From hero to villain: Ossetian recruit exposes harsh realities within Putin's army

A drafted recruit from Ossetia, a republic in the distant Caucasus, was brutally beaten by his fellow soldiers. All of this occurred quite some time before any Russians were deployed to the front.

"I thought the Nazis were on the other side," the disillusioned man exclaimed in a recording that he uploaded to Telegram. In the post, he documents how his military comrades harassed him, assaulting him with rifle butts and convincing him of his supposed inferiority.

The Ossetian, assaulted by his so-called "comrades," began to question if he might be fighting for the wrong side and if something was off about Russia after all. He even ventured to say that Nazis aren’t in Ukraine, but within the Russian army itself.

An enlistee from the Caucasian republic of Ossetia, which spent decades as part of the Soviet Union and is now a region divided between Russia and Georgia, is often sidelined by "authentic" Russians. It’s not surprising that he ended up in the army. Today's military mostly drafts young men from such regions and dependent republics.

Russian authorities incessantly pursue migrants who are subsequently forced into military service. On New Year's Eve in Petersburg, large-scale raids resulted in the arrest of hundreds of people. Now, these individuals either have to draft contracts with the military or face deportation.

Conscripts, unlike young men from large cities, are predominantly migrants, residents of outlying republics, or representatives of national and ethnic minorities.

Similar to the actions in Petersburg, these are organized and premeditated operations part of an initiative termed "Operation Azamat". Through this strategy, the Russian authorities target migrants to fill the gaps in the country's military strength in Ukraine. Independent media outlets have reported on this alarming practice. The Russian attitude towards "others" is crystal clear; they expect them to serve on the frontline.