Sokiryanskaya: Russian soldiers in South Ossetia are in rigour

Russian soldiers, whom human rights activists met in their visit to the Leningor District of South Ossetia, complained of heavy conditions of their service. For a long time they had to sleep in entrenchments under clear sky and sometimes even to starve. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya, employee of the Human Rights Centre "Memorial".

On November 22, the members of the "Memorial" met two contract militaries from a small unit of 14 servicemen deployed near the village of Mosabruni, about kilometres off Leningor (Akhalgori, Georgia). The guys preferred to remain anonymous.

"The service conditions are very heavy. There, where they are now, breaks up to several days happen in delivery of foodstuffs. For a long time, when they took positions near Tskhinvali and near Leningor, they had to sleep in entrenchments, under their reefing-jackets and under clear sky. Soldiers were falling ill. Only recently tents were set up for them," Ms Sokiryanskaya retold the soldiers' complaints.

Under provisions of their contracts Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya's contacts were to serve in Northern Caucasus, in the territory of Russia; nobody had the right to relocate them to other place without their voluntary consent. However, at about 1 a.m. on August 8 their unit deployed near Vladikavkaz was alarmed and sent to South Ossetia. Casualties appeared right after the battalion passed through the Rokskiy Tunnel, where it was shelled.

According to the contract soldiers, who talked to human rights activists, some 80 percent of Russian soldiers sent to South Ossetia are recruits to mandatory service. About the same proportion of contract and mandatory soldiers is among the casualties.

The servicemen who met the observers of the "Memorial" were especially dissatisfied with the fact that they were not paid the promised money. One of them wanted to cancel his contract, the other one - to get transferred to Russia. But they are not even given a one-day leave ticket.