1/ The Russian army has been taken over by an organised crime syndicate, says a Russian journalist. The mass recruitment of criminals now means that crimes and corruption of all sorts – murder, torture, extortion, prostitution, drug and alcohol smuggling – are now routine. ⬇️
2/ Sergey Komkov writes that organised crime has become "the most widespread social virus in the Special Military Operation zone, capable of burying virtually the entire combat capability of our Russian army."
3/ He says that an "Organised Thieves' Den", which he refers to with the acronym OVM, "has long been in full swing in many dugouts and personnel quarters of our armed forces in the SVO [Special Military Operation]."
4/ "And it is this OVM that often sets the tone for all combat operations, and not the strategic decisions of the Russian General Staff or other command structures."
Corruption has always existed in the army, but it has exploded with the mass recruitment of convicted criminals:
5/ "Having looked around, quickly adjusted to the situation, they have begun to establish their own prison-like thieves' rules.
The dugouts, which at best are visited only occasionally by junior officers, have acquired their own "bosses."
6/ "Especially since the environment and conditions themselves are highly conducive to this. In the SVO zone, no one has a name anymore. There are only certain "call signs," which in many cases closely resemble prison nicknames.
7/ "For example, "Evil," "Mord," "Hoopoe," "Grenade," and the like.
Thus, the so-called "thieves' carousel" has begun in the SVO zone!
8/ "As soon as a new contract soldier arrives at a combat unit, he is immediately "offered," as one or another "boss" puts it, to transfer part of his contract earnings to a designated bank account. They are given a card number for the transfer.
9/ "Disobeying this order is practically impossible, as it can have serious consequences. Even a bullet in the back.
A portion of these stolen funds naturally goes into a sort of "thieves' common fund," which pays for alcohol, drugs, and girls for the kingpins' entertainment.
10/ "Anyone else who also expressed a desire to indulge in alcohol, drugs, and prostitution must pay extra. For example, in one unit in the SVO zone, according to information I have, girls for soldiers were delivered for 20,000 rubles [$265] per hour.
11/ "But, of course, the most popular item was alcohol. And in some places, it literally flowed day and night in the dugouts.
12/ "However, the main goal of the newly minted OVM kingpins was to secure a comfortable and luxurious life for themselves in civilian life by extorting their comrades, carried out in various ways and by various means.
13/ "Some of them, while currently serving as contract soldiers, even managed to travel to other cities without any permission from their command and purchase luxury cars like BMWs.
"Everything I write here is backed by real documents and real evidence.
14/ "And the most terrifying thing isn't that, due to someone's stupidity or a deliberately planned attack against the Russian armed forces, this criminal scum has now begun to feel like they have the upper hand in our combat units.
15/ "It's that when some distinguished combat commanders, genuinely committed to establishing proper order in our military units, made the slightest effort to restore order,…
16/ …they were immediately slapped on the wrist by military investigators and the military prosecutor's office, who, for some unknown reason, suddenly sided with this essentially criminal military organization.
17/ "They are even now trying to prosecute real combat officers for putting up a worthy fight against the military organization and not waiting for the complete collapse of our army from within."
18/ Komkov asks why Russian military and law enforcement bodies aren't investigating this criminal activity, despite how well documented it is. (The clear implication is that they have been paid off or ordered to look the other way.)
19/ He cites the example of the murder of a junior lieutenant with the callsign 'Simka'. According to Komkov, in August 2024 Simka discovered three convict soldier 'bosses' drinking vodka in their dugout – a serious disciplinary offence.
20/ He ordered the trio to be handcuffed to trees nearby until they sobered up. However, a soldier from a neighbouring dugout freed the three convicts. One of the 'bosses' decided to get revenge, obtained an assault rifle, went to Simka's dugout, and shot him in the head.
21/ Simka's body was dragged out by the other occupant of the dugout, who was being held at gunpoint, and buried in a garbage pit. The convicts subsequently took part in a unit-wide search for the missing junior lieutenant.
