Some Things Never Change
Today, Yigal Levin had the video and description of two command bunkers of senior Russian officers. One was a Brigadier, the other a Colonel. This came to mind as I read: Yes, Gogol should be your introduction to Russia. Indeed, he was Ukrainian, but his short stories of the late Tsarist period are a quick introduction to modern-day Russia.
This is from chapter one, where the traveler meets the locals, including the governor. After this, I will post the two descriptions. Unfortunately, video is not readily available on this app, so I will do my best to write a short description and screencaps for these underground dachas. The General’s is even more outrageous than the colonel's. It also talks about the Russian army and why they have more separation within the ranks than we do.
And to be brutal, some of this would not be tolerated in a Western army. If you have served, you will understand this. Privates eat before sergeants. Sergeants eat before lieutenants, and so on. This is not the Russian way. The supply officer is the best fed in a Russian unit and does side business. But he always saves some for the commanders. The commanders would only mostly receive the least popular ration if we were short on MREs. Nope, we shan’t talk of Tuna surprise, ok? So here, enjoy this short section:
As for the other category, it comprised individuals who, stout, or of the same build as Chichikov (that is to say, neither very portly nor very lean), backed and sidled away from the ladies, and kept peering hither and thither to see whether the Governor’s footmen had set out green tables for whist. Their features were full and plump, some of them had beards, and in no case was their hair curled or waved or arranged in what the French call “the devil-may-care” style. On the contrary, their heads were either close-cropped or brushed very smooth, and their faces were round and firm. This category represented the more respectable officials of the town. In passing, I may say that in business matters fat men always prove superior to their leaner brethren; which is probably the reason why the latter are mostly to be found in the Political Police, or acting as mere ciphers whose existence is a purely hopeless, airy, trivial one. Again, stout individuals never take a back seat, but always a front one, and, wheresoever it be, they sit firmly, and with confidence, and decline to budge even though the seat crack and bend with their weight.
Gogol
So what is precisely Yigal Levin showing? First, the bunker for the general. Mind you, it looks rather cozy, with all the luxuries of a dacha in the countryside. The place has finished floors, a small dining room, a living room, a bedroom, a fully finished bathroom…and the ever-important sauna.
When I was growing up in Mexico the old men and women loved these. Given how many came from Eastern Europe, it makes sense. But compare this to the common soldier trench, where they are lucky to get dry rations from this decade. And now his take, because it has consequences in how you run an army:
The dugout of a Russian brigade commander. In fact, an underground apartment with maximum amenities. And this is only a brigade commander, not a division commander or an army commander. After all, the Russian army is infinitely different from Western armies or ours, the Israeli one. Our brigade commander’s or division commander’s living conditions will not be much better than those of soldiers. However, our brigade commander himself is literally a soldier from the day before yesterday. Here, he is some kind of warlord for whom slaves have dug an elite den.
In the Russian army, everything works to emphasize your status and your place. The meat for the meat assault is separated from those who sit at the command posts; those who sit at the command posts are separated from the senior officers who arrange their own separate worlds. It is quite understandable why the system immediately protected that Puziko (also a brigade commander), who executed the drone specialists “Ernest” and “Goodwin”. The system of mutual responsibility understands that if you touch one Puziko, then the others will immediately follow.
And yes, it becomes clear that the middle command of the Russian Armed Forces, which is busy with the war in Ukraine, needs and benefits from this very war, since it provides them with a gigantic gray zone. What is a Russian brigade commander in peacetime? Dust. But in a bloody reserve, he can be a local warlord and master. Raised and brought up in the grayness, from vomit, vodka and under-nail dirt, such Puziki dream of being such warlords, surrounded by slaves who will do anything at the snap of their fingers.
A triumph of bloody inferiority and wretchedness, elevated to the absolute.
Now Levin calls these slaves who do anything to please their betters. I prefer to call them serfs. While they were emancipated in 1861, they were not truly emancipated. They kept that slave mentality and forced attachment to the land. The social order remained throughout the 1905 revolution and quickly reformed after 1917.
