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  Virginia

  Aug. 18, 2006, 1:29 p.m.

  From article, "Lads who are psychologically unstable should not be sent to serve in a strategically important installation." Should they be in anyone's army including ours.

  The whole story is a very sad and depressing one beside the fact that nuclear materials can possibly be compromised. The officers should be responsible for one's in their charge is one way of looking at it. Allowing stuff to go on as to traditions is true of a lot of organizations. "A Few Good Men" is an example of that kind of mind set.
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  Bobcat6

  Aug. 18, 2006, 1:46 p.m.

  Well, w/security like that, I'd say Chernobyl Part Deux is on the horizon. Look out! I know, the liberals will probably blame GW for this as well.
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  Virginia

  Aug. 18, 2006, 2:02 p.m.

  Bob, I'm sure there is plenty of blame to go around. Ease into it!
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  Reynaert

  Aug. 18, 2006, 3:46 p.m.

  It's no secret the russian military drives its members to suicide. Neither is it a secret the russian federation is barely strong enough to guard it's soviet heritage. so I'm far from surprised.

  On the other hand I am surprised people can manage to draw american politics into a strictly russian problem.
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  Septic

  Aug. 18, 2006, 5:44 p.m.

  @Virginia haha I'm sure there is =)
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  Dragonax

  Aug. 18, 2006, 7:39 p.m.

  It sounds like if you can walk and talk you're fit for military service in Russia. Perhaps they eliminated the 4F catagory in order to fill the ranks. When the draft was in effect in the U.S. it was very hard to get turned down for military service but there were psychological test and the weeding out process of basic training.
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  PutkaMina

  Aug. 18, 2006, 8:44 p.m.

  Firs off let me say that it's a bit funny to see westerners using western philosophy to explain this problem. Now here are a few things that all of you who have posted are overlooking:

  1. No one in Russia volunteers for service. If you are 18 years of age and can't afford the bribe you are a soldier!

  2. No one wants to go to Siberia, it's where Russia's prisoners are sent! Only the soldiers who don't have any connections are sent to serve there.

  3. Their officers don't want to be in Siberia either. They are there because they don't have the connections to transfer to a better place.

  Now let's look at all of these factors in a "western" way. These "soldiers" were really poor, mentally unstable, and most likely grew up "on the streets." To put it simply, it's like taking a bunch of hoodlums and juvenile delinquents (against their will), giving them a rifle, and calling them soldiers.
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  PutkaMina

  Aug. 18, 2006, 8:45 p.m.

  Now if that wasn’t bad enough add the fact that they don’t get fed very well and get paid barely enough to buy cigarettes.

  As far as the "dedovshchina,” well just look at the facts above and you can see why they are taking it so far. It’s true that most of their officers don’t care about the new conscripts but even if they did there would be almost nothing they could do to stop the “dedovshchina.” What more could the officers do to punish the older soldiers, beat them? Heck, these guys are from the streets they will take a beating with a smile. And don’t even try suggesting psychiatric help, if they can’t afford decent toilets they certainly won’t be able to afford a psychiatrist.

  And now to answer the question of why they would accept these people in the first place. And the answer is: having someone (anyone) “guarding” outside with a rifle is better than having no one at all. In conclusion, there is simply a lack of military funding.
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  nycgirlwriter

  Aug. 18, 2006, 11:58 p.m.

  PutkaMina you make some really great points.

  Still one must ask after the U.S. invested 20 billion dollars to Russia for securing their nuclear facilities why are we still faced with the problem of possible security threats? This is a nuclear site not the outside of some compound, only the best, and most stable should be gaurding it. In fact if Russia spends any money on military at all it should be in this sector because it is not only a threat to the rest of the world but it is a threat to Russia itself. It is not like Russia is not without her enemies. What happens if one of these "hoodlums" decides to go off the handle and stick it to the man for having such a sh*t regime that they had to live in poverty with no aide?

  By the way every countries armies have hoodlums in it and growing up in the streets does not necessarily mean you're unstable.
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  earthlingerer

  Aug. 19, 2006, 9:59 a.m.

  Imagine if "unstable recruits" were sent to Iraq, or somewhere. They could have devastating results to foreign perceptions, and respect of the USA!
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  PutkaMina

  Aug. 19, 2006, 6:15 p.m.

  nycgirlwriter:

  First let me say that I agree with everything that you have aid above. So where did the $20 billion go? Well, most likely into the yachts and Swiss ski lodges of the government’s ministers. Although I am sure that a lot of it also went into much needed repairs to the facilities and reactors themselves. You have to realize that Russia is a somewhat corrupt country. I do agree that these facilities should be guarded by the best of the best; however the “best of the best” don’t want to be stuck in the freezing hell (hundreds of miles from any real civilization) that is Siberia.
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  PutkaMina

  Aug. 19, 2006, 6:16 p.m.

  earthlingerer:

  As far as US soldiers in Iraq…well, while most of them are good healthy individuals there are still a few questionable individuals. Brutal war has a way of turning even the most stable and well intentioned people. That’s why I think that we should rotate our soldiers every 6 months to give them time to “cool off” and get their heads straight.
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  mmcl

  Aug. 23, 2006, 6:36 p.m.

  Virginia

  (The whole story is a very sad and depressing one beside the fact that nuclear materials can possibly be compromised. The officers should be responsible for one's in their charge is one way of looking at it. Allowing stuff to go on as to traditions is true of a lot of organizations. "A Few Good Men" is an example of that kind of mind set.)

  I guess I worry less about their stability than about their honesty. Criminal gangs are rampant in Russia. I wonder how much they are offering nuclear warheads for on the black market?

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