The following reform is being proposed for Russian universities:
Dmitry Livanov, Russia’s new education minister, has unveiled controversial reforms for his country’s universities. Chemistry World reported that the changes proposed include consolidating universities and ending the tradition of free tuition.
The reason why this is an atrocious plan is not only that the low-income people will be prevented from accessing higher education. There is a much more tragic reason why a free higher education should exist in Russia.
Russia is a country that discriminates against healthy young men by forcing them to join the army where they are more than likely to be starved, tortured, raped, and forced into slave-labor. Every male high-schooler in the country lives in horror of the draft.
The only ways of avoiding the draft are:
1. Having several children in rapid succession (this is obviously something that the racist Russian government worried about the rise of Chinese and Muslim immigration wants to promote.)
2. Pay a huge bribe.
3. Go to college.
N. told me that the terror of being drafted had shaped his life. He knew that, even though he was tall, broad-shouldered and practiced martial arts, he would not come out of the army with his mental and physical health intact. Between the ages of 17 and 27 (when you can legally be drafted), everything he did was conditioned by the goal of avoiding the draft. Since he is from a very modest family that did not have money for the bribe and is ideologically opposed to the idea of procreating to avoid the draft, the possibility of getting enrolled at a college for free saved him from the army.
I know dozens of tragic stories about ruined lives and horrible personal misery as a result of this discriminatory draft policy.
The Constitution of the Russian Federation proclaims the equality between the sexes. Yet, this horrible form of discrimination against people whose only crime is to be born with a penis persists. It is unconscionable that the Russian government would now remove the only legitimate way out of being drafted that many men still have at their disposal.
It’s one thing when only the rich have the chance to get a higher education. I think that it’s completely wrong, of course, and that education has to be accessible to low-income people and penniless immigrants like I used to be. But when you get to the point where only people with money (or without a penis) can avoid being raped, starved and beaten, we have moved to a completely different level of horror.
Russia is not a poor country, mind you. This is not about a shortage of money. This is about a hateful genocidal policy aimed at punishing millions of young men for the fact of their existence.
Clarissa's Blog 
“a hateful genocidal policy” – Surely the Russian government doesn’t see it as genocidal, when they want to increase the population?
I have relatives in Russia, so partly understand what you’re talking about.
//I know dozens of tragic stories about ruined lives and horrible personal misery as a result of this discriminatory draft policy.
How would forcing women to enlist have helped those men?
In my eyes the biggest problem is the nature of service in Russian army. Can something be done in your opinion to stop the “starved, tortured, raped, and forced into slave-labor”?
In Israel both genders serve and staff like this doesn’t happen. There may be isolated problematic incidents, as in every organization in the world, but not this.
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“How would forcing women to enlist have helped those men?”
– Who on Earth suggested that??
“In my eyes the biggest problem is the nature of service in Russian army. Can something be done in your opinion to stop the “starved, tortured, raped, and forced into slave-labor”?”
– A professional army is the answer for Russia.
“Surely the Russian government doesn’t see it as genocidal, when they want to increase the population?”
– And they are idiots because the boys come back often incapable of leading normal lives and / or procreating. Again, I know true stories where that happened.
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“In Israel both genders serve and staff like this doesn’t happen. There may be isolated problematic incidents, as in every organization in the world, but not this.”
– This is a completely different society. It’s like with the Apartheid, you can’t extrapolate concepts onto an entirely different reality. In Russia, where there is no powerful patriotic national idea (like in Israel), where people of completely different ethnic, linguistic, religious areas are drawn together, where nobody has any idea what it is they are serving, where the soldiers are forced to build mansions for the army generals, only a professional army will be the answer. In Israel it’s a completely different thing. I talked to people who served in the Israeli army (one is my childhood friend) and they all saw a purpose to the service, they all felt it was important to them to serve. It was not perceived as slavery or as unfairness since there were no free passes from children of the rich.
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// A professional army is the answer for Russia.
Who would join to be a simple soldier, if the conditions were close to today’s plus a very low salary?
My mother wondered whether nowadays most people in free uni education paid a huge bribe too. So that it probably wouldn’t change matters as much as in the days of your husband’s youth.
RE Israeli army – in the last weeks there is a discussion regarding forcing Haredi (only men, nobody even mentions Haredi women) to serve too. Some people worry about the position of women in the IDF since Haredi men can’t serve with women, have them as teachers, etc. Previously there was a discussion also of religious men not participating in parts of official ceremonies, where women soldiers sang.
