Soviet Army Traditions – Dedovščina. The Story of Artūras Sakalauskas
IV Soviet Occupation

The phenomenon of hazing in the Soviet army can be understood as a manifestation of non-statutory relations. In both cases, it is a relationship between soldiers that grossly violates the service statute. It is expressed in the use of physical, psychological, and sexual violence against younger or lower-ranking soldiers. In the case of hazing, those who entered the service earlier humiliate and exploit those who entered later or newly. The former, despite the uniformity of military ranks, are considered superior to the latter. Accordingly, hazing means “the rule of the elders.” Examples of manifestations of hazing: money, personal belongings, clothing are taken from the abused, they are beaten, forced to perform physical exercises, other soldiers’ work, etc. Non-statutory relations in the army arise due to impunity, silence, insufficient control by officers, and in the case of the Soviet army, it had simply become part of the culture or traditions of this army. It is believed that hazing originated here in the 60s or 70s of the 20th century. when convicted persons began to be drafted into the army. Perhaps with them came the jargon of criminals and the order practiced in prisons, as well as prisoners. There are other explanations for the origin of the phenomenon.

The “rule of the elderly” touched and injured many lives. One of the most publicized and famous stories is the story of a Soviet army soldier from Lithuania, Artūras Sakalauskas. On February 23, 1987, in a special carriage of a train traveling from Sverdlovsk to Leningrad, he shot and killed 8 people: 5 soldiers who served with him, the chief of the guard and his deputy, and the train attendant. The Lithuanian was provoked to such an act by repeated bullying by his fellow soldiers. A bowl of hot soup was placed on his head, matches were inserted between the fingers of the sleeping person and lit (the so-called “bicycle” was made), a large amount of salt or sand was added to the food, the soldier’s head was submerged in the toilet, he was ordered to be on duty for 10 hours without a break, was not allowed to sleep, and was beaten. And on February 23 two privates attempted to rape her.

Later, various "pearls" and fabrications appeared in the Soviet press, which attempted to blacken Sakalauskas. For example, the Soviet mouthpiece "Pravda" announced that Skalauskas sought to escape to the West, his service friends prevented him, so he decided to deal with them. Only the "Komsomolskaya Pravda" at that time described the tragedy in detail. In 1987, the Soviet Lithuanian press kept quiet about this drama, and only when the Sąjūdis movement was gaining momentum were the events made public in Lithuania.

During the trial, Sakalauskas, who had previously been mentally healthy, was declared mentally ill and incompetent. Thousands of signatures were collected in Lithuania in support of Sakalauskas, and after some time he was extradited to Lithuania by the Russian Federation.