Russian army from inside. The first month of the service (when you are already there, but still not even a rookie).

In the distribution unit, from where all draftees are transferred to different military units, I found out that my destination point was Yelansky garrison in the Urals. It sounded like a sentence from a judge. That garrison is known as the most unfortunate training unit of Russia, most of the soldiers there die, hang themselves or run away. This unit had the sad shadow of rumours and bad news from the media, but I was just about to know what really was happening there. And the saddest thing was that I had no choice.

LINK

I wasn't still aware of where I was going and what awaited me, but so was everyone else in the bus. Passing by the control point, I had a feeling that that was the border lying between my new and old life and from that moment I was on my own. We arrived at the dead of night, got off the bus, and entered the barracks. But we were not allowed to go to bed. Firstly, they wanted to check our stuff. Newly arrived young soldiers unpacked their backpacks, and old-timers were picking up things which are not allowed for newcomers. Even from that moment I could see new soldier's disadvantage, for example, old-timers can use shaving foam, while cruits use only soap, the horrible thing for shaving.

LINK

After we were checked and deprived of the personal belongings, which, of course, we never saw anymore, sergeants of the reception centre gave us a lecture on safety, and, after that, finally, we were allowed to sleep. But I couldn't sleep, I was lying by the window and looking at the nearby barracks. I was thinking that I had to spend a year there, I even started to doubt in my decision to become a soldier. But, at that moment everything seemed to be fine, there were just a lot of bold guys around, and nothing terrible happening. I was wondering what would happen next. I fell asleep with those thoughts.

LINK

The next day started at dawn, the first thing I heard was: "TROOP WAKE UP!!!" It was the first time I felt this annoying morning sound which ruffles you getting a new day of your soldier life started.

In army language a rookie before he takes the oath is called the odour. The oath usually takes place after a month of a draft. All of us, newcomers, were the odours. In the first minute of my new day I faced army hazing.

LINK

'Make my bed,' one soldier who was sleeping below told me rubbing his eyes and went away. I said nothing but decided not to look for any trouble and first understand how everything worked there and what the army was about. I would punch him in the face if he asked me that in Civvy Street. But here I had not known yet what I was allowed to do and what not, what I should do and what should not. I knew there was another rulebook here, although nobody had told me about it yet. I was sure that I should not ruin my "relationship" with someone in the first day, so I did what I'd been asked to - I carelessly covered the bed with a blanket.

LINK

After that, everything was according to the schedule... Morning formation, head check (what if someone ran away) and washing up. The first washing up was funny and wild at the same time. There were only 10 sinks in the bathroom and more than a hundred of us armed with one-use razors, soap and toothbrushes. How does everybody shave and wash up in 10 minutes? Imagine that each group of 10 people is given just 1 minute which already includes a run to the bathroom. That's how our service has begun...

The place we were brought to was called the reception centre. It looks like regular four-storey barracks, we occupied one floor there. As it turned out, sergeants and officers came there to substitute or muster someone. Sergeants and officers were coming, and we were waiting for someone to take us. For whom? We had no idea, we didn't even think about it, we understood nothing at that moment. We were shocked, but slowly started to know each other, rely on each other.

LINK

One sergeant, not young, with the appearance of 35-year-old, came to us by the end of the first day.
'Is there anyone with higher education?' he asked the formation with a command voice.
'Affirmative,’ I and another guy standing by me replied. The sergeant approached us and started asking about where we had studied and what we had been doing before the service. According to the things he was asking, he himself wasn't sure why he was asking us about that stuff. But it turned out that our answers suited him pretty much.
'Will you go to the training process battalion,' he asked.
Of course, we didn't know what he talked about.
'You will be assigned to control the serviceability status of the Infantry Combat Vehicle simulators and keep them operational for the whole year,' the sergeant said very quickly.

LINK

It sounded really cool. But we had to stay in the one place for the whole year. But we agreed because we were given a chance to use the higher education in the army, and we found it really useful. We grabbed our backpacks and in 15 minutes were parading to the billet. We had two kilometers to go but it didn't freak us out. The future freaked us out, because we had no idea, what the training process battalion was. The sergeant went along with us, he seemed quite reasonable and nice person. It's hard for me to find the words to describe what we saw in the barracks in our first minutes, but I will try.

