On December 31, 2005, four members of the
Russian Armed Forces tortured fellow soldier Andrey Sergeyevich Sychyov (russian: Андре́й Серге́евич Сычёв, also transliterated Sychev or Sychov) at the in
Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk ( rus, Челя́бинск, p=tɕɪˈlʲæbʲɪnsk, a=Ru-Chelyabinsk.ogg; ba, Силәбе, ''Siläbe'') is the administrative center and largest city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the seventh-largest city in Russia, with a ...
, Russia.
Incident and treatment
On December 31, 2005, Sychyov and eight other soldiers were beaten for three hours by their seniors, who may have been
drunk. Junior Sergeant Alexander Sivyakov, then 19, who felt that the soldiers had not adequately cleaned up after their
New Year's Eve party, forced Sychyov to squat on the balls of his feet with his hands tied behind his back while a sergeant beat him for three and a half hours. The base clinic was closed for New Year's, and Sychyov was unable to receive medical attention until January 4. Two days later he was transferred to the city hospital due to worsening health. Doctors diagnosed him with numerous broken bones, trauma to the genital area and
gangrene of the legs.
As a result of gangrene in the legs, doctors had to amputate both of his legs, his
genitalia
A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...
, and a finger. Andrey Sychyov's mother, Galina Sychyov, was not aware of his condition until after his first amputation. Galina claimed that an unknown military official had offered her $100,000 and an apartment if Andrey did not pursue legal action.
Trial
Junior Sergeant Alexander Sivyakov, also a conscript, was tried for the torture of Sychov and five other counts of abuse.
Three soldiers who testified claimed that a general had told them not to.
Sivyakov was sentenced to four years in prison—less than a six-year term that prosecutors had requested—and was also stripped of his rank and barred from holding command for three years. Two other soldiers, Pavel Kuzmenko and Gennady Bilimovich, were found guilty as well and given
suspended sentences of one and a half years and a year of probation.
Impact
Subsequent events
In September 2007 it was reported that Andrey Sychyov tried to be included in the party election list of the
Union of Rightist Forces (SPS), for the
State Duma elections.
See also
*
Dedovshchina
''Dedovshchina'' ( rus, дедовщина, p=dʲɪdɐˈfɕːinə; lit. ''reign of grandfathers'') is the informal practice of hazing and abuse of junior conscripts historically in the Soviet Armed Forces and today in the Russian armed forces, I ...
*
Hazing
*
Fagging
Fagging was a traditional practice in British public schools and also at many other boarding schools, whereby younger pupils were required to act as personal servants to the eldest boys. Although probably originating earlier, the first account ...
*
Ragging
Ragging is the term used for the so-called " initiation ritual" practiced in higher education institutions in the Indian subcontinent, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The practise is similar to hazing in North America, in ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sychyov, Andrey
Russian military personnel
1986 births
Living people
People from Krasnoturyinsk
Russian amputees