Pardoned prisoners fighting in Ukraine continue to commit crimes when they return to Russia.
According to the BBC, at least 242 people have been killed by war veterans.
– They don’t just avoid their punishment, they are hailed as heroes, says sociologist Igor Eidman to the channel.
Around 48,000 Russian prisoners were pardoned by the Wagner group to fight in Ukraine, according to BBC calculations. When the group’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a plane crash last year, the Russian Ministry of Defense took over war recruitment.
Now reporting BBC that several of the former prisoners continue to commit violent crimes when they return to Russia after participating in the war. According to the site, at least 242 people have been killed and 227 people injured by returning soldiers.
The site reports on a case where a Russian woman was abused by a former prisoner, who returned to Russia after fighting in Ukraine. When the police arrived at the scene, the man showed proof that he had participated in the war, and said that nothing would happen to him because he was pardoned.
“Celebrated as heroes”
According to sociologist Igor Eidman, such cases have major consequences for Russian society.
– People who have committed terrible crimes – murderers, rapists, cannibals and pedophiles – they not only avoid their punishment by being sent to war, they are also hailed as heroes, he tells the BBC.
The pardoned prisoners have been described as heroes by Russian media, and President Vladimir Putin has called them the country’s “new elite”.
“Not obvious that you will be punished”
It is also not unusual for people who were pardoned for crimes they committed before the war to avoid criminal penalties if they commit crimes when they return, writes the BBC. Russian courts have also referred to a defendant’s wartime contributions to mitigate his sentence. A large part of the crimes are also not reported at all, following a new law against criticism of the Russian military.
The proportion of serious crimes in the country increased by 10 percent in 2023, and sociologist Anna Kuleshova believes that violence is becoming increasingly accepted in Russian society. According to her, it leads to violent behavior being spread as a norm.
– This is facilitated by the militarization of society, the transition to conservatism and the romanticization of war. Violent crimes committed within the country are atoned for by the violence of war, she says.