Dedovshchina
Encyclopedia
Dedovshchina dʲɪdɐfˈɕːinə (literally, grandfatherism) is the name given to the informal system of subjection of new junior conscripts
, formerly to the Soviet Armed Forces
and today to the Russian armed forces
, Interior Ministry
, and (to a much lesser extent) FSB border guards, as well as the military forces of certain former Soviet Republics, to brutalization by the conscripts serving their last year of compulsory military service as well as NCOs and officers. Dedovshchina is the Soviet and Russian variety of the US, Canadian, etc. hazing
tradition (or the Nonnismo in the Italian Army before its transformation in a volunteer army) involving harsh, unofficial initiation of a person into a military organization.
Dedovshchina involves a spectrum of subordinating or humiliating activities performed by the junior ranks: from carrying out chores of the senior ranks to violent and sometimes lethal physical
and psychological abuse
, being not unlike an extremely vicious form of bullying or even torture
. It is often cited as a major source of poor morale
in the ranks.
Often with the justification of maintaining authority, physical violence or psychological abuse can be applied to make “youth” to do certain fatigue duties. In many situations, hazing is in fact not the goal. Conscripts with "seniority" exploit their juniors to provide themselves with a more comfortable existence, and the violent aspects arise when juniors refuse to "follow traditions". There have been occasions where soldiers have been seriously injured. In extraordinary situations, there is a lethal outcome.
In fact, the Soviet military had an unusually high death rate in times of peace, due in part to such practices, sometimes combined with poor nutrition, harsh living conditions, etc.
" - this word is erroneously used by soldiers to name the event of resigning from the army; this event is also called by soldiers "dembel" or "DMB" ) half-year of conscription
, with the suffix -shchina which designates a type of order, rule, or regime (compare Yezhovshchina, Zhdanovshchina). Thus it can literally be translated as "rule of the grandfathers." This is essentially a folk system of seniority based on stage of service, mostly not backed by code or law, which only grants seniority to conscripts promoted to various Sergeant
and Efreitor
ranks.
s to be simultaneously present in the army: those who were drafted for 3-year service and those only for 2-year service. During the same year, a decision was reached to draft conscripts with a criminal history into the ranks, due to a demographic crisis following World War II
. While oppression by older conscripts has probably always taken place in the army, after that date, with the introduction of the four-class system it became systematic and developed its own rules and ranks.
Union of the Committees of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia
works to protect the rights of young soldiers.
Since 2005, the Ministry of Defense has published monthly statistics of incidents and crimes including cases of death.
Military recruitment
Military recruitment is the act of requesting people, usually male adults, to join a military voluntarily. Involuntary military recruitment is known as conscription. Many countries that have abolished conscription use military recruiters to persuade people to join, often at an early age. To...
, formerly to the Soviet Armed Forces
Soviet Armed Forces
The Soviet Armed Forces, also called the Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Armed Forces of the Soviet Union refers to the armed forces of the Russian SFSR , and Soviet Union from their beginnings in the...
and today to the Russian armed forces
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are the military services of Russia, established after the break-up of the Soviet Union. On 7 May 1992 Boris Yeltsin signed a decree establishing the Russian Ministry of Defence and placing all Soviet Armed Forces troops on the territory of the RSFSR...
, Interior Ministry
Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs
The Ministerstvo Vnutrennikh Del is the interior ministry of Russia. Its predecessor was founded in 1802 by Alexander I in Imperial Russia...
, and (to a much lesser extent) FSB border guards, as well as the military forces of certain former Soviet Republics, to brutalization by the conscripts serving their last year of compulsory military service as well as NCOs and officers. Dedovshchina is the Soviet and Russian variety of the US, Canadian, etc. hazing
Hazing
Hazing is a term used to describe various ritual and other activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group....
tradition (or the Nonnismo in the Italian Army before its transformation in a volunteer army) involving harsh, unofficial initiation of a person into a military organization.
Dedovshchina involves a spectrum of subordinating or humiliating activities performed by the junior ranks: from carrying out chores of the senior ranks to violent and sometimes lethal physical
Physical abuse
Physical abuse is abuse involving contact intended to cause feelings of intimidation, injury, or other physical suffering or bodily harm.-Forms of physical abuse:*Striking*Punching*Belting*Pushing, pulling*Slapping*Whipping*Striking with an object...
and psychological abuse
Psychological abuse
Psychological abuse, also referred to as emotional abuse or mental abuse, is a form of abuse characterized by a person subjecting or exposing another to behavior that may result in psychological trauma, including anxiety, chronic depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder...
, being not unlike an extremely vicious form of bullying or even torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
. It is often cited as a major source of poor morale
Morale
Morale, also known as esprit de corps when discussing the morale of a group, is an intangible term used to describe the capacity of people to maintain belief in an institution or a goal, or even in oneself and others...
in the ranks.
Often with the justification of maintaining authority, physical violence or psychological abuse can be applied to make “youth” to do certain fatigue duties. In many situations, hazing is in fact not the goal. Conscripts with "seniority" exploit their juniors to provide themselves with a more comfortable existence, and the violent aspects arise when juniors refuse to "follow traditions". There have been occasions where soldiers have been seriously injured. In extraordinary situations, there is a lethal outcome.
In fact, the Soviet military had an unusually high death rate in times of peace, due in part to such practices, sometimes combined with poor nutrition, harsh living conditions, etc.
