The Russian army has become a breeding ground not only for hazing and corruption, but also for homosexuality and prostitution. “Russia is the most favorable country for lovers of spicy army sex” - this is a quote from the popular international gay guide Spartacus. According to this publication, right in the center of Moscow you can rent a soldier or cadet for the night. There are even “comments from experienced people” who advise making a sex tour of military units near Moscow. There, officers at the checkpoint bring out photo albums, and those who want strong “male friendship” choose a fighter to their liking. Prices range from 100 to 500 dollars per night, writes Komsomolskaya Pravda.
It's no secret that the place where gay prostitutes sell themselves is the Heroes' Square of Plevna, the so-called "pleshka". This is where you can rent a soldier or cadet for the night, the newspaper writes.
The publication's correspondents took on the role of an elderly Dutch gay businessman and his young translator, and went to Plevna's Heroes' Square to find out whether Russian army soldiers really earn extra money as prostitutes.
There are several unremarkable young people in the square, only there are no girls. The “gay businessman” remains in the car, the “translator” goes to negotiate.
Sergei, who works at the “pleshka”, said that “the cadets usually come after lights out.”
“But I don’t advise you at all. They work without a soul, purely for money,” Sergei shared. Indeed, after some time, when it was almost dark, three young people appeared at the monument. They had short haircuts and walked in step, as if on a parade ground, the newspaper correspondent describes.
He goes to negotiate with the cadets: “Is there a curious foreigner here?”
One of the servicemen immediately interrupts him, declaring: “500 rubles for an hour or 50 bucks for a night. Are you an active foreigner?”
The “translator” nods affirmatively. “Then you will go,” says the senior cadet to one of his companions.
Having taken the cadet-prostitute into the car and driven away from the square, the journalists revealed their incognito. The cadet did not give his real name (he asked to be called Vasya), however, he told how Russian soldiers and cadets take the path of prostitution.
Vasya said that he was a third-year military school student, but did not say which one.
“The first time was in the first year. I called the company commander, my personal file was in front of him. He told me that we were allocating duty stations after graduation. I believed him. He assigned me somewhere in Siberia. I asked to take a closer look. That’s when he said that he couldn’t solve this issue himself, but he had a “very pleasant and influential” acquaintance, whose father works as a personnel officer at high headquarters. And he immediately called this man and arranged for me to meet with him . He wrote me a letter of leave and sent me to the checkpoint, where a BMW drove up, and the driver took me to some apartment," Vasya said.
A 30-year-old man was waiting for Vasya at the apartment and gave the cadet some drink. “When all this happened, I almost didn’t understand anything... I returned to school the next morning and didn’t tell anyone anything, of course,” said the cadet.
“And then the company commander called me and showed me a photograph: “That’s what you were doing!” What if I show this to the head of the school and then send it to you home?”
Of course, the company commander suggested that Vasya continue to earn extra money for a percentage. “Before, I gave all the money to the company commander, but now he allowed himself to take half,” says Vasya.
When asked if he was ashamed to engage in prostitution, Vasya replied that he was not ashamed. “This is temporary. Once I finish my studies, I’ll go serve in the army, I’ll get married. Please take me to the “pleshka.”
Sexual harassment is a common part of hazing in the Russian army
Private Vitaly Salous shot six colleagues in the guardhouse. For a long time he did not tell investigators about the true reason for his terrible act. It was called a miracle by the only witness who survived: the drunken sergeants, led by an officer, decided to “make fun” of the soldier - they had already managed to undress him, but Vitaly managed to fight back, snatch a machine gun from the gun park and pump almost 60 bullets into his offenders.
During the investigation of the criminal case, something else became clear: the company “grandfathers” had raped a subordinate more than once before, which is why he received the nickname “lowered.” And although all these cases played the role of mitigating circumstances at the trial, Salous was charged with “exceeding the necessary defense” and was given 8 years.
