Paul
Goble
Staunton, March 5 – Daghestanis want
their own “Savage Division” like Chechnya’s Ramzan Kadyrov already has, a
military command consisting of ethnic units made up respectively of their own
nationalities; and both because they are superb fighters and because they cause
trouble in Russian units, they should be given one, Magomed Osmanov says.
In the influential Voyennoye obozreniye, the North Caucasus
expert says that Moscow must look beyond the troubles it has when it drafts
Daghestanis into the Russian Army and recognize that “the Caucasians are very
good fighters. And it is a sin not to use this resource” (topwar.ru/136889-dagestancy-v-armii-rassadnik-nenavisti-ili-kostyak-podrazdeleniy.html).
“In the final analysis,” he continues,
“’the Savage Division’ during World War I was one of the most militarily
capable unit at the front.” Today, “Daghestanis also want their own ‘Savage Division’
like Kadyrov has … Look how successfully the Chechens have fought and are
fighting in Ossetia, the Donbass and in Syria.”
“’We are no worse’” than the
Chechens, the Daghestanis say. Many of them fought in Afghanistan and returned
with medals. Even more, Osmanov says, “to serve in ‘the Savage Division’ is the
dream of every mountaineer” because is allows young men to show their skills
and make money.
If Moscow agreed to form “units
consisting of a single nationality,” the expert says, then there wouldn’t be
the kind of problems Russian commanders are having with Daghestanis now. Indeed, he says, the new head of Daghestan,
Vladimir Vasilyev, needs to take up this issue and move forward.
Osmanov says that the time to do so
is now because young Daghestanis now being drafted cause problems for officers
and fellow soldiers from their very first days of service. They are more mature
at 18 than Russians are at 25 and once in uniform “they are in fact the elder”
and being physically stronger they intimidate both officers and men.
Sometimes they
attack other soldiers, Osmanov continues; but more often they intimidate
officers, get them to make Daghestanis sergeants and allow them to rule over the
other soldiers to give the officers a quiet life. And
all too many officers agree because they do not know how to command North
Caucasians or recognize the problems they create by agreeing.
Daghestanis
who succeed in becoming sergeants in this way send messages home via the
Internet: “’The whole unit is in our hand. We have broken everyone here, we are
breaking them now, and we will continue to do so.’ That leads new draftees to
assume that they can enter into the same game.
Some
in Moscow are proposing that the Russian Army stop drafting Daghestanis and
other North Caucasians, Osmanov says; but that is the path to disaster. If
Moscow doesn’t take these fighters, those in the hills opposing Moscow or ISIS
will – and more will join their ranks because they will feel ignored and
insulted.
Instead,
commanders need to understand four things: First, “draftees from Daghestan are
a special risk group which requires special handling. Second, it must be made
clear to them that any violations of the military rules will lead to criminal
charges. Third, those who won’t adapt must be dismissed from the service. And
fourth, Moscow needs to revive a special military police to control units where
they are present.
Otherwise,
Osmanov says, there will continue to be cases where Daghestani soldiers attack
other soldiers, seize military units and in effect take control of some military
bases. That has happened far too often in the Russian Far East for comfort, and
Moscow must step in to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
In
addition, the military expert says, commanders should not be in any hurry to
put guns in the hands of Daghestanis. “They must earn them, and future officers
must be taught when they are still in military training facilities how to work
with Caucasian draftees.” Otherwise there will be more disasters ahead.
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