24-09-05: The mysterious death of a soldier from army unit No 2511

On September 19, Maxim Plokhov, a newly recruited soldier, lost his life in a local military hospital around St. Petersburg . Maxim served in the Kamenka military compound located in Vyborg . Army unit No 2511 has a nasty reputation for being a unit in which soldiers have been killed many times.

Maxim's mother reported to us that over the course of a year and a half her son was taken to the hospital several times. As a result of regular beatings from the “Dedi” (elder soldiers) one of Maxim's legs was severely broken. He underwent an operation for the broken leg, but was released from the military hospital before it could fully heal. Commander Osipov would humiliate the soldiers, drilling into them that they were “apes not human beings.” After his operation, that very same commander did not spear the bruised and bandaged Maxim from the daily humiliation and physical torture which had become synonymous with life in army unit 2511.

This past May Maxim's mother addressed several complaints against commander Osipov to the military prosecutor; however, her appeals somehow landed on Osipov's desk. Upon seeing the case filed against him, commander Osipov developed a complete hatred for soldier Plokhov, which led to accusations that Plokhov was conspiring against him.

Plokhov's case only gets worse from here. After several reoccurring injuries Maxim developed gangrene. The illness became so severe that Maxim had to have one of his toes amputated. After a short stay in a rehab facility Maxim was sent back to the very same army unit. Upon returning to unit 2511, the abuse continued, only this time without any medical treatment. One day Maxim fell unconscious on the parade ground. He was then thrown into a bucket of cold water and brought back to the parade ground. On September 11, Maxim was finally brought to a military hospital in Vyborg . On September 19 Maxim died from a kidney failure. Maxim's official death certificate claims that his kidney failure resulted from unknown causes; furthermore, the certificate claims that his death occurred not on the 19 th , but on the 21 st of September. Not accepting the official death certificate as accurate, Maxim's mother believes that the real cause of her son's death was an excessive use of violence, combined with a lack of medical attention.

Currently, Maxim's mother is trying to obtain an independent medical analysis of the causes and conditions surrounding her son's death. Naturally, obtaining such an analysis is not a simple task in a military hospital. However, the young man working in the morgue reported to the mother that the body of her son, especially her son's head, showed marks from what seemed to be severe beatings.

16-08-05

Recently, the organization for the protection of human rights “Soldier's Mothers of St. Petersburg ” received an anonymous email.

Here is a direct translation of the message:

Mrs. Filonova,

Your actions in helping organize the escape of 12 sailors, and taking bribes from foreign spies have caused great harm to the naval fleet of the Russian Federation and have been noted by certain competent organizations. In the near future, investigative material illuminating the illegal nature of the actions of you and your organization will be passed on to the proper state organs. Accordingly, criminal proceedings relating to your role in facilitating the desertion of sailors will be established. News of these criminal proceedings will surely be reported in the mass media.

P.S. Advice from a colleague: Come forward as an accuser against the sailor with a tattoo depicting fascist symbols on his back. His testimony appears to be that of a 14 year old child. Come forward as an accuser, as it would be well received by the press and of course profitable for you as well.

P.S. Advice from my soul: Think about the innocent man who is receiving 3.5 years over your deal. Think of his dying father and his sick mother.

P.S. Advice from 1933: Thankfully, all you must remember is 1933. Don't be afraid, go ahead remember. Perhaps the Israeli secret service will help you and provide you with money; however, with simple a letter you cannot intimidate nor gain fame……….

01-08-2005 " New Violence For Hazing Case Sailors"
Seven St. Petersburg navy recruits, who won a court case against hazing in Kronshdat less than two months ago, were involved in another brutal accident this month, within a week after their relocation to Baltiisk in the Kaliningrad region.
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20-07-2005

The military court of the Kronshtadt garrison found two navy conscripts guilty of beating other recruits and sentenced them to jail.
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12 sailors ran away

4th of April 2005 in Kronshtadt (the city near Saint-Petersburg) the conscripts were waiting for the placement to the ship, when the soldiers of the last year of the service began to extort the money from them, as they wanted to have some fun. When they realized that money is not enough they began to beat, to make suffer to the young soldiers. The soldiers escaped. Firstly they wanted to get to Saint-Petersburg, but it was too far to go by feet, so they came to Peterhof, where the girl-friend of one of them lived. There they called to their parents, and were waiting for them in the cellar of her house.
The parents of the soldiers inquired to the public prosecution office of Saint-Petersburg, but they were refused in help and directed to the commandant’s office. It meant the soldiers would be sent to the place of their service. Their parents realized they could see their sons never.
Then they decided to bring boys to “Soldier’s mothers of Saint-Petersburg”, relying on the help. Our consultants testified the fact of the beating. After they inquired to the different institutions of the city, but hasn’t got any reaction. We were forced to inquire to Moscow’s authorities, and only after that the investigation was began. Before the authorities of Saint-Petersburg even tried to prove the soldiers injured themselves by their own due to escape from the army.
The court examination has been continued yet. The soldiers are protected freely by the lawyer of our organization Elena Filonova.

06-03-2005 : the headquarters of the office of human rights group Soldiers' Mothers was broken into and robbed.
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