RUSSIA – A Russian lieutenant colonel was abducted by the Wagner mercenary group near the town of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine a few weeks before the June 23-24 mutiny. After his soldiers fought off Wagner’s troops, he was captured and subjected to savage beatings before being humiliated on television. While the video garnered widespread attention on telegram channels associated with mercenary leader and ex-convict Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian military remained silent. The following month, as the Russian army stood ready, Prigozhin began his “march of justice”, and Wagner captured the strategic city of Rostov-on-Don, then continued on to Moscow.
Alekseyev, effectively intelligence chief for the conflict, scoffed at the idea of abandoning Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to Prigozhin and his mutineers, and the conversation that followed between Prigozhin, Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov and Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov Chief of Staff Vladimir Alexeyev has become infamous. As he said, “You can have them!” Then, on July 13, Major General Ivan Popov, commander of Ukraine’s 58th Combined Arms Army (CAA), produced an audio statement in which he attacked Gerasimov and accused the army’s high command of treason. (As a result of the dispute, Popov lost his command.)
These are obviously pivotal moments that reveal an intriguing story about the highest levels of the Russian military. There are open quarrels and public disputes over the tactical and, at times, strategic direction of the battle between the Kremlin forces. There have been allegations that much of the leadership structure, possibly close to 30 officers, has been arrested or relieved of command after senior commanders were killed in missile attacks, doubts have were raised as to how their whereabouts were disclosed and treason was alleged.
The Russian military, however, is not about to disintegrate. However low the morale of the invading army may be, total collapse is not imminent. The Russian army will continue to fight despite ineffective fighting and major setbacks. Westerners looking at this should realize that the Russian armed forces have been doing things their own way for years. The underlying idea is that violence is laudable and generally approved. Accordingly, superiors are content to rely on intimidation as a means of maintaining discipline among soldiers; this practice, known as dedovshchina or hazing, is usually performed by more experienced soldiers towards new recruits. Aggression (rukoprikladstvo) is the term used when officers, even generals, use physical force against another person.
Even in the most elite Russian military formations, such as the Spetsnaz special forces, hazing is common. Two leaders of the 14th Special Forces Brigade were charged with raping a soldier with a mop six months before the full-scale invasion began. The brigade could not keep the matter secret and an official investigation was opened. General Sergei Surovikin, the most prominent Russian general in the war against Ukraine, was accused of assaulting a junior officer in 2004. Such an act is strictly prohibited by the codes of the armed forces, for example, United States and United Kingdom. Obviously, this kind of action does not spell the end of professional life (rumors say that Surovikin was arrested for his links with the Wagnerian rebellion).
