Tatjana Bykova expressed grief in a video message, saying, “They killed my child.” She uses the word “canceled” to describe how her son, Andrzej, was executed by Russian military commanders. She calls them names and says she hates them.
First, he blackmails Andrzej, demanding half of the compensation he received for an injury. When he refused to give them the money and bought a car instead, they demanded that he give them the car. He was murdered for refusing to hand over the car.
Bykova filed a complaint with the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation and the public prosecutor’s office, but nothing happened. Andrej Bykov was simply declared missing. “I was told that he was beaten to death. He is lying in a forest near Galizinovka.” [a village in the Donetsk Oblast in Ukraine – editor’s note]” Bykova told independent Russian media outlet Verstka.
In October 2025, the investigative news website launched a project to expose widespread torture and so-called “extinction” – a colloquial term for the killing of comrades in the Russian military.
Verstka also published the names of dozens of commanders involved. The next day, Alexander Pashchenko, a deputy of the ruling United Russia party from Khakassia, located in southern Siberia, responded to criticism from an angry citizen, saying, “First of all, you will be canceled for such statements.” Unwittingly, this comment confirmed that “destruction” is a cultural norm.
Torture and killings occur within the ranks of the army
“The killing of comrades is only part of the bitter situation in the Russian army. Torture is also widespread,” military expert Yuri Fyodorov told DW. Videos of torture can be found on Telegram channels dedicated to the war. For example, according to the expert, soldiers are thrown into a pit and fed garbage for a week or two, depending on the mood of the commander. Or soldiers are forced to “hug a tree”. They are tied to tree trunks and left there without eating or drinking anything for a day or two.
A soldier may be shot and then declared missing or killed in action. Furthermore, it is up to authorities to decide whether to deploy a soldier where the risk of death is particularly high.
Reasons for “cancellation” vary widely – insubordination, disciplinary violations, alcohol consumption, arguments with officials, or refusal to hand over certain earnings.
Military expert Jan Matveyev said, “If you consider people expendable and are able to kill someone by sending them into a hopeless battle, you will also kill because someone committed a crime, failed to pay money, or had a fight.”
Psychoanalyst Elena Putilovskaya talks about people “acting out” or “expressing aggressive emotions”: “The superiors who carry out these brutal acts of violence have their own superiors who mock them – for example, by giving them unrealistic orders and withholding vital supplies from their units. These high-ranking officers project an image of superiority, invincibility, and prosperity to the outside world. These stir up very hard feelings among field commanders. which they take out on their subordinates.”
According to Putilovskaya, soldiers fear becoming targets of aggression from their superiors. But they also feel compassion and guilt toward peers who are targeted because they cannot help them.
‘Cancel’ culture to establish discipline
Yuri Fyodorov attributes the culture of “destruction” in the army to corrupt officers as well as criminal and undisciplined soldiers. He says that bureaucracy has become more problematic in Russia since the 1990s. Since then many people have remained in the army simply because they could not find another job. They increased their low wages through corrupt practices, such as forcing soldiers to do unpaid work. Such officers are currently fighting in Ukraine, he said.
Experts agree that the Russian military has also changed in the war in Ukraine as it now consists of mercenaries who fight for money and convicted criminals who have their own values.
“To keep this whole gang under control you have to use the most brutal methods possible,” says Fyodorov. One of the first well-known examples of this was a video that was shared on social media in November 2022, showing mercenaries from the Wagner Group killing a fellow with a sledgehammer.
Why doesn’t misbehavior go unpunished?
According to Jan Matveev, the main reason for this violent culture is the lack of discipline and the absence of a properly structured military system.
Matveyev says, “All this promotes impunity, making leadership impossible. No one in the Russian army has been punished for serious war crimes like the killings at Bucha and Mariupol. This immediately sent a signal that you can easily kill people without punishment.” He believes that this abuse of power has weakened discipline in the army. He said the military’s continued failure to curb abuses meant the violence was intensifying.
Both experts believe that the Russian military would no longer be able to fight if the culture of torture, ill-treatment, extortion, “extermination” and war crimes was stopped. Fyodorov said, “In fact, the military’s methodology is based on impunity and abusing soldiers as a resource, as slaves.”
From the perspective of psychoanalyst Alina Putilovskaya, murders and torture are a method of coercion, control, and intimidation.
“The Army leadership is not interested in building long-term relationships with people because they know that new relationships will soon come. Two things keep a community together even in war: emotional bonds and coercion. If one of these is lost, in this case, emotional bonds, then coercion takes over, which in this case turns into brutality that escalates to extremes.”
Matveyev also said that Russian soldiers do not understand what they are fighting for. The expert said, “The Ukrainian army knows what it is fighting for, even though it is going through very difficult times and dealing with big problems. It is defending its country. Most of the Russian army knows very well that a serious, serious war crime is taking place, consisting of many smaller crimes, and they have to accept it.”
This article was originally published in Russian.