14 August 2000
Millions of my fellow citizens stubbornly refuse to understand what is going on today in Chechnya. It bears no relation to the propaganda in Moscow. The army is not being reborn, but collapsing. Ordinary soldiers are fleeing ever more brutal mistreatment from their officers – even "battle bonuses", now handed out each time they fight, are not enough to hold them.
Every week the Kremlin officially announces the number of men killed "in the fighting". On examination, however, this proves misleading. At least 85 per cent of these deaths should be attributed to other causes, such as when our soldiers in the North Caucasus kill each other.
Where does this figure come from, you rightly ask? These are the unofficial statistics from the combined forces headquarters in Mozdok. Moreover, I was urged by those who wear generals' uniforms to make this figure public: they themselves cannot do so for fear of repercussions.
What follows is only one of the proofs that this "85 per cent" figure is real.
On 7 August four soldiers, sent into the reserves, passed through Moscow on their way home from Chechnya. They had made a promise to their comrades who had remained behind near Kalinovskaya village as part of the 72nd motorised infantry regiment, 42nd army division, to make the Chief Military Prosecutor's office react to certain outrageous incidents, and save the lives of those still based in Chechnya.
With them they brought the following declaration:
TO: Chief Military Prosecutor's Office, Russian Federation
We request you to investigate the death on 29 July 2000 of Captain Andrei Katradjiev, commanding officer of the maintenance and repair company in Unit 42839.
On the evening of 28 July, Captain Katradjiev was in his tent with other officers of the company. Late that night the deputy commander (technical) of the regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel G. V. Borisov, entered the tent with soldiers of the reconnaissance company, woke up Katradjiev and took him away to their quarters. The next morning Katradjiev was taken from there in a coma to the medical company. When they started to treat him a dark fluid came from his mouth. He died as he was being transferred by helicopter to the military hospital. We believe this was cold-blooded murder.
Furthermore, on 30 July a conscript soldier was beaten half-dead in the reconnaissance company's quarters. The surgeon who gave him emergency treatment summoned a helicopter to take him to Mozdok since his condition was worsening. The regimental head of staff, G. Rezayev, categorically forbade this, claiming that the soldier was not unwell. Despite these prohibitions the beaten soldier was nevertheless sent to the military hospital. During the flight he suffered two clinical deaths. Since then nothing more has been heard of him. Such instances of brutal maltreatment of soldiers are not isolated.
The reconnaissance company in our regiment are acting like sadists and their behaviour receives the approval and protection of the commanding officers. Soldiers are being brutally beaten with crowbars, spades, etc. In some cases reconnaissance officers fire at the beaten soldiers using automatic weapons with silencers. A specific instance of just such an "execution" is that of Private Ilya Streletsky (2nd company, 1st battalion). Private Vladimir Demakov, a driver-mechanic in the engineers company, was beaten on his arms with a crowbar and bears the marks of an army belt on his back.
A new contingent of conscripts had just joined the regiment and they were handed over to the reconnaissance company for "re-education". Seven of them deserted the unit to avoid this bestial mistreatment. In recent weeks such desertions have increased. Lieutenant-Colonel Borisov himself repeatedly took part in these activities, but has not once been punished for his behaviour.
SIGNED: Former soldiers of Unit 42839: Vladimir Murashkin, Igor Koshelyov, Larisa Klimova and Victor Khmyrov.
In conversation they added the following.
Katradjiev's death was merely the logical result of everything that had been happening in the 72nd regiment (commanding officer, Colonel Igor Yegiazarov). The reconnaissance company are constantly out on active service and when they return to Kalinovskaya they believe they have a duty to keep all the remaining soldiers and their officers in a state of fear. The pattern is very simple. If the reconnaissance men see anyone drop a cigarette butt or leave their tent for a smoke, wearing only underwear, they drag that person off to the "cell". Between the tents where the reconnaissance men are billeted stands a welded cage like something you might find in a zoo. Offenders are kept there for several days in the blazing sun 0 this summer the temperature in Chechnya is around 50°C. The aforementioned Private Demakov spent 15 days in the cage after writing a report to his commanding officer about the mistreatment meted out by the reconnaissance men. Captain Katradjiev's misfortune was that he could not resign himself to the state of things in the regiment and constantly voiced his indignation. He paid the price.
"The senior officers tell us: 'It's because you're disposable'," adds Vladimir Murashkin. "I told them 'I'm not disposable', and decided to leave Chechnya. Others stayed there, however. Please, help them to survive. Stop this anarchy."
One very important footnote. These men come from the 72nd regiment. Formerly this was the famed Koenigsberg Regiment, which was awarded the "Red Banner" and was part of the Taman Guards Division. At the beginning of this year when it was re-formed it was assigned to the North Caucasus Military District. In other words, the 72nd is what they call a regiment with traditions, its own history and military distinctions. Not even these guardsmen can withstand the kind of war being fought today in Chechnya.
CHECHNYA