evil on the recruits who came who were to serve a year less.

Violation of the elementary rights of citizens by the authorities and the general picture of lawlessness in the USSR against citizens by the authorities, despite the formal existence "on paper" of laws that should have protected the rights of citizens, could not but affect the relations between servicemen in the Soviet army. The lawlessness system in the USSR contributed to the fact that everyone who was endowed with power in the army, without regard to the threat of punishment, could mock other military personnel. The Soviet army did not have an effective procedure for appealing against violations of their legal rights by other military personnel, despite the fact that the USSR Criminal Code formally had a separate section on violation of the order of service, which included articles criminalizing beating servicemen. Time in the USSR was not only not accepted, but it was often forbidden to openly discuss and criticize state institutions and negative social phenomena, including hazing in the Soviet army. Hazing was largely caused by the unpredictable military regulations of the tradition of commanders Maintain discipline in military units viysk services: on the same ranks and positions of the Viysk servicemen, the duty provided for by the charters was to "influence" comrades if they violated the established order of service. Thus, it was very often beneficial for commanders to maintain order and discipline among military personnel with the help of hazing. Because of what, they did not pay attention, and even encouraged hazing among the military. Gopivsky (criminal) traditions are widespread among young people even before being drafted to military service also contributed to the development of hazing in the army. Hazing as a phenomenon finally acquired its present form in the late 80s - early 90s and during the devastation of the first years of independence of the post-Soviet states, when the disorder and neglect of the army reached its apogee.

In military collectives, which are formed at the expense of conscripts, the commanders of military units have many formal levers of influence on the privates and non-commissioned officers serving on conscription. These include in particular:

• * Reprimand
• * Severe reprimand (in relation to conscripts, pronunciations are completely useless, since they are not reflected in any way in a military ID - in fact, a single document that he will take with him from the army)
• * Extraordinary outfit,
• * Deprivation of the badge of an excellent student (conscripts are awarded such badges in exceptional cases)
• * Deprivation of the next dismissal (due to use in jobs not related to the activities of a military unit, conscripts usually go on dismissal no more than once a month, instead of once a week prescribed by the charter.)
• * Demotion (conscripts rarely occupy valuable positions)
• * Decrease in military rank one step (about 80% of conscripts are in the lowest military rank)
• * Arrest with content in the guardhouse
• * Disciplinary Battalion.

There are practically no real rights for a soldier of the first year of service. beaten by an ordinary officer, if the case was publicized, but there were no serious bodily injuries, in the worst case, they will be reprimanded. Taking advantage of the lawlessness of the soldiers, the commanders use all the leverage they have to convert the rank and file into slaves, attracting particulars for such actions and old-timers. Thus, hazing is one of the tools that are created and completely controlled by the officer corps.

The opinion is expressed that the appearance of hazing in one form or another is natural in the presence of a number of provoking factors, among which the following can be noted:

11. The difference between hazing and fraternity

Fellowship is a form of hazing based on traditions that support fellowcountryman ties. The most common types of compatriot associations of conscripts based on nationality.

Discrimination against military personnel on national, racial, ethnic and religious grounds does not fall under the concept of hazing, since in this case such a main criterion of hazing as the difference in terms of service between the offender and the victim is not taken into account. This phenomenon is called "community".

12. Hazing and hazing

The designation of these criminal manifestations as "hazing" or "hazing" is not quite adequate. "Hazing" - too broad and vague name, because any deviation from the requirements of the statutes is, in fact, a hazing attitude to assigned duties. In addition, "hazing" is sometimes carried out in the form of a requirement for absurdly precise observance of the charters.

13. Some rituals associated with hazing traditions

• * "Prayer" or a lullaby for "grandfather" - performed by a "spirit", "salabons" who, standing on a bedside table or a pyramid of stools ("jars"), at night, after the "lights out", when the officers leave the location of the company, reads a certain rhyming text about the dismissal that is approaching. Depending on the part, its content is different, so there are a large number of options in the "lullaby". The Moscow News newspaper quotes this:

"" They ate the butter - the day passed, the foreman went home.
"" Demobilization has become a day shorter, good night to all the "grandfathers".
"" Let them dream of their home, a woman with a lush pussy,
"" A sea of ​​vodka, a beer basin and a Supreme order for dismissal to the reserve.