Here more about it (every day new reports, but it discusses the issue at large, as I saw from a glance):
http://forward.com/articles/156493/haredi-draft-could-cause-gender-issue/?p=all
Imo, there is no need to make a big deal of not listening to women singing, if their Judaism prohibits it. As for not serving with women, it IS a problem (unlike the singing issue), but they can serve in special units without women. There are already such places & new could be created. Haredi population grows fast and if they don’t start serving & working, Israeli middle class, which pays a lot of taxes, won’t be able to do it all in a decade or 2. I hope army will give Haredi some education, lead more to working lifestyle after release & in general feel more involved in our country. Even if women are hurt in some cases, I think doing something about a large, fast growing population is more important. Besides, women may get hurt now, but in the long run win with other Jewish citizens – this because Haredi don’t serve, but vote religiously (a describing reality pun) & understanding secular society more can’t hurt. In addition, middle class women pay taxes too.
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“Who would join to be a simple soldier, if the conditions were close to today’s plus a very low salary?”
– The salary is quite low in the US, yet people do enlist. It’s a very special type of personality that chooses the army and such people should be given that choice. Russia is not a poor country, they could pay the soldiers adequately.
“My mother wondered whether nowadays most people in free uni education paid a huge bribe too. ”
– Many do, of course. Yet, an intelligent boy who studies well can always be admitted anywhere.
“I hope army will give Haredi some education, lead more to working lifestyle after release & in general feel more involved in our country. Even if women are hurt in some cases, I think doing something about a large, fast growing population is more important. Besides, women may get hurt now, but in the long run win with other Jewish citizens – this because Haredi don’t serve, but vote religiously (a describing reality pun) & understanding secular society more can’t hurt. ”
– I agree completely!! I think this is a hugely positive step forward for Israel. And this will be an important experiment for the rest of the world to observe. Too many societies chicken out of the need to integrate the very religious, very conservative parts of the population and then pay the consequences. I think that this is a very progressive, very important development.
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I read the entire article and the issue of women’s service is even more complicated since
Would women serving only in special units be worth it? I lean to “yes”, but it’s also not trivial because of the question of dual loyalty (rabbis representing Torah before army commanders – see in article).
//Too many societies chicken out of the need to integrate the very religious, very conservative parts of the population and then pay the consequences.
Think how many % are Amish in US and of the % of Haredi in Israel.
Israel wouldn’t be able to afford it anyway. Especially economically. I still hope they will be enlisted at last in one way or another. Community service would be great too imo. People talk of doing the same (com. service) to Arab youth too.
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“Think how many % are Amish in US and of the % of Haredi in Israel.”
– I was not thinking of the US as much as the countries that have significant Muslim populations that nobody tries to integrate in any way and then the societies explode. France, the Netherlands have seen where that leads already. Great Britain is on its way. Canada is acting extremely stupid on this issue, too.
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This is a tangential issue, but as I understand it, the salary for the US army is actually pretty high, especially compared to what 18-22 year olds with only a high school diploma (or sometimes a Bachelor’s) could earn otherwise. It seems like even more when you consider that they won’t have any living expenses while they’re in the army, so their whole salary gets saved until after they’re out.
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I remember hearing that they got something like 1,800 a month. Or 2,000. That is ridiculously low given that they are risking their lives.
Does anybody know actual figures, or am I being completely wrong here? I have a tendency to get confused on numbers. Still can’t remember my own salary. 🙂 🙂
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I don’t know the exact numbers either, but 1800-2000 a month is pretty darn good for a kid right out of high school. And most people in the army don’t actually have to risk their lives. I assume (well, I hope) that those people who have to go into actual danger get paid more than your basic private stationed in a non-war zone. I mean, in the private sector, the best an 18-year-old could hope for would be maybe $10-$12 an hour? Even if they’re lucky enough to get 40 hours a week, that comes out to about the same amount of money, and those private sector kids will have to pay rent and pay for food and all that stuff that people in the army get for free. So someone who graduated high school and went straight into the working world would barely scrape by, whereas someone who did a couple years in the army would come out of it with at least $40,000 saved and the opportunity to go to college for free. I dunno, maybe someone who knows more than I do will come in and correct me. 😉
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“So someone who graduated high school and went straight into the working world would barely scrape by, whereas someone who did a couple years in the army would come out of it with at least $40,000 saved and the opportunity to go to college for free.”
– Or be killed, maimed, traumatized, or turned into a killer, rapist and torturer. Do you think people come out of combat unscathed? They are invalids for life, either physically or psychologically. $40 K will not even begin to cover the cost of the trauma. I’m trying to work through the trauma of being forced to take music lessons in childhood. Imagine the trauma of having to kill people at 18.
My grandfather was in WWII. We are still dealing with his trauma, 30 years after he died. It’s the kind of damage that goes down through generations.
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Yes, definitely. That’s why I assume that people who actually have to serve in combat zones get paid a lot more. I was under the impression that the vast majority of soldiers are never actually in combat, though.
