Today I found an interesting article on Gazeta.ru about a young man, Maxim. While appearing before the military commission office, Maxim stole his draft paperwork and ran away with it. Thank God, the Russian army does not have a computer database; all the bureaucracies still rely on paper files. Why would you steal something from a government office and run? Well, because today at 9 am Moscow time the Russian military commission of the Akademichesky region of Moscow was expecting him to report for duty with just his toothbrush and a few pairs of underwear - they do not use socks in the Russian Army. There are no socks; rags and Soviet leather boots are used instead, to make it cheaper for the government and to build a "strong" character in the soldier.
Many young Russian men between the ages of 18 to 27 are being drafted, as I am writing these lines. Russian federal law obligates a young man to give two years of his life to his country, because, as I was told while at the Russian law school, "Rights never come without obligations, so if we have a right to life and the pursuit of happiness, it comes with an obligation to serve in the army." And the government does not care who you are or how you could help the nation. The State only cares about checking another box, giving you a few months of basic of military education, a Kalashnikov rifle, and off you go, to fight the terrorists in Chechnya, while Governor Abramovich uses your parents' taxes to buy another soccer club.
I never understood why you have an obligation to the State, if it is created to serve you, and the State has more natural resources than any other country in the world, and you're already paying taxes for the government to function. If it weren't for a corrupt political class that fears the popularity of professional solders, Russia could have an army led by volunteers, perhaps not as effective as America's but more humane.
It was a couple years ago, when Professor Pilon made it very clear to me in his Constitution class, opening my eyes for good, that I don't owe anything to my corrupt government. Actually it owes me something, for all the money it stole from my parents and grandparents, and the destruction of human decency and quality of life in Russia.
You can protest all you want, but after a couple days of not showing up at the draft commission, two police officers will show up at your door, and question your parents about where you are, and why you are avoiding your "duty"; and why you are breaking federal law. If they spot you, you will be hand-cuffed and taken to the depot for a haircut, and off you go to Chechnya!
One way to escape - but only for a short time - is to choose a college that has "military faculty", a ridiculous version of American ROTC. It means that during 5 years of your education, you will get a few hours with a machine gun, a couple hours of classes about military strategy, and then a field trip to the countryside for training, which will be filled with vodka and laughs, then you are a Russian officer in reserves, expected to lead terrified conscripts into battle against hardened international jihadists who want to die for Allah. When the time comes, the country will call on you, and you're off to Chechnya.
The lucky families in Russia have a $10,000 bribe for the draft board, or enough connections to forge documents "proving" medical ailments, or to get a visa to leave Russia. But what can families led by single mothers do? Or the poor families which make up 80% of the country's population? What happens to their only son, or both sons, or their beloved husband, or their brother? They go and serve their country, to fill the need for 1,000,000 troops in the active service. And disgusted by the incompetence and corruption of their officers and NCOs, good men desert or seek discharge, leaving the army to drug addicts, drunkards and sadists.
Joining the army can cost a man everything, but what does it cost the State or the taxpayers? Almost nothing. Soldiers are paid anywhere between $5 to $20 dollars a month and fed food that you would not serve to your dog. The uniforms have big red stars on them because they're leftovers from the Soviet era; so are the weapons and ammunition. Russia cannot participate in many international military exercises, because tanks and military vehicles fail to start, or break down, or there is no fuel. If there is petrol or equipment - they get stolen, because everyone needs to live, everyone needs money to eat. So either you keep your family in poverty, or steal what can be stolen, and sell what can be sold.
If an officer or a soldier gets killed, government owes the family almost nothing. The family would be lucky to get $2,000 for a lost son or husband. If he is severely injured, there is "free" Russian medical care, but it really is not free; if you are looking for quality, you have to pay bribes, and some places simply do not have services and equipment to meet the needs of a patient. The patient needs to find the funds to fly to Moscow. There are thousands of 18, 19, 20 year old boys without a hand, a leg, or all of the above; without an eye, burnt, blind, deaf; without any hope to recover or live their lives again. The Russian government behaves as if it owes them nothing.
There are about 1,000 non-combat casualties a year, with suicide and self-inflicted wounds commonplace. One 18 year-old soldier, who had both of his legs blown off by a malfunctioning grenade, heard his comrades saying - right before he passed out - "He would be better off dead."
While there is chaos in Chechnya, lots of oil gets pumped out and shipped to God knows where. The Putin administration is wasting billions of dollars from the treasury that could be used to improve the Army. Russian governors purchase yachts and castles in European countries, and all the MPs and ministers get a brand new bullet-proof Mercedes or BMW every year, paid for by the federal budget, while the "old" cars are sold to the friends or the families for 5-10% of their real value. There is no initiative to stop the war in Chechnya, because the ones who should care are profiting from it, while the ones who suffer have no say in it. In Russia money talks, but Russian soldiers and children are poor and free to be used.
Please, let's forgive Maxim for violating the federal law of the motherland.
