Russian soldiers get detention in 'underground' prisons as punishment for refusing to fight or alcohol abuse

The Ministry of Defence has said that Russian commanders are possibly punishing soldiers by putting them into confined earthen pits.

The MoD stated that troops are likely confronting the makeshift prisons as a kind of punishment for behaviours like being intoxicated or refusing to participate in the Ukraine war in its daily intelligence update on Sunday.

According to the report, the “Zindans” are simply ground-level holes that have been “covered with a metal grille.” According to the MoD’s statement, there have been numerous instances of Zindans being used.

According to the report, Russian commanders have likely started holding rebellious soldiers in improvised cells called “Zindans,” which are made of holes in the ground topped with a metal grille, as a form of punishment for disciplinary violations.

“Numerous recent reports from Russian personnel give similar accounts of being sent to Zindans for offences including intoxication and attempting to break contracts,” according to one article.

“In the early months of the war, many Russian commanders took a relatively light touch in enforcing discipline, allowing those who refused to soldier to return home quietly,” the MoD continued.

Since the autumn of 2022, numerous increasingly harsh measures have been taken to tighten up the force’s discipline, particularly since Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov took over as commander of the operation in January 2023.

Zindans are an age-old method of punishment where the prisoner might be humiliatingly kept in full sight while being refused food or supplies.
Also Read: ‘Thick-skinned’ Russian soldiers down with radiation sickness after fishing, digging trenches in Chernobyl

In Russia, President Vladimir Putin has been repressing his detractors and opponents.

Alexei Navalny, the leader of the Russian opposition who is currently in prison, has witnessed the full extent of the retribution that awaits detractors.

Initially given a two-and-a-half-year prison term for violating his parole, Mr. Navalny was last year given a nine-year sentence for fraud and contempt of court. He is currently serving his time 250 kilometres east of Moscow.

Navalny has spent months in a small one-man cell while in detention for offences including allegedly failing to correctly fasten his prison robe, properly present himself to a guard, or washing his face at a predetermined time, among other reported infractions.

His supporters have charged that the jail staff failed to give him the required medical care, exposed him to dazzling light in his cell, and put him close to a mentally ill inmate.

In the meantime, Gleb Karakulov, a member of Vladimir Putin’s elite, covert personal security force, quit the Russian army in October.

He gave an interview earlier this month to rally his former coworkers to oppose the president while he was safe and sound outside of Russia.

“What is happening now [with the war in Ukraine] is beyond the pale, it defies reason,” he said in a video address to Russian officers. “You can’t serve this war criminal Vladimir Putin by carrying out his criminal orders.”

You have knowledge that is not broadcast on television, he continued. I’ve only caught a glimpse of it. Come forward and provide me with additional proof. You’ll discover the reality.

The Russian president, he claimed, was once an inspiring figure but is now more alone and refuses to use a cell phone or the internet while insisting on having access to Russian state television wherever he goes.

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