22/ His regimental commander eventually worked out what happened. The colonel had the convict 'boss' arrested and tortured by being whipped with wire and raped with a broom handle. Under torture, the convict confessed to the killing and gave up the location of the body.
23/ However, Komkov says, there was a very Russian twist to the story:
24/ "Who do you think, my dear reader, was charged? The killer convict? Or did something else happen?
So there you have it. The killer convict is currently walking free and is acting as a "victim" in the criminal case brought against... the regiment commander!" /end
1/ The distinguished Russian scientist Robert Nigmatulin says that Russia is "heading for disaster—a double-digit economic decline". In a speech at the International Economic Forum in Moscow, he has highlighted Russia's economic failings and called for urgent changes. ⬇️
2/ Nigmatulin is an academician of 35 years' standing at the Russian Academy of Sciences, and a prominent Russian scientist, academician, and public figure who specialises in mechanics, physics, and mathematics.
3/ His speech is summarised by blogger Alexey Zhivov:
"He stated that per capita income in Russia is the lowest in Europe. Not just low, but lower than in the poorest regions of China.
1/ Russian warbloggers are baffled and aghast at reports that the Russian Ministry of Defence will ban the issue of drones to combat units, and will keep them for its new Unmanned Systems Forces instead. If carried out, the consequences are likely to be drastic. ⬇️
2/ The Russian MOD established its Unmanned Systems Forces (BPS) in November 2025. To the concern of many commentators, it appointed Lieutenant Colonel Yuri Vaganov to command the new force, despite his lack of formal military education or prior service experience.
3/ Vaganov has earned the unofficial callsign 'Toilet' for his previous career as a seller of plumbing fixtures. He became a monopoly supplier of FPV drones to the army after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
1/ A prominent Russian warblogger and Ka-52 helicopter pilot appears to have killed himself after posting an apparent farewell video on Telegram. 'Voivode', real name Alexey Zemtsov, says he has committed suicide due to pressure from his superiors. ⬇️
2/ Zemtsov is a Guards Senior Lieutenant in the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) and administrator of the Telegram channel 'The Voivode Broadcasts', which has about 152,000 followers. He has been a prolific warblogger, but his criticisms caused serious problems with his superiors.
3/ He has published a farewell post on his channel, saying in a series of videos that he has "exercised the right of his last officer's honour" (i.e., decided to commit suicide) and declaring that "I won't be able to survive this disgrace". He explains his reasons.
1/ In this third part of his exposé of how organised crime has taken over the Russian army in Ukraine, Russian journalist Sergey Komkov highlights how Russian commanders are now "jumping to the tune of robbers and murderers." ⬇️
1/ Wealthy Russians are reportedly being offered the chance to have an hour-long meeting with Elon Musk's father Errol for the generous price of 1.9 million rubles ($25,000). Interested parties are advised to book slots quickly, as he flies out of Moscow tomorrow. ⬇️
2/ Russian warblogger Alex Kartavykh has published an apparent Telegram conversation offering access to Errol Musk, who is said to be organising resettlement opportunities for Afrikaner farmers from South Africa.
3/ The elder Musk has been a fairly regular visitor to Moscow in recent years. He was pictured over the past weekend attending an Easter service in the presence of Vladimir Putin.
1/ Russian tank crews are being sent to their deaths en masse in infantry assaults, according to a Russian soldier's plea for help. With tank use now severely limited due to drone strikes, their crews appear to be surplus to requirements. ⬇️
2/ A Russian soldier writes to the warblogger 'Voenkor Kotenok':
"Hello. I can't help but tell you what's really going on in the tank battalion of the 110th Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces (formerly the 100th Brigade of the DPR People's Militia).
3/ "Basically, tanks are now hardly taking part in direct combat, and so every two to three weeks, two men from each company in the battalion are drafted into the infantry and sent to assaults, to fortified positions, to support UAVs.