This is just one of many cases where the victim of rapists decided to take extreme measures of self-defense. And according to statistics from military courts of the Russian Federation, the number of single or group murders, the main motive of which is revenge for sexual harassment and rape, continues to grow.
But not every one of those who have been subjected to violence grabs a machine gun or turns to commanders or the prosecutor’s office. Many, in order to avoid shame, prefer to harbor a grudge, and when it becomes unbearable, they decide to commit suicide (or escape from the unit). If 10 years ago, out of 200 cases of suicide in the army, only 5-6 were related to homosexuality, today it is already 10-12.
Military and civilian doctors came to the conclusion that forced or voluntary “barracks homosexuality” often causes severe mental disorders and nervous breakdowns in people. And if you consider that these people have access not only to small arms, but often also to nuclear or chemical weapons, then it is not difficult to imagine what the consequences may be.
In addition to sexual perversions, AIDS can easily be transmitted in the army
Most military personnel undergo an in-depth medical examination once (at best, twice) a year. This can easily explain why HIV carriers are often not detected at an early stage of the disease. By the time this happens, they have already managed to infect their willing or unwilling “partners.” In 2004, in the Russian army, more than 100 military personnel of all ranks were diagnosed with HIV infection (a third of them fell ill due to homosexual “inclinations”). In total, about 400 such people have been identified in the country's security forces. All of them were immediately dismissed from service and sent for treatment.
It is noteworthy that more than 70% of Russian army recruits admitted that they had never seen “this thing” when talking about a condom, the newspaper writes. Now it has been decided that every time a soldier is discharged outside the unit, he will be given a condom free of charge.
In the United States, conscripts are taught the technology of handling rubber products in school, and the US Department of Defense spares no expense in generously supplying its troops with condoms - they are even included in boxes of dry rations. The Russian Ministry of Defense still does not have a special budget item for this. And if money does appear, free condoms will only increase the “threshold of safety” for male sex, but homosexuality itself will not disappear, the newspaper believes.
High-profile cases involving sexual abuse of soldiers in the Russian army
Chelyabinsk. The commander of one of the military units, Vitaly Afinogenov, was found guilty of committing violent acts of a sexual nature. The loving major called soldiers to his house to massage his sore back. However, Afinogenov did not limit himself to ordinary massage. The commander switched from a relaxing massage to an erotic one, followed by rape of a subordinate. Those who found the courage to refuse the major were subject to disciplinary punishment by the military - assignments every other day, sleep deprivation, night drills. Having learned about this, one of the officers brought the raped soldier to the military prosecutor's office. The prosecution recognized 8 people as victims. Afinogenov was sentenced to only 6 years of suspended imprisonment and was stripped of his military rank.
Saint Petersburg. Here the police raided what at first glance seemed like an ordinary underground porn studio. However, it differed from others in its cast of actors and its Canadian director, who “filmed” the cadets of the St. Petersburg naval schools. He paid $100 for a photo or video session. After his arrest, the Canadian was released on his own recognizance. But the next day he took a ticket and flew to Sweden. However, in a hurry, the director left a flash card in his studio, on which a dossier of almost 100 of his “photo models” was collected.
Kuril Islands. On the Kuril Island of Iturup, an entire “blue harem” was accidentally discovered in one of the military units. And the “sultan” of this harem turned out to be the political commander of the unit. Major Godilov used threats and blackmail (“I will send a letter to your homeland that you have been dropped here”) to persuade soldiers to engage in sodomy, and often simply rape. After this, Godilov even encouraged his victims with dismissals and “warm” places in the unit. Only according to the most conservative estimates (the number of victims involved in the criminal case), the rapist major had connections with 20 soldiers. And how many more “demobes” have gone home with a crippled psyche, one can only guess, the newspaper writes.
Krasnodar. The officer, special forces captain Vitaly Sedykh, was put in the dock on three counts at once: “exceeding official authority,” “sodomy with the use of violence,” and “coercion to perform acts of a sexual nature.” Three conscript soldiers became victims of the pervert. Having studied their weaknesses in personal matters, the captain easily forced the fighters to fulfill their most sexual desires. Now he himself ended up in a general regime colony for 6 years.
