Pervyy kanal covered the beatings in the 138th MRB at Kamenka. A Defense Ministry spokesman commented on the dismissal of 8 of the brigade’s officers, saying that violations of military discipline led to serious consequences and those who failed to prevent the incidents had been punished. The report noted the formation is one of the district’s most combat capable and the incidents occurred right after its participation in the Ladoga-2009 exercise. The television coverage picked up earlier press reporting on how company commander Cpt. Tarasov came after one of the soldiers in St. Petersburg and assaulted the soldier’s father. The report notes this was far from the first incident in Kamenka. The formation had a suicide this summer and another soldier ended up in a coma under suspicious circumstances. The sergeants in this most recent case face up to 10 years in prison.
NTV covered the Kamenka case as well. It noted this is not the first time Kamenka has been the center of attention for human rights defenders. NTV called Serdyukov’s order to relieve much of the brigade’s command unprecedented. I think it probably is not. Ella Polyakova of Soldiers’ Mothers of St. Petersburg says she hopes commanders realize they’ll have to answer more for order in their units.
Russian Defense Policy 