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Another Soldier Commits Suicide Near St. Petersburg

June 18, 2009

ST. PETERSBURG -- Another soldier from a military unit near St. Petersburg committed suicide on June 16, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.

The soldier, 25, was a contract soldier in the Kamenka unit, which is located outside of St. Petersburg.

A conscript from the same unit committed suicide last weekend.

The chairwoman of the Soldiers' Mothers Committee in St. Petersburg, Ella Polyakova, told RFE/RL that the suicide is further proof of the poor conditions in the unit.

A group of newly drafted recruits deserted the same military unit last week.

Polyakova says soldiers in the Kamenka unit are being beaten and humiliated on a daily basis.

Bullying and the humiliation of conscripts by older soldiers in the Russian Army has been a recognized problem in the Russian Army for a long time.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced this week that 158 soldiers have died in noncombat incidents this year.

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/Another_Soldier_Commits_Suicide_Near_St_Petersburg/1757258.html

Copyright (c) 2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.