Are homosexuals called up for military service? If there are no other mental disorders, then yes - on the basis of the law. A number of his opponents nod at Art. 18, however, there you will not find any advice directly related to the fact that representatives of non-traditional sexual orientation should not be hired. We propose to consider the question of whether gays are taken into the army and where exactly they can “rumble.”
Medical examination
A large number of young people mistakenly believe that “gay” people still don’t have to be drafted into the army - and this is due to popular television series and movies. Like, you just need to write a statement and that’s it, a white ticket in your pocket. Of course, during the check by the medical board at the military registration and enlistment office, this will not help the conscript in any way - however, neither will the purchased certificate.
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Do they take gays into the army?
As already mentioned, under the USSR the situation of persons with non-traditional sexual orientation was slightly different. If such a “feature” was discovered in a conscript, then he was secretly “awarded” with some kind of mental disorder. In our time, both psychiatrists and psychologists talk with the conscript, then send him to a dispensary, and even then the latter does not happen often - as a rule, everything is limited to a conversation at the recruiting station itself.
There are still legal ways for a homosexual to avoid the army if he has a tendency to:
- exhibitionism;
- voyeurism;
- sadomasochism;
- fetishism;
- transvestism;
- pedophilia.
A conscript who exhibits such tendencies will certainly be sent to a dispensary, where a doctor will diagnose him - if the tendency to the above disorders is confirmed, the homosexual can avoid the army. However, this is also true for other mental illnesses, because according to statistics, almost 25% of gays have real mental problems. If a disease is detected, the doctor must suggest that the conscript undergo inpatient or outpatient treatment.
Some conscripts, not wanting to serve, openly reveal their homosexuality at the military registration and enlistment office in order to... In the event that doctors cannot recognize a lie, they will send such a conscript to a dispensary - but it is almost impossible to deceive the specialists of this institution. In the best case, the liar will still end up in the army, in the worst case, he will get a lot of problems, such as not being allowed to drive a car or being unable to get a prestigious job. Getting rid of such a diagnosis is extremely problematic; for many, it takes more than one year.
How are homosexuals treated in the Russian army?
In 2013, especially for people of non-traditional sexual orientation, the army introduced manuals that allow officers to identify gays and educate them. The manual is called “How to Detect a Gay in the Army” - it explains in detail the method of identifying a recruit’s true sexual orientation. The publication of a new brochure is due to the fact that the unspoken law of the USSR is no longer relevant. Most members of public organizations were against the methods of identifying gays described in the manual, since they were often accompanied by pressure on the soldier’s psyche.
During the Soviet era, homosexual recruits were almost always sent to the most “non-prestigious” branches of the military - say, to a construction battalion. Moreover, the service there was far from glamorous. One can recall the repeated conflicts and tragic incidents in the army covered in the media that involve homosexuals being oppressed by “grandfathers” - even to the point of death.
Throughout the entire period of military service, officers and warrant officers strive to encourage conscripts to reconsider their views on sexual orientation. Almost every homosexual in the army faces “re-education.” Therefore, if a potential or actual conscript is truly a convinced gay, it is better for him to try to hide his views in this regard (although this is not easy), and it is better, if possible, to avoid serving in the army. Moreover, it should be remembered that gays are often treated poorly by recruits of any conscription.
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There is still a widespread belief that the Russian army supposedly does not accept gays. However, Russian legislation does not contain such discriminatory norms. We present expert comments on this issue.
Maxim Burmitsky, legal expert:
More than ten years ago, the Regulations on the Military Medical Examination, approved by Government Decree No. 123 of February 25, 2003, came into force, the list of illnesses of which stated that sexual orientation is not considered a disorder, and therefore homosexuals are quite mentally healthy and fit for military service upon conscription. However, the number of questions on this topic is not decreasing. And the military themselves add fuel to the fire of misunderstanding. Military registration and enlistment office workers are not very happy with such conscripts and are inclined to send them to psychiatric hospitals in order to discover deviations in them. Yes, and there was a manual from the Main Directorate of Internal Affairs of the Moscow Region on educational work with fighters, classifying same-sex relationships as “perversions,” i.e. In terms of such a fighter, nothing good can be expected either.