Political officers remained the pencil-neck types who did what they could to maintain the social order just for new masters. Status has always been what drives Russia. I have been working, as time permits, in a sci-fi world. One faction is Russians in space, so why not? And my social classes are based on modern-day Russia, albeit using some older terms. I also assumed the Romanovs took back the throne.
So, under the Tsar are the upper-level boyars; this general would find himself quite at home as an upper-level boyar/ siloviki. That’s precisely what he is. And with military and social rank come certain privileges, like having an expensive bunker in the field. Mud and lousy food are for the rabble. Now, how about the Colonel? For starters, it’s one rank under the general. So it’s less swanky, but just by degree:
They write that this is a dugout of a Russian officer. It is clearly not about the junior staff, some kind of colonel has settled here. Apparently, somewhere in the rear, possibly even on the territory of the Russian Federation. The fact that he is screwing girls (and maybe boys) in this cozy hole of his is more than completely obvious, but it amazes me how you can do this in such a wretched, vomit-stained den with a portrait of Putin looking at you at this time. Well, fuck. What amazes me about the Russian army is the complete lack of taste and style. A terrible motley — all these aquafreshes, portraits of grandfathers, bright candy wrappers and badges. Well, like the Ukrainian army has a style and tradition, their army looks good, moreover, the Ukrainians themselves are very concerned about symbols and insignia, the US army has an exemplary style (there is an opinion that their military uniform is one of the most beautiful in the world), the armies of France or Germany have a fucking level of tradition and also style. Even our Israeli army is stylish with its Spartan simplicity, minimalism and asceticism. And what about the Russian army? Well, it looks bad, some kind of homunculus of tsarist, Soviet and fucking symbols and badges. Whether it’s a government-issued shoulder belt, or a commander’s hole, or a badge on the chest. It’s fucked up.
Ok, what Levin writes about rape is a problem within Russia, all claims to traditional values to the side. Also, colonels have female camp staff who are not just there for cooking. A lot of them are there for other activities. Armies in the West used to have those too…
So, what does this tell you about the army? When your troops have the mentality of serfs, which they do, they will take a lot more abuse than their counterparts in modern armies. No, the Russian military is not modern. It has much more in common with the 18th-century army of the Tsars than a 21st-century force.
This ranges from the punishment of troops to the least of discipline issues. These include beatings, holes, getting cuffed to a tree for hours, and rape. But it also consists of these small apartments with nothing in common with the lower ranks, let alone the soldiers.
So, what does this tell us about the Russian army? It’s had three revolts. The first was the Decembrist, and most of these officers did not live long. Then, there was 1905 and finally, 1917. The first was a succession crisis. The other two came after serious defeats. The last came after Russia surrendered to Germany in the First World War. The final capitulation would come after the October Revolution. That was the treaty of Brest Livosk.
Conditions that led to those revolts exist today, save two. The army has not been defeated, and the population is not political. The army of 1917 was. Why Soviet councils were formed. Vladimir Putin has been very effective at removing interest in anything political.
While I would expect the murder of bad officers in a Western army…we are not there yet with Russians. One element of this is what Russians are fighting for, whether it’s pardons or incredibly rich contracts. Remember, assuming they live, a Russian contract soldier from a poor region is making more money in a year than they could expect in a decade.
This is one way to quell a revolt. And Putin is expected to spend even more money.
Also, while the Russians may pretend never to leave their own behind, they always do this, so there is only so much force cohesion. This has an advantage for Ukrainian troops that do have that cohesion. But if you are going to revolt, you must trust the soldiers to your left and right. They may not trust each other to that point, or any, to be brutal.
That revolt may take some time, just like it did with the armies of Nicholas II. But looking at those underground dachas, this is known by the troops. So, that will be a source of resentment. Whether it transfers to the killing of officers, we have scarce examples. Time will tell.