LINK

When we came, it was far beyond the midnight, but NOBODY SLEPT in the barracks. Someone was eating instant noodles, someone was walking around, someone was running, some people were fighting with each other. Everyone was talking loudly and staring at us, as if we were "alive meat".

"Where are we???" we were getting more scared and shocked. Finally we went to bed, we were told not to be worry, cause no one would touch us. But they said that it was just in the beginning.
We got goosebumps from the last phrase. It was good that, at least, in the beginning no one would touch us... It was easier to fall asleep being in the freaky zoo with that thought. But the sleep became different, it felt like it lasted only three breaths. I was so tired from the road and hadn't got used yet to wake up at dawn.

LINK

'TROOP WAKE UP!!!' somebody shouted, it meant my new 3rd day in the army had begun. Unlikely to other days, it was very hard to get up. But you cannot just stay in bed, everybody shouts at you to make you get up and make your bed first. It is not a good place to be slow.

The main task of the old-timers is to make a young soldier frightened, make him understand where he is. And, frankly, they even don't have to do anything to get their way. All their behavior, army manners and the way they talk already scares a civilian. I felt the large resistance between the people. While they were talking to each other, their tongues were like knives. Even little things could make the people spark and burst at any moment. All their humor was an aggression, all the jokes were displaying strength. That all was so wild to a civilian. It's hard to believe for myself that just after few months I became like everyone. As I found out later it was contagious.

LINK

In the beginning, no one had touched us. We were introduced to the platoon executive, just a common conscript soldier who had served for half a year. He took us under his wing and became like a mother for us. He showed us how to catch up a collar and shoulder loops. He informed us what we could do in the army and what we could not. He answered all our questions. He made us feel better, for that moment we weren't alone in that zoo, we had one of our own, our help and support.

LINK

He told us that there were 1200 old-timers holding the rank of junior sergeant, and we, the eight young soldiers, would form only one platoon. I barely could stand on my feet – it was a nightmare which was to last 6 months at least, before the discharge of the old-timers.

At night in one of the first days, I had the first conflict with the old-timer, to be specific, with the one who was almost on his way home. They lived a floor above us and sometimes went down to bring discipline to their "elephants", give it hot to them and just have fun. Later, when I spent the same time in the army, as they did, I understand their psychology and why they acted like that way.

LINK

One of them wanted to put a stool upon my head and make me hold it... If it happened in Civvy Street, I would punch his face with this stool... But in the army things are different. I just rejected his order and put the stool down, the guy went ballistic, lifted my collar and wanted to get me upstairs to school. But I got away with that without aggression, I tried to soften the situation as much as I could. He looked around our bay (some adjoining beds), noticed several newcomers and, perhaps, thought if he fought us, other "odours" would inform the officer about it. And because he was going to go home soon, he didn't want to risk it. So he went away. I had no idea what I was going to do next and if I acted the right way. It's a kind of behavioral dilemma, the most difficult choice you have to make in the army. How would you act in a difficult psychological situation? Would you obey or stay strong under the threat of uncertainty?

LINK

Nothing had been really changing from day to day. We started going to the field equipage where the infantry combat vehicles were located. But we had been going there to work. They had been erecting a fence, so they needed some work force, as we were. Honestly, I thought it would be always like that. Dirty, hard, without any honor and service in battle. I must say, be running ahead of the story, that I was almost right.

LINK

We were approaching the day of the oath of allegiance... We had been waiting for that moment, because after that the informal ban on our safety would not be valid anymore. It's like a border between the Civvy Street and life of a soldier, there’s no way back after it. After you give the oath, you start living under the military law, and that means you should obey superiors. And we had 120 soldiers superior in rank to us! Do you understand the situation we were in?

For a soldier the day of the oath is a holiday, he is given a riffle for the first time, although it doesn't have ammo. All a soldier needs to do during the oath procedure - is to step out from the formation, come to the desk, take a book with one hand and say loudly what is written in the book. After that he needs to put the book back, put his right hand to the cover, turn and march back into line.

LINK

Soldiers like this day also because their relatives come to see them. So I invited my relatives too, I thought maybe my commander would give me a leave warrant. The whole free day... cool, isn't it? It's quite hard and sad to say goodbye to your loved ones, see them leaving home. Realizing that you have to stay here for other 330 days make it so difficult. It's a big number. It's better not to count days that time... By the way, days pass so quickly in the beginning.

So I swore the oath. From that moment we became soldiers, but the following day everything would change. And we even didn't give a thought how much.