Etymology
The term is derived from "ded" , which is the Russian Army army slang equivalent of gramps, meaning soldiers at their third (or fourth, which is also known as "dembel" , stemming from a vulgarization of the word "demobilizationDemobilization
Demobilization is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and military force will not be necessary...
" - this word is erroneously used by soldiers to name the event of resigning from the army; this event is also called by soldiers "dembel" or "DMB" ) half-year of conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
, with the suffix -shchina which designates a type of order, rule, or regime (compare Yezhovshchina, Zhdanovshchina). Thus it can literally be translated as "rule of the grandfathers." This is essentially a folk system of seniority based on stage of service, mostly not backed by code or law, which only grants seniority to conscripts promoted to various Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
and Efreitor
Gefreiter
Gefreiter is the German, Swiss and Austrian equivalent for the military rank Private . Gefreiter was the lowest rank to which an ordinary soldier could be promoted. As a military rank it has existed since at least the 16th century...
ranks.
History
The origin of this problem is often attributed to the change in conscription term brought about by the law of October 12, 1967, causing two different groups of conscriptConscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
s to be simultaneously present in the army: those who were drafted for 3-year service and those only for 2-year service. During the same year, a decision was reached to draft conscripts with a criminal history into the ranks, due to a demographic crisis following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. While oppression by older conscripts has probably always taken place in the army, after that date, with the introduction of the four-class system it became systematic and developed its own rules and ranks.
Current situation
Many young men are killed or commit suicide every year because of dedovshchina. The New York Times reported that in 2006 at least 292 Russian soldiers were killed by dedovshchina (although the Russian military only admits that 16 soldiers were directly murdered by acts of dedovshchina and claims that the rest committed suicide). The Times states: "On Aug. 4, it was announced by the chief military prosecutor that there had been 3,500 reports of abuse already this year (2006), compared with 2,798 in 2005". The BBC meanwhile reports that in 2007, 341 soldiers committed suicide, a 15% reduction on the previous year.Union of the Committees of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia
Union of the Committees of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia
The Union of the Committees of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia works to expose human rights violations within the Russian military.The organization was founded in 1989. Before 1998, it was known as the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia....
works to protect the rights of young soldiers.
Government actions
Overall, the state has done little to curtail dedovshchina. In 2003, on the specific issues of denial of food and poor nutrition, Deputy Minister of Defense V. Isakov flatly denied the existence of such problems.Since 2005, the Ministry of Defense has published monthly statistics of incidents and crimes including cases of death.
See also
- Andrei SychovAndrei SychovAndrey Sergeyevich Sychyov is a former Russian soldier who served in an armored forces academy in Chelyabinsk, Russia. He was tortured by at least four fellow soldiers and a sergeant on December 31, 2005...
- ConscriptionConscriptionConscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
- Bullying in the militaryBullying in the militaryIn 2000, the UK Ministry of Defence defined bullying as: “...the use of physical strength or the abuse of authority to intimidate or victimize others, or to give unlawful punishments.” A review of a number of deaths, supposedly by suicide, at Princess Royal Barracks, Deepcut by Nicholas Blake QC...
- FaggingFaggingFagging was a traditional educational practice in British boarding private schools and also many other boarding schools, whereby younger pupils were required to act as personal servants to the most senior boys...
- HazingHazingHazing is a term used to describe various ritual and other activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group....
- RaggingRaggingRagging is a practice in educational institutions in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka that involves existing students baiting or bullying new students. It is similar to the American phenomenon of hazing. It often takes a malignant form wherein the newcomers may be subjected to psychological or...
Further reading
- Conscript's Prostitution Claims Shed Light On Hazing
- Military Conscripts Caught In Deadly 'Cycle Of Violence'
- Thousands Dodge Military Service as Draft Begins
- Army Cracks Down On Military Service Loophole
- Article in the Washington Post by Peter Finn (2006-01-30): "Violent Bullying of Russian Conscripts Exposed".
- Russian Officer Kicks Soldier To Death
- Dmitry PuchkovDmitry PuchkovDmitry Yuryevich Puchkov , also known as Goblin and Starshiy Operupolnomocheniy Goblin, is an English-to-Russian movie and video game translator, script-writer, and author...
about dedovschina: Oper.ru Oper.ru - Book by Yury Polyakov (Ю́рий Миха́йлович Поляко́в): Сто дней до приказа ("One Hundred Days Till the Release Order", written in 1980, but was only able to be published in 1987). One of the first books to discuss this taboo subject, only publishable after Perestroika. A film based on the book and bearing the same title also came out in 1990. (In Russian)
- Oleg Divov, 2007, "Oruzhiye vozmezdiya" (Оружие возмездия, Weapon of vengeance)
- Françoise Daucé, Elisabeth Sieca-Kozlowski: Dedovshchina in the Post-Soviet Military: Hazing of Russian Army Conscripts in a Comparative Perspective. (Foreword by Dale Herspring) Soviet & Post-Soviet Politics & Society 28, Ibidem: Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3898216160.
- Golts, Alexander. "The Social and Political Condition of the Russian Military." In The Russian Military: Power and Policy, edited by Steven E. Miller and Dmitri Trenin, 73-94. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2004. ISBN 0262633051.
- Sakwa, Richard. Russian Politics and Society, 4th ed. New York: Routledge, 2008. ISBN 0415415276.
- Special Issue on Dedovshchina The Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet States. 1/2004.