Russians View Military Increasingly Favorably as Extortion and Other Negative News Go Underreported

“… Extortion from contract soldiers in distant garrisons is a fairly typical picture for Russia.”

Domestic attitudes toward the Russian military have improved significantly over the past decade.  As the first excerpt from the official Russian news agency TASS points out, during the December meeting of senior military leaders, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu “stressed that Russian citizens highly value the activities of the military department.  According to polls, more than 90% of Russians are confident that the military is capable of protecting them, and 88% are proud of the army and navy.” 

Some of this improvement may be because of policies implemented by the Kremlin, which restrict negative reporting about the Russian military, including recent news about extortion of Russian soldiers.  The second accompanying excerpt from the mostly independent Russian news outlet Nezavisimaya Gazeta describes an adverse incident “where contract servicemen (including officers) were imposed tribute by criminals… in the military garrison in Yurga (Kemerovo region).”  As the article points out, even though this example of military extortion was “actively discussed in social networks and on internet portals,” official media almost completely ignored it.  The article quotes military journalist Viktor Baranets, who asserts, “extortion from contract soldiers in distant garrisons is a fairly typical picture for Russia.  There have been several cases in my memory when local criminals actually impose tribute on military personnel.”  The article concludes by citing a recent senior military investigator who claims that in 2021, “the number of crimes against the order of military service has increased.” 

Not surprisingly, as the third excerpt indicates, shortly after this article was published, a senior official in the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defense wrote a letter to Nezavisimaya Gazeta claiming that the story was false.  According to this official, “inspections carried out by the command and law enforcement agencies in the military units of the Yurga garrison did not reveal a single case of extortion of money from servicemen in 2021.”

Source:

Stanislav Krasilnikov, “Миротворцы и спасатели: главные достижения армии России за 2021 год (Peacekeepers and rescuers: the main achievements of the Russian military in 2021),” TASS (official Russian news agency), 29 December 2021. https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/13314335

Summing up the results of the activities of the Russian Armed Forces in 2021, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stressed that Russian citizens highly appreciate the activities of the military department. According to polls, more than 90% of Russians are confident that the army is capable of protecting them, and 88% are proud of the army and navy. 

Source: Vladimir Mukhin, “Беспредел в гарнизонах искоренить не удалось (The chaos in the garrisons could not be eradicated),” Nezavisimaya Gazeta (mostly independent Russian news source), 26 December 2021. https://www.ng.ru/armies/2021-12-26/2_8336_army.html

At the events of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation dedicated to summing up the results of the activities of the army and navy, official reports available in the public domain this year did not provide data on the state of military discipline and law and order among personnel….  The media are discussing the scandal in the military garrison in Yurga (Kemerovo region), where the contract servicemen (including officers) were imposed tribute by representatives of the local criminals.

The situation in the military garrison in Yurga is actively discussed in social networks and on Internet portals…, about the alleged extortions from contract servicemen (including officers), organized by representatives of the local criminals. According to media reports, the military are threatened, they are blackmailed, while they are afraid to go to law enforcement agencies and “pay tribute without complaint.” …One of the gangster leaders, whose photo is quoted on the portal, allegedly “even has a whole list of almost a hundred military men who regularly pay tribute to him.” 

…This situation seems wild. Viktor Baranets, a member of the Public Council under the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, shares his concern… “Extortion from contract soldiers in distant garrisons is a fairly typical picture for Russia. There have been several cases in my memory when local criminals actually impose tribute on military personnel.” 

…In July 2021, summing up the work of military investigators in the first half of the year, the then acting head of the GVSU, Lieutenant General of Justice Sergei Fedotov, said that “in the field of military service, the number of crimes against the order of military service has increased….” 

Source: A. Volosatov, “Ответ Министерства обороны РФ на материал ‘Беспредел в гарнизонах искоренить не удалось’ (Response of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation to the material ‘Lawlessness in garrisons could not be eradicated,),” Nezavisimaya Gazeta, 28 December 2021. https://www.ng.ru/letter/2021-12-28/2_8338_answer.html

In the material of Nezavisimaya Gazeta, published on December 27… provided about the allegedly unsatisfactory state of law and order in the military garrisons associated with extortion of money from servicemen… This article is absolutely untrue. The inspections carried out by the command and law enforcement agencies in the military units of the Yurga garrison did not reveal a single case of extortion of money from servicemen in 2021….

Deputy Head of the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation A. Volosatov