Russia: Dozens demonstrate over brutal abuse of conscript

Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside the Defence Ministry in Moscow today to register their anger over a bullying incident in which a conscript was so badly injured that his legs and genitals had to be amputated.

At least 300 people took part in the rally to display support for conscripts who are often subject to brutal abuse by their elders in the troubled Russian military, Ekho Moskvy radio reported.

Some called for the resignation of Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov and President Vladimir Putin, it said.

The demonstrators did not have the required permission for the protest, and several dozen police stood by, Ekho Moskvy said. It said the protesters were not shouting slogans – apparently in part because of police warnings that they would disperse the demonstrators if they created disorder.

A few dozen people held a similar demonstration in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg, the capital of the home region of the victim, Andrei Sychev, the radio station said.

Prosecutors say Sychev, an 18-year-old private at the Chelyabinsk Tank Academy in the Ural Mountains region, was beaten and tortured on New Year’s Eve, causing severe injuries and a gangrenous infection that led to the amputations. Several other soldiers were beaten in the same incident, but they sustained lighter injuries.

Ivanov, who was unaware of the incident until this week, ordered an investigation on Friday into why military officials failed to report it immediately and said seven soldiers have been detained. He also fired the head of the tank academy, who was charged with abuse of office for allegedly concealing the crime.

Sychev was not taken to hospital until several days after the beating, when he was already in a critical condition.

Public anger has mounted over the incident and it has damaged the reputation of Ivanov, seen as a potential successor to Putin in 2008 elections.

Rights groups accuse military officials of condoning vicious bullying as a means to maintain discipline.

All Russian men between the ages of 18 and 27 are required to serve at least two years in the armed forces, though many avoid the draft through exceptions or bribery.