Thus, for those homosexuals who have a desire to serve in the draft, I would recommend refusing to come out of the closet at the draft commission, since in the case of homophobic sentiments (and they have recently been trending in the Russian Federation) you will be dragged to psychiatric hospitals in order to find neurotic disorders in connection with worries about orientation or “disorders of gender identification and sexual preference,” which, according to paragraph “b” of Art. 18 Schedule of illnesses corresponds to fitness category B - limited fit. On the other hand, for those who really have similar disorders (for example, difficulty in gender self-identification), I personally would not recommend bothering with a psychiatric examination.
Arseny Levinson, lawyer:
Homosexuality is not a disease. According to the ICD (International Classification of Diseases), this is not a sexual desire disorder. The list of diseases includes “disorders of gender identity and sexual preference” as a separate item, which is the basis for exemption from military service. But since homosexuality is not one, you cannot count on being released from the army.
But in practice, military commissariats, and the state as a whole, have the right to select those citizens whom they would like to see in military service. Every year, the president issues a conscription plan, according to which a certain number of male citizens, for example, three hundred thousand people, must be recruited into the armed forces. It is obvious that the generation of young people who are subject to conscription is significantly larger than 300 thousand people. Therefore, the army itself can choose which citizens it wants to see in its ranks and which ones it does not.
In recent years, the attitude of young people towards military service has changed. Most of today's youth do not seek to avoid conscription in any way. Circumstances have arisen that the time has come to address the issue of homosexuality. It exists in our country too; silencing it will not lead to anything good. A pressing question has arisen in society: “Are gays being accepted into the army? Is it possible for these people to be exempt from service by law?”
Is it illness or promiscuity?
In our country, non-traditional orientation is considered in terms of medical disorders in the body. There is a hormonal imbalance that no one understands and the person ceases to be interested in the opposite sex. At the same time, “blue” or “pink” try to avoid ridicule and bullying from the outside. It is completely unclear how such people are treated in the ranks of the Russian Armed Forces and whether gays are accepted into the army?
Criminal punishment for such manifestations in human behavior is a thing of the past. There is no clear definition regarding sexual orientation among doctors; they have redirected responsibility for conscription to psychologists who are on the commission of doctors who check the health of young people. Specialists, when they need a diagnosis if a conscript has a disease, decide whether or not to weed him out from among the future soldiers, based on the list of diseases.
A kind of reference book indicates the diseases for which “white” tickets are received. It's just a paradox - there is no such ailment on the list. We can say with complete confidence that a conscript will not receive a negative answer to the question: “Are gays accepted into the army?” This means that homosexuals are not commissioned, but there are opportunities to avoid conscription: add an additional mental disorder to yourself or get a certificate with a full range of diseases. If a gay man gets into the service, he does not have to emphasize his unconventional features.
What deviations exclude conscription?
It has always been an honor to serve in the ranks of the Russian army. Whether a person with disabilities will be drafted there largely depends on the competence of the draft medical board. Perhaps, having learned about the conscript’s characteristics, out of the kindness of their hearts, the doctors will write another mental disorder into the medical examination card.
In our country, most people don’t even think about whether gays are accepted into the army. Experts have a clear answer - there is no reason not to conscript such youth. But sufficient grounds for release from service will be the discovery of at least one more disorder in the body, or better yet, in the psyche.
A young man will never become a soldier if he has:
- visionism - a deviation in which patients spy on the intimate behavior of citizens, their dressing, bathing;
- exhibitionism - people with this diagnosis like to show their naked private parts to the opposite sex and masturbate;
- fetishism - a person with such deviations reacts sexually to various objects;
- sadomasochism - partners achieve satisfactory emotions after inflicting or experiencing pain;
- pedophilia - manifestation of unhealthy interest, sexual attraction to children;
- transvestism - satisfaction is gained from dressing in women's clothing with the appropriate hairstyle and behavior.
