Diary of a Russian soldier. Андрей Владимирович Устинович
us and asked how we would live? By statute or by hazing. They said that if according to the charter, then they will fuck us up with this charter. And if it's hazing, it'll be easier. But we must do everything for them, of course, observe all the traditions associated with hazing, if they recruit people for some kind of work, then we must always be volunteers. If the sergeant is not a "pologen" and not an "elephant", then he has the same rights as you and he cannot order you to do something. Like my squad leader Gena, for example. He is a sergeant, but he was not transferred and he remained a spirit. But if a soldier is an elephant or a canopy and at the same time he is a private, then he is higher in rank than you and you must obey him. Even in the store, we can only buy ice cream and water, in winter, as now you can halva. There is a huge ban on coffee and instant noodles.
I didn't want to live by hazing, but I was the only one who disagreed, and I realized if I refused, then I was fucked.
January 7.
Sunday, we sit in the auditorium and watch a movie on the big TV. Later, I sewed up my clothes, washed my work uniform. I managed to eat 2 servings for dinner. I love army rolls with butter.
January 8th.
The morning was quite ordinary, the exercise went well. We worked all day at the sawmill, shifting logs from place to place. Unfortunately, there is no heating here and you need to prepare firewood yourself… It is a very tedious and difficult task and a regular one. In the evening, Vova gave his shaving foam “nivea man" a try. There's really no irritation from her, the guy didn't lie. Very cool. There is no burning sensation at all and 0% alcohol. But mine even burned him.. Lights out at last.
January 9th.
Today we went to the hospital for a second examination by a psychiatrist. When I got on the bus, nostalgia flooded in, the civilized world seemed so unusual. Similar roads and a bridge similar to my city. In the army, you begin to appreciate freedom in a way that you didn't appreciate before. There was a cafe in the hospital and we went to it. I bought myself waffles, despite the fact that it is forbidden to buy them and coffee too. It's cool in the hospital.
January 10th.
Today, in physical education, I was called out of action and sent to carry windows and help install them. While waiting for the car with windows, I managed to go and call my dad and wife. It's hard for Mom to get through, she doesn't hear the calls at work. When I lifted the glass, it was rubberized around the edges, but I managed to cut my finger. The little finger was pierced through, not much, but there was a lot of blood. By the time I reached the medical point, all my hands were covered in blood. Probably got into a vein. They bandaged it and told me to come for a dressing for 3 days.
I rarely write this, but Sveta, mom, dad and brother, if you read this.. I love you. I hope I've cheered you up.
January 11th.
Me today. And a couple more people were taken to work. Let's go to the training ground. We sat in the car for a long time, chatted about nonsense and froze. After that, we went to look for some kind of tent to assemble it and take it to the unit. We walked, as it seemed to me, for about a kilometer. It was terribly cold there. Shooting was carried out at the training ground. Our tent was occupied by other units, covered with a camouflage net, and an oven was being heated. Our foreman, who brought us, called the battalion commander and received instructions to go back. Along the way, they threw out some old wheels and took a water tank for field exercises. They just froze very, very, very much. Since the work uniform is issued to the unit one for 5 generations of soldiers and when the fifth person uses it, it is thrown out. So, we were unlucky, we are the fifth. This form will be thrown out after us. Over the years, it has become all torn, peeling, it no longer has any feathers inside, it is very thin and cold, but it is designed for winter. There are no other clothes.
After lunch, we also worked in the park, swept, and so on.
Dinner, hemming, washing, sleeping.
January 12.
Today, during the work, I was taken to the office. I cleaned the plywood with sandpaper, chatted with the commanders, just sat there. During my service, this is one of my best days. However, I cut my finger at the end of the day.
I hope I'll be here more often now. Normal guys, like my friends. I recognized them from the other side. But the most important thing is that I have worked a lot and I hope it will be more and more often.
13th of January.
Today everyone went to carry firewood, but Artyom and I (this is a guy from my city) stayed on the PCB. We sat in the warmth and cleaned up slowly.
They also told us to get a haircut, we wanted to do it before the bath. But the foreman told us to go to the bathhouse, and then it came to us to get a haircut. His logic is fucked up, of course. After lunch, the parade ground was swept. And then, in the middle of cleaning, we were abruptly jerked, as it turned out, I was part of the garrison duty unit. We ran to the barracks, got a helmet, unloading, a knife, a machine gun and 4 horns to it and quickly ran to the headquarters. All this must be done within 10 minutes. It was my first time and I thought something had happened. At headquarters, we were given 120 rounds each, and I understood that if they were giving out cartridges, then there was some kind of incident in the city.. A terrorist attack, an invasion by foreign troops or something similar is not this. I was not afraid, but interested. Soon they were told to return the cartridges and disperse… It was a test of combat readiness. At such moments, you begin to understand what an army is.
January 14th.
Today is a day off, Sunday. I'm waiting for my family to arrive. Despite the intercession in the outfit. There won't be much time, you need to have time to enjoy their presence. We arrived and had a great time. I don't want to let them go..
Before joining the outfit, they didn't even check my knowledge of duties and the rest. The officer on duty was my platoon commander and just asked if they had come to see me and how they sat at all. Everything was fine in the outfit too. The attendant turned out to be a normal guy and told me: "I don't get high in your brain, make everything okay and go." We cleaned everything quickly and efficiently and I sent my partner to bed at 23:20. It's very early. My first outfit in the battalion started well and I hope it will end well. I'm not even standing on the bedside table, I'm just sitting on a chair next to it and no one cares about it.. Awesome.
15.01.2018
2:08 I'm sitting in an outfit
I have already learned 2 songs and the duties of the day staff. I feel normal and cheerful, as I lift my ass from a padded chair just to go to the toilet. I woke up my partner and went to sleep. By morning, I didn't get enough sleep and stood on the bedside table, thereby changing my partner. Soon he blunted the outfit for the first time. The duty officer left the barracks, and I greeted the official with the phrase "company duty officer on the way out." In such cases, the command "private on duty for the duty officer (surname)" is given, although this is a controversial issue. Some people say that you cannot perform the duties of a duty officer standing on the bedside table, they must be performed by another day person. That is, you call him the phrase "company duty officer on the way out," and he introduces himself as "day duty officer." No one knows how to do it right. But you need to know which examiner prefers and adjust to each one separately. Yeah.. It's the army, baby.
Then we, two day workers, were loaded with a lot of work and we somehow managed to cope in the evening. We washed toilets, floors and similar works.
16.01.2018
I went to get the tent again this morning. When we arrived at the place, we had to wait for about an hour again and the foreman told us to light a fire, which we did. We took the tent and had to wait for the floor from it, windows and other components to be brought to us.
Taking a tent, we went to another part of the landfill and there we found an installed tent with a melted stove. We warmed up in it. We waited until all the components from the tent were brought to us and left. These trips are starting to be disliked. After lunch, work again. We do not have classes as indicated in the class schedule, we just always work. And this is the norm here, everyone knows about it and everything is exactly the same for everyone.