| russ.lang. |
дедовщина (literally "grandfatherism") The informal system of fresh conscripts being brutalised by more senior soldiers in the militaries of certain former Soviet Republics. A quote from Rodric Braihwaite: There had always been a great deal of bullying in the Soviet army, but a more established ritual of bullying, dedovshchina , the ‘grandfather system', emerged in the late 1960s. Under this system, a soldier in his last six months was known as a ‘grandfather' (ded ). New recruits were made to clean the barracks, look after the grandfathers' kit, get them cigarettes from the shop and food from the canteen. They were ritually humiliated, and beaten sometimes to the point of serious injury. Most endured, and consoled themselves with the thought that they too would be grandfathers one day. Some broke under the strain: they deserted, mutilated themselves, or committed suicide. 4uzhoj) |