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That’s incredibly tragic. I’ve always believed that education should be accessible for all, but when your life (aka your sanity and health) are on the line, then it’s even more important that that be an option.
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Armies in particular seem to have very difficult cultures to reform. Case in point, from what I have read/heard from various people who have served, the Soviet military (and, by extension, the militaries of the various former Soviet countries) have been deeply dysfunctional since at least world war 2 (which they seem to have won through sheer manpower).
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” the Soviet military (and, by extension, the militaries of the various former Soviet countries) have been deeply dysfunctional since at least world war 2 (which they seem to have won through sheer manpower)”
– Yes, exactly. The military leadership of the Soviet Army in WWII was bizarrely bad.
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On Feministe is a recent post on rape of women in US military and, when some started saying “they chose to serve”, others provided explanations (What about the 4th comment? Is it true?! How?) Btw, I gave a link (when you latest asked for them) to a lj of a woman, who served in US army and left with PTSD. She too mentioned money issue causing people to join.
http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2012/07/03/the-invisible-war/
QUOTES
1
“People pissing all over the military may want to think about how few jobs there are in much of the United States. With real unemployment in double digits, telling a jobless kid in the middle fo the country with a high school diploma that it’s unethical to join the military is the height of classist arrogance. Seriously, you fucking hire them. If you don’t want kids (and they are kids) enlisting, you give them a job, healthcare, housing and help with education. ”
2
My 18 yr old neighbor deploys in a month. Joining was the only way he would ever get money for college. They told him he wouldn’t have to fight; they lied. Ditto my grandfather. For some, the armed forces represent the (fucked up) but only potential for education and a decent career.
3
The U.S. military is our biggest employer. Given the economic situation right now, especially if you consider the unemployment numbers for people of color (who are also targeted by military adverts that promise jobs and money for college), it’s completely understandable that even people who are simply looking for a way out of unbelievably shitty and hopeless economic situations with no prospects see joining up as a good option.
4
Too many judges in small towns tell convicted or nolo contendere men to either join the military or go to jail.
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“The U.S. military is our biggest employer. ”
– Yeah, ’cause an incredibly huge chunk of the federal budget goes to the stupid army instead of to creating legitimate jobs!!
“Given the economic situation right now”
– The economic situation sucks so bad precisely because we all keep feeding the stupid Pentagon that hasn’t won a single war since 1898! This bunch of sore losers is eating us all out of existence AND turning our young people into killers and rapists for nothing!!!
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From WP
Do you think this is happening, namely that there is economic conscription happening, in either the US or Russia?
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“Do you think this is happening, namely that there is economic conscription happening, in either the US or Russia”
-In the US, certainly. But in Russia, there is no voluntary conscription, so it wouldn’t work that way.
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Based on el’s comment it would seem that part of the conditions necessary (low economic development/high unemployment) are certainly happening.
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//Based on el’s comment
My comment above is about US.
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From a post:
“There’s a study of Navy recruits where 15% admitted to having raped someone prior to enlisting. That’s twice the percentage of the equivalent civilian population. (In Klay v Panetta, the complaint cites 13% of men enlisting admitted to raping someone and 71% of them admitted to committing serial rape). “
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““There’s a study of Navy recruits where 15% admitted to having raped someone prior to enlisting. That’s twice the percentage of the equivalent civilian population. (In Klay v Panetta, the complaint cites 13% of men enlisting admitted to raping someone and 71% of them admitted to committing serial rape). “”
– Makes total sense. People who enlist are people with very high degree of aggression.
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I’m afraid that this discussion might bring the crazed “respect the army!” freakazoids descending on this blog.
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//I’m afraid that this discussion might bring the crazed “respect the army!” freakazoids descending on this blog.
And on 4th of July too!
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Yes, so let’s sit quietly and pretend we are not here!
Fa la la la la . . . 🙂
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It’s true about war leading to PTSD, not just in those who fight, but in those who suffer secondary effects from those who endure the fighting. I count myself among those, although I would say the subject of my thesis, Marechera, was much more a victim of the cross-currents of war. I think he was a victim of dire poverty, too. When I wrote my thesis, one of the examiners expressed impatiently, “I don’t want to hear what made him a victim.” I don’t understand that. Aren’t these issues intrinsically important — the background as to why somebody writes the way they do?
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What discipline was the thesis in? Different fields have a very different approach to biographical analysis. In my field, it is a big no-no, for example. But in other fields, it is crucial.
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English and Cultural Studies — one of the broadest and most interdisciplinary studies in the university.
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This is interesting because English departments never allow it while Cultural Studies really welcome it. 🙂 I can imagine how this would create a conflict.
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Yeah, depends on who your examiner turns out to be and what they’re used to. My examiners were all in Africa, so there was an element of traditionalism, I guess.
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