1/ What does it take to become 'meat' in the Russian army? The bottom line, observes one Russian warblogger, is that anyone can become a disposable assault trooper for use in a suicidal attack – it just depends on your commander's attitude and who you might have annoyed. ⬇️
2/ Russian bloggers have noted that there is something of a caste system in the army, with pre-war contract soldiers as the elite, and subsequent waves of mobilised soldiers and conscripted convicts as various types of underclass ("Space Marines vs Imperial Guard"). 3/ 'Scythian Notes' highlights the question of whether there are "clear boundaries between these two worlds." The answer, he says, is no: 4/ "So, the peculiarity of this system is the extremely blurred line between the "elite" and the "cannon fodder." One day you're fighting a luxury war, the next you're an assault trooper. 5/ "And there are no guarantees on paper: your unit could be optimised for redundancy, the commander might not like you, and you personally, unlucky enough to "get your feet wet," perhaps through no fault of your own. 6/ "Or maybe it's simply a quota, where each unit is supposed to provide a certain number of assault troopers, and it just so happens that you're a new addition. And so, goodbye to the relatively comfortable frontline, hello to camping with a T-M1 [landmine] in your backpack. 7/ "I know of cases where pre-war contract soldiers were transferred to assault operations. For example, one driver in our battery was transferred because he refused to pay for spare parts at his own expense. 8/ "This wasn't out of greed, but because his family genuinely needed the money at the time. I've seen officers sent to assault operations, albeit during wartime, for actual offences, or rather, for stupidity. 9/ "And as for mobilised soldiers and contract signings, there's no point in even mentioning them. There are, of course, informal agreements and connections, but that's why they're informal. 10/ "All this is done intentionally, to keep the personnel "in good shape." There is, of course, a truly untouchable "elite" in the army, but they're not mobiks, regulars, volunteers, or new contract soldiers—they're all simply a category of experienced and qualified personnel,… 11/ …nothing more, who, indeed, are sometimes questionable waste, even from the perspective of some gifted ace. And yes, with such an attitude toward personnel, there can be no talk of any development in military affairs; it would be good to maintain the current level. 12/ "It's not for nothing that the comparison between the Ji and the Kzhi [the two rival enslaved classes in Ivan Efremov's classic 1968 Soviet science fiction novel, 'The Bull's Hour'] is being made. 13/ "Oh, and this is all about the Rwandan army, which has been conducting a Unique Magic Operation in Uganda for years now. In the Russian Armed Forces, our command has a wonderful attitude toward its personnel!" /end Source: t.me