Anatoly Bershtein: "Letters from the Army"

“They say: the army is a school of life. In the Soviet army, everyone went through the school of humiliation - first they oppress you, and you tolerate it, and then it’s your turn to take it out. Only on others. They taught you to humiliate and be humiliated at the same time - what else is needed for life. Adaptation in Soviet times, some norms and traditions migrated to the army from the criminal world. All, as it turns out, took root and were completely rooted. The fact that in this way the army turned into a kind of zone is a banality. decriminalization, during the next emergency we are reminded of collective responsibility: “What you want is a cost to society. What kind of society is such an army? Drug addicts, psychopaths, even those who served time are called up - what can you expect from such warriors? And on TV - sheer violence..." And they end with their own logic: in civilian life, 2.5 times more crimes are committed anyway, which means it’s better in the army. True, hardly anyone will agree with the last statement."