May 19, 2010. Conscript Roman Suslov is being seen off to the army, to fulfill his honorable duty.
Here he is holding his one-year-old child in his arms.
On May 21, 2010, he sent a text message home: "They will kill me or leave me disabled," and managed to report that conscripts' mobile phones were being confiscated. On May 22, 2010, Roman Suslov's family and loved ones were informed that he had hanged himself in a toilet. Just a few days after Roman Suslov's ceremonial send-off to the army, his relatives were forced to record a video testimony beside his coffin in order to secure a proper investigation into the circumstances of his death.
details I went to the website of the Public Council under the Russian Ministry of Defense looking for some information about the case. There is nothing there about Suslov. I found this: But there is protection against a powerful enemy. It is a strong army. And while this thesis has for centuries been challenged by various demagogues and pacifists, for Russia, ensuring national security has always remained a pressing concern. Meanwhile, the Army is only part of Society, in which future defenders of the Fatherland are raised and educated. And the overall combat readiness of the Armed Forces depends on how prepared they are to fight for their country, whether they "feel aggrieved for the state" (a Russian patriotic expression), and how strong the inner motivation of each individual soldier or officer is to fulfill the duty of defending the independence of the Motherland, their families, and loved ones. I am sure that Roman Suslov's son, now an orphan, will indeed "feel aggrieved for the state." But his mother will never send him into the army. She is probably just a demagogue and a pacifist.