A little under two weeks ago I published an op-ed in the Christian Science Monitor about the continuing practice of dedovshchina within the ranks of Russian army. (For those unfamiliar with the term, dedovshchina refers to the longstanding practice in which senior non-commissioned soldiers “initiate” the first-year conscripts under their command through physical punishment and beatings that often cross the line into outright torture.)

Today, the Moscow Times is running a related story concerning soldiers who have alleged that they were forced into prostitution by senior officers. While it remains to be seen if the soldiers’ accounts are accurate, this is hardly the first time that allegations of this nature have surfaced.

ScP