I do wonder how representative this is, though. It just seems like any army that existed in this shape would be more or less completely incapable of being a coherent fighting force.
Russia did end up winning in Chechenya and it is holding its ground against an alliance that is matching it in total spending and has some important intel advantages. Surely the entire army can’t be like this.
It matches what I remember reading in the late 80s about the late Soviet armed forces. Massive abuse of conscripts was considered normal. Not surprising that it was still normal in the early post-Soviet era.
Abuse this severe simply can’t be too widespread when there’s actual wars to be fought. Russia doesn’t have a great record fighting wars, but if the entire corps was subject to such treatment the army would melt like butter the moment it faced a determined enemy.
Abuse has gotten worse in the Russian army since the start of the war. Recently, the broader army has adopted the tactics Wagner used to capture Bakhmut. This involves more frequent executions and punishment. Specifically, if troops refuse to go on the assault they are killed. This is not a new tactic and has been used widely since the Prussians became the model army. Though it is disagreeable it has been shown to be effective in many examples in this war and in the past. Better to die a hero and get boatloads of money sent to your widow, than to die a coward and deprive your family of cash while bringing them shame.
Though this is still different than Chechnya. The people threatened still volunteered and earn good money. Additionally, its more rationalized than what is described in this excerpt.
Good post.
I do wonder how representative this is, though. It just seems like any army that existed in this shape would be more or less completely incapable of being a coherent fighting force.
Russia did end up winning in Chechenya and it is holding its ground against an alliance that is matching it in total spending and has some important intel advantages. Surely the entire army can’t be like this.
It matches what I remember reading in the late 80s about the late Soviet armed forces. Massive abuse of conscripts was considered normal. Not surprising that it was still normal in the early post-Soviet era.
Abuse this severe simply can’t be too widespread when there’s actual wars to be fought. Russia doesn’t have a great record fighting wars, but if the entire corps was subject to such treatment the army would melt like butter the moment it faced a determined enemy.
Abuse has gotten worse in the Russian army since the start of the war. Recently, the broader army has adopted the tactics Wagner used to capture Bakhmut. This involves more frequent executions and punishment. Specifically, if troops refuse to go on the assault they are killed. This is not a new tactic and has been used widely since the Prussians became the model army. Though it is disagreeable it has been shown to be effective in many examples in this war and in the past. Better to die a hero and get boatloads of money sent to your widow, than to die a coward and deprive your family of cash while bringing them shame.
Though this is still different than Chechnya. The people threatened still volunteered and earn good money. Additionally, its more rationalized than what is described in this excerpt.
Re Chechenya: admittedly a shitty victory