When a guy has the listed symptoms, the question of whether gays are accepted into the Russian army will automatically disappear. His place is in a special hospital, where a thorough check will be carried out, where specialized specialists will clarify or confirm the diagnosis.
Where do they serve?
Doctors at the military registration and enlistment office do not see any reason to refuse conscription and do not grant a deferment of military duties in accordance with a diagnosis that is not confirmed by regulatory documents.
A young man should not even ask the military registration and enlistment office whether gays are drafted into the army, since it will not be possible to evade service for such a reason. This fact was confirmed by lawyers and military commissars. Soldiers with non-traditional orientation serve on an equal basis with everyone else. If they openly declared their inclinations, and no other health problems could be identified, military personnel are sent to construction battalions to build roads and other military facilities.
How do officers recognize homosexuals?
There are gays among the military who are enlisted in a military unit because they hide their orientation. Perhaps a country with moral principles of a certain direction will one day become tolerant, but the time is far away when society will accept homosexuality without outrage.
To avoid bullying in the ranks of the Russian Armed Forces, such soldiers must be abandoned. It was in this context that the legislature considered the problem. Nowadays, some young people also have a question: “Are gay people drafted into the army?” There is nothing to please them with, since everything remained in its place, the legislators did not come to anything.
So far, they have found a way out in handing out brochures to commanders so that in units they would recognize gays based on special characteristics and protect them from violent harassment. The military leadership, non-commissioned officers and privates are taking their own measures for re-education. Such actions do not bring positive results, only negative aspects.
Features of medical commissions
The International Classification of Diseases specifies criteria for determining diagnoses. None of them can appear during the examination of conscripts at their request. It would be an unreasonable act if a young man knows for sure whether people with a non-traditional orientation are accepted into the army, but he comes to the commission and openly declares such preferences as:
- monitor changing clothes and intimate behavior through holes in the wall;
- swing a whip, beat sexual partners;
- wear women's clothing.
A specialist sent to the military registration and enlistment office to work on the medical commission will not be able to make a diagnosis himself. If a conscript is found to have a mental disorder, he will be transferred to a clinic for a comprehensive examination.
Research order
A military psychiatric examination is carried out within a month, after which a conclusion is made based on:
- multiple meetings between doctors and patients;
- answers to relevant questions;
- life history studies;
- detected concomitant diseases.
In our country, a homosexual has to choose for himself: to declare or hide his inclinations. A lie will quickly be detected by qualified doctors, and an attempt to evade will remain a stain on a potential recruit.
There have always been many myths and fears regarding the army, due to the natural fears of young people who will find themselves in its ranks. Of course, one could not do without one of the main male phobias - about a possible encounter with manifestations of homosexuality.
“Smart Magazine” decided to look into this problem and briefly outline the real situation with same-sex love in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
Do they take gays into the army?
Contrary to what many people believe, homosexuality is not considered a disease - at least in countries that adhere to World Health Organization standards, which includes Russia. Therefore, in Russian legislation, sexual orientation is not a basis for exemption from military service. So for those who want to avoid conscription by declaring themselves homosexual, lawyers do not advise doing this - with such a “diagnosis” they can be sent to the army without blinking an eye.
At the same time, the grounds for exemption from military service are the so-called disorders of sexual preference, which include fetishism, sadomasochism, pedophilia, transvestism, exhibitionism, voyeurism and others, including “unspecified”. In practice, conscripts who claim to be attracted to men are referred to a psychologist or psychiatrist to evaluate for these disorders. If any of them are found, they will be released from military service, and if not, the young homosexual will be allowed to march for a year along with everyone else.
Do gays want to join the army?
