Europe
Russia
Soldiers for Sale
The Russian Army, mired in an ugly assault on Chechnya, must now contend with what Moscow’s liberal Izvestia (Oct. 23) calls a “slave trade” among soldiers stationed in the Caucasus. Aleksandr Yegorenko and Nikolai Gritchin report that three Russian officers based at the Vladikavkaz garrison near Chechnya sold servicemen from their unit to Chechens or other locals.
In a nightmarish case described by one soldier, Private Pavel Kupin, Russian officers sold Kupin and seven others to a group of Wahhabi Muslims. After three weeks of abusive captivity, the Wahhabis resold Kupin and another soldier to a Chechen. The Chechen needed the two as a bargaining chip in freeing his son who was in jail in Moscow for drug trafficking.
Kupin isn’t sure whether the deal was eventually struck, but a peace mission led by Aleksandr Lebed helped free him and returned him to Moscow. The Russian officers have been charged and could spend up to 10 years in prison.
