25.05.2006 Against murders in Army

In the course of the action for resignation of the Minister of Defense S.Ivanov that had taken place in Petrozavodsk there have been collected more than two thousands signatures that had been sent to the Kremlin. It was signed by people of different political and religious convictions, students, public servants, businessmen, teachers, pupils, public men, doctors, military men. The causes of appealing to the President with the purpose of demanding the Minister’s resignation were numerous cases of torturing and high mortality of young men in the army. Every year about 3 000 soldiers perish in the army and about 5 000 desert because of beating and malicious insults. The cynical reaction of S.Ivanov at the tragedy of A.Sichev had shocked all the country.
It is obvious that the current Minister of Defense is not able to change cardinally the situation in the army where systematically and on continuing basis constitutional rights of human are outraged and murders take place. Unfortunately society can’t realize civil control over performance of military service because of stand-off of the army system. Furthermore on account of concealment of army crimes’ scale people really don’t know about things that happen on the other side of a military unit’s fence.
S.Ivanov’s resignation, revocation of shameful universal service, reduction of the army will make possible to hope that the situation can change for the better but until these measures are not taken our country is condemn to lose in peace-time young men and to see reproduction of morally depraved persons.