We have other wars to compare this to. The documented cases of rape and torture are unusually high in this war. Maybe it’s related to Russia drafting their criminals from prisons to fight for them. Or maybe it’s something more profound in the Russian culture.
The prison thing is surely a factor. But is it really that much more than WW2 or Vietnam? We can’t compare it to small wars, this is the biggest war in a long time and it’s based around cultural identity (at least for those at the low levels). If you have a dehumanised enemy, all bets are off.
The stories of atrocities in WWI and WWII include a great deal of kidnapping, public executions and even prolonged torture at prison camps. Vietnam certainly had several documented cases of rape and murders of villagers. But there are not a lot of accounts of soldiers sexually assaulting and torturing entire families in their homes for several days before finally executing many of them. For some reason, there is a mountain of these documented cases in this war. As time goes on, and the list grows, history will show the torture in this war to be unusually perverse and horrific.
There are more documented accounts in this war because it is easier than ever to document and reporting is more socially accepted than it has been in the past. Even today there is shame and blame on the victims, but not nearly as much as in the past.
The rate is probably higher too because of Russia’s horrible military training practices.
War rape and other abuses tend to be higher in armies that are experiencing higher-than-normal fear and anxiety. It’s why Vietnam for the US, despite being rather middling from an international politics concern, was so filled with abuses - you had a bunch of half-trained scared kids tossed into the jungle with unclear orders, no motivation, and boogeymen behind every tree. Being pressured doesn’t excuse atrocities - but it does go some way to explain them. People often react aggressively and irrationally when under pressure.
The situation of Russia here is worse - these half-trained scared kids are being tossed into a somewhat archaic conventional war, meaning that in addition to unclear orders, no motivation, and boogeymen behind every blade of grass, you also have the constant shelling and the ever-present terror of an assault being ordered to keep you pissing your pants. That’s not even getting into Chechen blocking detachments and the sheer viciousness of many Russian officers.
There’s also the practice of dedovshchina, which is… gruesome, and has created a very brutal culture in the Russian military. It’s effectively rape and torture as ‘hazing’ conscripts, and is something that the NCO corps engages in as well. Obviously this is not a good practice for creating professional troops who are less likely to commit horrific atrocities. It’s a great (/s) practice for creating damaged kids who think that rape is a way of expressing superiority and ensuring security in the social order.
We have other wars to compare this to. The documented cases of rape and torture are unusually high in this war. Maybe it’s related to Russia drafting their criminals from prisons to fight for them. Or maybe it’s something more profound in the Russian culture.
The prison thing is surely a factor. But is it really that much more than WW2 or Vietnam? We can’t compare it to small wars, this is the biggest war in a long time and it’s based around cultural identity (at least for those at the low levels). If you have a dehumanised enemy, all bets are off.
The stories of atrocities in WWI and WWII include a great deal of kidnapping, public executions and even prolonged torture at prison camps. Vietnam certainly had several documented cases of rape and murders of villagers. But there are not a lot of accounts of soldiers sexually assaulting and torturing entire families in their homes for several days before finally executing many of them. For some reason, there is a mountain of these documented cases in this war. As time goes on, and the list grows, history will show the torture in this war to be unusually perverse and horrific.
There are more documented accounts in this war because it is easier than ever to document and reporting is more socially accepted than it has been in the past. Even today there is shame and blame on the victims, but not nearly as much as in the past.
The rate is probably higher too because of Russia’s horrible military training practices.
War rape and other abuses tend to be higher in armies that are experiencing higher-than-normal fear and anxiety. It’s why Vietnam for the US, despite being rather middling from an international politics concern, was so filled with abuses - you had a bunch of half-trained scared kids tossed into the jungle with unclear orders, no motivation, and boogeymen behind every tree. Being pressured doesn’t excuse atrocities - but it does go some way to explain them. People often react aggressively and irrationally when under pressure.
The situation of Russia here is worse - these half-trained scared kids are being tossed into a somewhat archaic conventional war, meaning that in addition to unclear orders, no motivation, and boogeymen behind every blade of grass, you also have the constant shelling and the ever-present terror of an assault being ordered to keep you pissing your pants. That’s not even getting into Chechen blocking detachments and the sheer viciousness of many Russian officers.
There’s also the practice of dedovshchina, which is… gruesome, and has created a very brutal culture in the Russian military. It’s effectively rape and torture as ‘hazing’ conscripts, and is something that the NCO corps engages in as well. Obviously this is not a good practice for creating professional troops who are less likely to commit horrific atrocities. It’s a great (/s) practice for creating damaged kids who think that rape is a way of expressing superiority and ensuring security in the social order.