• * "Demobilization Train" - a theatrical performance in which young fighters participate as extras and "grandfathers" playing train passengers. In the process of staging, the bed is actively swaying, the sounds of the station and the movement of the train are imitated.
• * "Examination for the right to drive a vehicle" - a ritual common in automobile units and subunits, during which a young soldier is obliged to run up to a certain floor at the time set by the "grandfathers", holding a tire from a car in his hands, which symbolizes the steering wheel. It is used as a punishment for violations related to driving a car, or keeping a fixed car in a dirty, technically faulty condition.
• * "Detention of a criminal on the top floor of a building" - in the police units of V. Art. type of punishment for violation by young servicemen of the order of patrol duty. The young fighter is obliged to take the stairs to the top floor of a multi-storey building before his grandfather, who at this time takes the elevator.
• "*" Fire "in the room. The ritual arose in the units where the fire department of the Civil Defense / Ministry of Emergency Situations is provided. Subsequently, it spread to other parts. Often the order of the foremen of the companies is carried out, and in the absence of these, the sergeants. On command, personnel for a certain period of time, he must take all the property of the company out of the barracks into the street - beds, bedside tables, etc. The barracks must remain completely empty. If the mouth does not fit into the standard, the property is brought back, and everything starts anew. The cause of the fire can be an uncleaned room, the presence of hiding places in the barracks.
• * Cigarette under the pillow. When the "stodnevka" begins, every morning a demobilized must find a cigarette under his pillow on which is written "so many days before the order." A cigarette was put down at night, or a spirit was "fixed" to the demobilization, or one of the spirits of the department. It was considered a special skill to put down a cigarette without waking up the demobilization, but even if you wake it up, it was not considered a fault. For this courtesy, the demobilization gives the spirit in the dining room his portion of butter. Not having a cigarette was considered a serious offense and should have been severely punished.
• * Team "One!". An analogue of the statutory order "Private, to me." Only in the case of hazing traditions, the demobilization loudly gives the command "one"! and any of the "spirits" who heard or could hear this command should immediately appear at attention in front of the demobilization and introduce themselves. (Again, the performance can be, depending on tradition, either statutory: "Private so-and-so, at your order has arrived," or hazing, for example, "plywood 1975 production is ready for review"!) The meaning of the ritual is speed, if the spirit has not appeared enough quickly (no more than 1-3 seconds), or did not make all the necessary efforts, the demobilization responds with the command "Set aside, not abruptly", the spirit returns to the initial one, and this is repeated again. It is considered a serious offense if there are several "spirits" in the barracks, and none of them dared to come running, or several came running.

14. Common Hazing Laws

Contrary to popular belief, hazing is not always associated with physical violence. In units and subunits with stable hazing traditions, there is no need to physically force young fighters to comply with the rules and traditions of this phenomenon. The very atmosphere of the cult of old-timers and respect for the elder conscription creates the conditions for the unquestioning submission of the younger ones to the older ones. In such units, even the very idea of ​​​​denying old-timers is considered blasphemous and is nipped in the bud by the "council of grandfathers" (grandfathers' council), which has the unconditional support of sergeants and is tacitly supported by some of the officers. In most "non-statutory units" assault was not associated with hazing traditions. This phenomenon in most cases acquired distribution within the framework of barracks hooliganism, or, in prison jargon, "chaos".

Depending on the type of troops, the combat capability of the unit, its location, recruitment conditions, hazing laws differ very much. In fact, hazing laws are exaggerated interpretations of the provisions of the Charter, or official dogmas, for example: "Orders are not discussed, but carried out." Despite this, there are a number of provisions (some of which are carried out even by officers) that are characteristic of most units:

15. The most common myths about hazing

Pattern: Orissa

Recently, a number of statements have appeared in literature, cinema, and use that deal with elements of hazing. Despite the fact that such facts do take place, they have nothing to do with hazing traditions directly. Such statements include the following.

1. # Hazing is based solely on the physical predominance of grandfathers and assault. If there are stable traditions of hazing in the unit, then their support practically does not require assault, since the authority of grandfathers is supported by sergeants and officers. Obviously, no hazing in the life of a military unit does not arise if it is not necessary for the unit commander. The commander of the unit has enough leverage to put an end to hazing on the territory of the unit and to get the officers and sergeants to perform their service strictly according to the regulations. .
2. # A young fighter is sufficient physical strength can resist grandfather. Even if a young fighter is physically stronger than his grandfather, but stable hazing traditions are maintained in the unit, if he disobeys, he falls into the category of "black people" with all the ensuing consequences. The "educational process" includes sergeants and officers who, according to the charter, create unbearable conditions for it (the principle applies: "if you want to live according to the charter, try it, how unpleasant it is" - the day is scheduled by seconds, personal time is limited, natural needs are bound according to the schedule, care -approach to the chief, strict observance of the norms of the combat charter).
3. # A young soldier with a strong will and hardened character will withstand pressure old-timers, but more than one private will not be able to resist the will of the unit commander. In the case of a special strength of moral and volitional characteristics of a recruit, the entire range of measures available to the command staff is applied. The requirements of the strictest implementation of the charter on the part of the officers and sergeants, pressure from the old-timers and responsibility to the team on the principle of "One for all X and all X for one." In fact, it looks like this: while a fighter with character firmly refuses, for example, to do push-ups, his entire call is pushed out to exhaustion. With an emphasis on the "fact" that they all suffer especially because of the obstinacy of this fighter. Each time, increasing the pressure on the young draft, the idea is suggested that their suffering, intensified, arises from the stubbornness of a colleague. Thus, they deprive the serviceman of the support and tacit approval of the soldiers of their own conscription, which is stubborn. On the contrary, very soon the aggression and hatred of the soldiers of the junior draft, subject to the manipulation of consciousness by the old-timers, is transformed and begins to pour out on that which resists. "Rebel" is isolated in the "vacuum space". One example of the application of such a method of influencing a soldier in Cinema vividly and clearly shown in the first half of the film