This week’s discussion in the Russian military public sphere revolves around the permissibility of soldiers wearing beards in the zone of the special military operation. Some military correspondents claim that orders have been issued to prohibit soldiers in the operation from having beards, as well as from using cell phones and personal transportation.
Retired Lieutenant General and current State Duma deputy Viktor Sobolev defended the ban on the basis of military regulations. In response, Ramzan Kadyrov appealed to the chairman of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, suggesting that the opponents of beards be sent to the special military operation zone, pointing out that 99.9% of its participants from his units have beards.
Sobolev visited the units of the «dear brother» and wrote: «I attended the readiness review of a regiment and three battalions in the Chechen Republic. They are well-equipped, with distinctive insignia, well-armed and well-trained soldiers. They all have beards. I have argued that a soldier should look like a soldier. With or without a beard, it doesn’t matter. And, of course, he should know how to fight.»
It seemed as if the conflict had been resolved, but it hadn’t. After a brief pause, Sobolev proposed that all Russian military personnel, except those serving in Chechnya, be banned from wearing beards, regardless of whether they were serving inside or outside the territory of Chechnya. In other words, he proposed banning beards in the Russian military for everyone except the Kadyrovites.
Another former Soviet general and fellow deputy, Viktor Zavarzin, supported Sobolev’s stance. He once commanded the Russian military’s landing in Pristina, which became legendary in Russia but had no impact on world politics. According to Zavarzin, «the Russian army has always been appreciated for its neat appearance, the posture of its servicemen, and similar factors. This affects the inner state of a person, a Russian warrior. The individual condition of each warrior undoubtedly influences the general discipline».
There are many interesting aspects in this situation. It is good that Russians in this country, with their traditional values and automatic adherence to discipline, are losing the right to have beards — nobody ever asks them anyway. According to Zavarzin’s logic, only «Russian warriors» fight in the Russian army, which is convenient because Russians do not care about them. Russian military geniuses of the «Russian world» do not take into account the fact that Russia has notorious 20 million Muslims, from whom cannon fodder is actively recruited. However, when faced with a problem like Kadyrov’s protest, they suggest solving it through exclusion — «no one can except ‘them'». In other words, only Kadyrov’s followers, as an exception, are considered Muslims who can be allowed to do what is forbidden to «Russian warriors» and other Muslims. Based on what logic? That’s how it is! Kadyrov has managed to occupy a niche (providing the empire with valuable military resources) where he is allowed to set his own rules, while others have not succeeded, which means they can be disregarded. These are the interesting twists of thought in the Russian world that can be observed in this situation. Although they are generally the same elsewhere…
But seriously, we propose that participation in the special military operation and service in Russian security structures should be prohibited not only for those who wear beards, but also for those who consider themselves Muslims, want to pray while serving, do not eat pork, etc. Drive all these «basurmans» as far away as possible — they have no place there to violate military regulations and negatively affect the individual state of Russian warriors!