Among the conscripts, there are indeed those who try to pass themselves off as “representatives of gay orientation.” Sometimes it looks quite comical. “Imagine a two-meter-tall, slanting fathom in the shoulders, village guy-tractor driver with fists like a sledgehammer, who, in front of the doors of the final draft commission, suddenly paints his lips and clumsily tries to “glamorize” himself in order to pass for... With such a “mower”, a few minutes of preventive conversations to convince him to stop fooling around,” said psychologist Sergei Yurlov in an interview.
However, there is also a completely opposite situation: many real homosexuals want to repay their debt to their Motherland by serving in the armed forces. And they do it no worse than anyone else. But still, if such patriots reveal their love preferences at the draft board, preparatory work is carried out with them.
“The first advice to “non-traditional” people who love their country and want to serve it: once you find yourself in a harsh male military team, keep your mouth shut! Well, keep your “peculiarity”, excuse me, in your fist... Be patient, because there are, alas, much more cases when openly gay people in the service were despised and even “let down,” said Yurlov. According to him, to directly accompany such a non-standard fighter during his service, military registration and enlistment offices use military psychologists, who now exist in almost every military unit. They are informed about the “peculiarities” of the conscript, and they strictly confidentially monitor him on the spot.
How are gays treated in the army?
Of course, in the Russian army the attitude towards sexual minorities is negative, as in the entire Russian society. Sexologist Evgeniy Kashchenko provides data from his own research. To the question: “Will a friend fall in your eyes if it turns out that he is homosexual?” - 70% of respondents from private to general answered in the affirmative (by category: 63% warrant officers, 77% soldiers, 56% cadets, 83% officers).
Interestingly, of the officers over 50 years of age, 100% answered affirmatively. But among young people tolerance turned out to be much higher. The prevalence of homosexuality among warrant officers and cadets of military schools is also noteworthy. Apparently, isolation from real combat service stimulates a “thirst for experimentation” in people.
A “liberal” attitude towards homosexuality, however, is also found among unit commanders. This is not only a matter of personal attitude, but also of a managerial approach: if cases of same-sex love do not cause serious problems, then there is no need to deal with them.
As for soldiers, passive and active homosexuals are perceived somewhat differently (as has been customary in closed male societies for centuries). If the former really cannot count on anything other than ridicule and humiliation, and therefore hide their inclinations, then the latter may well be looking for opportunities to satisfy sexual desire. Since the active homosexual role is a form of dominance, in the military, where all relationships are largely built on the assertion of dominance, it does not meet with the same rejection.
It is not difficult to notice here the similarity with the morals accepted in prison (although the degree of their “primitiveness” is still less). Many military personnel who engage in active homosexual contact are not homosexuals as such, but rather do it for social reasons. After finishing their service, such people return to their natural sexual orientation, and are no longer attracted to any “non-traditional” relationships.
Of course, all such things are aggravated if disciplinary control on the part of the authorities is weakened, so there is only one recipe for countering them: to keep military personnel busy with what they come to the army for - military service.
Gay prostitution in the army
In the mid-2000s, a loud discussion of the problem of unconventional sex in the army suddenly began in the Russian press. And not just sex, but sex for money.
One of the materials reported that international gay publications call Russia the leader in the sale of soldiers and military school cadets for love pleasures. The range of prices per night allegedly ranged from 100 to 500 dollars, and it was possible to “remove” a serviceman both in certain places in Moscow (like the monument to the heroes of Plevna, known as one of the capital’s main “gay lighthouses”), and directly in the units. In the latter case, it was supposedly possible to look through an album with candidates directly at the checkpoint and choose the one you liked best.
Journalists managed to find out a common pattern of involving soldiers and cadets in such activities. First, they are somehow captured during a homosexual act - voluntary or forced - and then, under the threat of disclosing the information, including to their relatives, they are forced to earn money from it. As a rule, the business is run by officers and sergeants, who receive a percentage of sex income, or even take everything.
True, after the publication of the materials and the violent negative reaction that they caused in military circles, the topic of army gay prostitution was no longer in the spotlight. Maybe they've put things in order after all