The number of registered violent crimes within the Russian military has continuously increased alongside the war, according to the independent Russian news site Mediazona's compilation of available court documents.
Since 2023, 989 cases of murder or equivalent manslaughter have been prosecuted in military courts. So far this year, there are 377 cases.
Bullying and hazing
The murders have been committed both at the front and in the rear. Mediazona has only counted murders where the victim was also part of the Russian military.
Early on Friday morning, a Russian soldier opened fire at a military base southwest of Moscow and killed at least one other soldier, according to brief reports in Russian state media. The shooter is then said to have taken his own life.
It does not appear from the investigation what the most common motives are among the military personnel prosecuted for murder or manslaughter. However, Russia's military has long been followed by reports of widespread bullying and hazing. The military leadership denies this and says that they have dealt with previous problems.
Former prisoners
In 2019, a mass shooting occurred at a military base in Siberia, when a 19-year-old shot and killed eight other soldiers. In the subsequent high-profile trial, the shooter said that his service had become a "hell" for him with constant humiliation, writes AFP.
The Russian military has grown rapidly during the invasion war, with hundreds of thousands of forcibly called-up reservists and hundreds of thousands more who have been offered lucrative soldier contracts or pardoned from prison sentences.
