Russian news agencies have reported that a Russian soldier in the Voronezh region suddenly went on a killing spree and killed his fellow soldiers with an axe and a gun.
Such events of soldiers having a breakdown and killing their fellow soldiers are too common and they have become even more frequent lately all over the world including the US military, Chinese military, and Indian army. What is the root cause behind all this? The soldiers who are trained to “protect”, how can they suddenly start destroying their own fellow soldiers? What is happening?
Before we get into the specifics, we need to know what happened this time in Russia.
Here’s what happened in Russia
Local sources from Voronezh have reported that the soldier killed three of his colleagues and then barricaded himself in a building in the base. The reports also claim to not know the actual cause that triggered such a violent outburst.
Among the three dead, one of them was an officer who was killed by an ax while the other two were enlisted soldiers who got shot by the officer’s gun. Another soldier was seriously injured and had to be rushed to a hospital nearby.
The attacking soldier was eventually detained and put under interrogation. While the official agencies have declined to reveal the reason, many human rights groups have said that the soldier was a victim of hazing, bullying, and harassment via physical abuse and humiliating pranks.
Officers humiliate and beat the soldiers, forcing them to do their house chores
Unfortunately, this kind of hazing ritual is far too common in the miliaries of almost every nation where new soldiers are not just bullied and mocked but often also beaten and made to go through humiliating pranks.
In a country like India which is deeply infested with the caste system, the condition of newly inducted soldiers is even worse. They are often forced to do house chores for the higher officials, which include washing their cars, walking their dogs, cleaning their yards, doing their laundry, polishing their boots, carrying their shopping bags, bringing their groceries, and even carrying their luggage. There have been some reports of soldiers forced to eat excreta when they refused to submit to slavery.
On top of that, the food in the common mess for soldiers is often insipid and poor quality which they are forced to endure, and any complaints about horrific conditions are hushed, as the soldiers are threatened into silence.
What does the media report?
The sad reality is that many soldiers decide to vent out their unbearable frustration at being forced to live undignified lives under inhuman conditions.
But news agencies always play as the supportive puppets of the establishment, and they report that the cause of these murderous outbursts is some kind of undisclosed “personal problems” or “mental health issues.”
Featured Image Courtesy: Russia On Ice