by Robert M. Traxler
In an article, News Max reported: “Meanwhile, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, said (Vladimir) Putin has recently signed a law allowing the “military mobilization” of Russians who have committed serious crimes. In other words, the Kremlin now has the authority to pluck convicted murderers and other violent criminals out of prisons, and subsequently place them into battle positions against Ukrainian troops.”
What could possibly go wrong with providing convicted criminals with fully automatic AK-12s, the updated AK-47/74? What could go wrong with placing life and death decisions over Ukrainian civilians in the hands of people who failed in society? If I were a Russian Federation Army Officer or Non-commissioned officer, I would be concerned and perhaps looking for a new job.
Military history teaches us that the more disciplined and trained a military unit is, the better it fights. High quality recruits become high quality soldiers; high quality soldiers become a high quality Army. Convicts with five weeks of training are just not vetted enough to establish that they can withstand the rigors of combat, both physical and mental, and still maintain necessary discipline. So just what can go wrong with convicted felons in military units?
When things get tough, what are the convict solders going to do? Many will refuse orders and say, “What are you going to do, send me to prison?” Better to be back in jail than to die. Time in a Russian prison makes the convicts violent and hardened, also resistant to authority. Some will make good soldiers, but the vast majority will not.
The conundrum facing the world, not just the Russian Federation and Ukraine, is how to end the war. President Putin annexed approximately 20% of Ukraine, in my opinion, to galvanize the civilian and military communities behind the war. “The Fascists are occupying Mother Russia itself” is now the message, which apparently has worked. President Putin’s annexing large parts of Ukraine now makes it damned near impossible for him to relinquish the annexed areas in a peace deal. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not reward the Russian Federation for the brutal invasion of Ukraine by relinquishing any portion of his nation, leaving no path to peace.
Penologists tell us 70% of inmates will find themselves back in prison, with an even higher rate among second offenders, in many studies 90%. The Russian leadership is teaching recruits that the war is the second “Great Patriotic War,” the Russian name for World War Two. The Ukrainians are the Fascists and Nazis like their grandparents fought, and have invaded Mother Russia; strange as President Zelenskyy is Jewish.
Couple the violence a convict must use in a Russian prison to survive, with the hate taught in Russian schools for the Fascists, and the convict soldiers will be brutal to the Ukrainian people. The cycle of hate we find in all war will escalate on both sides, making it even more difficult to end this war. A path to peace is not going to be found any time soon; it was made more difficult by the annexation of the four regions of Ukraine. Combine that with new soldiers from the ranks of Russian criminals and the ensuing crimes they will commit against the people, and peace is not going to happen any time soon.
China and India propping up the ruble is giving President Putin a huge economic boost. President Biden should play hardball with India and China and the economic assistance they are providing to the Russian Federation. Sanctions are hurting the Russians, but not to the point that the people do not fully support the government. Over 84% approve of President Putin, 79% of dual citizens Russian and American approve of President Putin; they all love the guy, strangely mostly women.
War against the people of Ukraine, destroying power plants, hospitals, railroads and key bridges, is an old Russian militarily tactic. It may not be popular in world opinion, but the civilians are the backers of the military, making the essentials of war and backing the Ukraine forces. Making war on the people, punishing them, demoralizing them, has a ripple effect on the front-line forces.
Time will tell if this tactic hardens the resolve of the people or hurts it. My opinion.
I served with a guy that was facing assaultive felony charges (manslaughter) in a Southern state. The judge put the proceedings on hold, with the understanding the young man would join the Marine Corps. He did. I remember him as a typical Marine, neither noticeably better or worse than the others of us. I mention this for context, and do not mean to imply that it is the same as what Putin is doing in his war. In 1966, the guy was seemingly screened and evaluated and deemed worthy of the opportunity to serve his country, and perhaps move forward with benefit of a clean (or cleaned up) criminal record, let’s speculate an honorable discharge, the chances afforded by the GI Bill.