Glukhov, and Georgia, say that he defected from his unit in South Ossetia because of the deplorable conditions at his army base and abuse from his superior officer; Russia claims that Glukhov was kidnapped by Georgian spies and brainwashed into making his comments about the military – a view of the events back up by Glukhov's mother, who told Russia's RIA-Novosti “what he's saying doesn't resemble him.” Galina Glukhova added, “it doesn't sound like it's coming from him. Someone must be pushing him.”
Glukhov is a draftee from Sarapul, in central Russia. He said on Georgian TV that despite the harsh winter conditions found in the mountains of South Ossetia, his unit was forced to stay in tents heated only by small stoves that didn't work well. He described his commanding officer as a major who “drank all the time” and took a dislike to Glukhov, constantly swearing at him. Glukhov said he couldn't bear it any longer and defected to the Georgian side.
Like many things in the Russia-Georgia conflict, it’s a little hard to figure out what’s going on here. There is a lot about Glukhov's story that makes sense - abuse by superior officers has been a terrible problem in the Russian military, especially since the end of the Soviet Union. In the past few years there have been high-profile cases of conscript soldiers dying as a result of abuse (and one well-publicized story of a soldier who had to have both legs and his genitals amputated because of hazing from his superiors). Soldiers often complain about poor-quality, or totally absent, supplies. As a result, there is a high rate of desertion in the Russian military, with many conscripts (military service is required of all young males) simply not showing up.
But part of Glukhov’s story is a little hard to believe. He claims to now be living among Georgian refugees from South Ossetia now living near the capital, Tbilisi - it is hard to imagine though that Georgian refugees would welcome a Russian soldier to live among them considering that they blame the Russian military for driving them from their homes in the first place.
Speaking of Georgian refugees- the BBC went to visit one of the villages that the Georgian government has built for people displaced from South Ossetia by the conflict, it was a pretty bleak place.
The UN's High Commissioner for Refugees in Georgia criticized the housing built by the Georgian government as sub-standard and not adequately heated in the winter. The government also gave each family a small plot of land, but the UNHCR they could likely not earn a living from them by farming because they were too small. Residents of the village interviewed by the BBC complained about a lack of wood to heat their new homes, a lack of jobs and running water. The Georgian government said that things will improve in the springtime, but many villagers seemed hopeless.
“This is not a life, it is just an existence,” one young man said. “If I continue to live here I will not be living,” adding that he could not get married since he did not want to bring his wife into the sad setting of the refugee village.
Hard to imagine these folks welcoming a Russian soldier…
No comments:
Post a Comment