On December 31, 2005, four members of the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

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 Alcohol intoxication, also known as alcohol poisoning, commonly described as drunkenness or inebriation, is the negative behavior and physical effects caused by a recent consumption of alcohol. In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main ps ...

. 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 Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...

of the legs. As a result of gangrene in the legs, doctors had to amputate both of his legs, his genitalia, 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 sentence A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that ...

s 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 The Union of Right Forces (SPS; russian: Союз правых сил; СПС; ''Soyuz pravykh sil'', ''SPS''), is a Russian liberal-conservative political public organization and former party, initially founded as an electoral bloc in 1999 and ass ...

(SPS), for the

State Duma The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...

elections.

References

External links