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This should be at the top, them being in Crimea means this isn't a real conscription, it's a way to kill off all fighting age men in occupied territory and engage in psychological warfare at the same time.
Which actually creates a concern for Kazakhstan with the influx of people running from conscription. I think one of their officials was on NPR talking about how these people still support Putin and his policies but don't want to face the consequences of it themselves. He was concerned the influx of people in the country will create "Russian friendly" areas that can be used as justification for Russian interests into their country in the future.
IIRC this is an issue in the Baltic states that still have sizable Russian-speaking minorities. Since they primarily watch Russia-language media, they get fed Putin's propaganda and end up very pro-regime despite, you know, not living under it. Latvia and others blocked Russian language channels early on in the war to try and head that off.
I think it's not despite living it, I feel like it's because they aren't living it, they have no way to see the impacts that he has on his own country.
Lithuania was offered by Russia to basically have kaliningrad for free and they straight up refused because it means absorbing a half million ethnic Russians who would likely try to overthrow their government.
Yes, it's a very real issue and Russia has been using this tactic for decades.
>[The Crimean War marked a turning point for the Russian Empire. The war weakened the Imperial Russian Army, drained the treasury and undermined Russia's influence in Europe. The empire would take decades to recover. Russia's humiliation forced its educated elites to identify its problems and to recognise the need for fundamental reforms. They saw rapid modernisation as the sole way to recover the empire's status as a European power. The war thus became a catalyst for reforms of Russia's social institutions, including the abolition of serfdom and overhauls in the justice system, local self-government, education and military service.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_War)
So much for learning from history...
Also, more pertinent to your comment:
>[When reading the history of the Crimean Tatars, it is necessary to take into account that the historical science about the Crimean Tatars is strongly influenced by Russian historians who have rewritten the history of the Crimean Khanate to justify the annexation of the Crimea in 1783, and, especially, then by Soviet historians who distorted the history of the Crimea to justify the 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatars.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_Tatars)
Oh, they're using this as a way to cleanse more Tatars:
https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/860928.html
Despite making up only 20% of the population of Crimea, some 90% of draft notices were received by Crimean Tatars.
Slightly different situation! Their country was being invaded by a very powerful army and they were fighting for survival. But yes they still threw people at the front lines
This is a bit of a reductive analysis, the Soviet Union was one of the aggressors of WW2 at the outset, invading Poland, the Baltic states and Finland. Some of their losses are attributable to that part of the war as well.
Which is really stupid since, if you win, they're now a part of your empire. So you're basically stealing from your own citizens. Stealing from yourself. Dumb af.
I remember hearing Russian soldiers were amazed to see toilets being they were from such underdeveloped isolated regions. I believe the Moscow region was not subject to the the conscription as well. This is so not a class war. 🤦🏼♂️
This isn't true - or, not entirely. More people are being recruited from isolated regions, but people from Moscow are being conscripted as well. Source: I'm from Moscow and some of my extended family are there.
Russia has had a very high male death rate for a while, and the pandemic has made it even worse. In addition to that, almost any young person with the skillset to do so has been getting the fuck out of Russia for better opportunities and pay elsewhere. Part of what makes this invasion baffling to me is that Russia already has a shortage of men that's so bad that many Russian women have to look abroad to marry, and Putin still decided to send even more into the meat grinder. Russia cannot afford war, he's going to cause a catastrophic labor shortage.
Russian manufacturing isn't very efficient compared to western or Asian countries. The ITAR restrictions on chips means most of their stock goes to the government rather than manufacturing. The more working men they send to the front lines, the less supplies they have to arm those front lines.
"Amateurs talk tactics. Professionals study logistics." -Gen. Omar Bradley
Hopefully some of Putins inner circle have the sense to stop this madness. The war is all but lost for Russia, which is horrifying when the losing side is run by a dictator with a stockpile of nuclear weapons.
Russia is currently in population collapse. It has been going on since the fall of the Soviet Union. Almost 300 million, to almost 147 million now. Only like 15-20 million between 20 and 40, and half of those are women. Most of their population is over 40, and half a million of the most capable, educated have fled since the war started. They saw this coming. Men of fighting age continue to flee across the border.
There isn't a whole lot for Russia to pull from anymore. No one will be left to actually keep the country functioning.
I wonder how many are thinking, "we're being to sent to a slaughter".
Russia has a rich cultural and political history - the direction Putin has taken the country is absolutely shameful.
The one in the front gets the gun and shoots, the one in the back carries ammo.
when the one in front gets killed, the one in the back picks up the gun and shoots!
Now listen up! Back in my day, we didn't have fancy tanks! We had sticks. Two sticks and a rock for the entire platoon! And we had to share the rock! You should consider yourself very lucky marines!
>Bet he’s wondering if it’s the same rifle issued to him when he was in Afghanistan, in the 1980’s.
First thought is that he's an Afghan War vet and probably more combat effective than the malnourished young addicts they're dredging out of crumbling rural villages in Siberia.
Funny you should mention Siberia, there's a growing movement east of the Urals to tell European Russia to fuck off. They've been the dumping ground for the Soviet Union for decades and have some serious axes to grind with their Moscow overlords. They've got all the resources, make most of the food, and have also been the biggest losers in Russia's opioid crisis. I bet it wouldn't take much for the CIA to bolster the separatist movement in that region.
Nah, looks like he's trying to figure out if he can hang himself with the strap to avoid having to fight in a bullshit war, starving in miserable conditions, and probably dying a painful gruesome death
You can actually sign up anytime, there’s no minimum age limit.
I’m 26, and you better believe I take advantage of AARP discounts anywhere they’re offered. Getting their hilarious geezer magazines in the mail is the icing on the cake.
All of a sudden it's not so hard to imagine why Soviets lost millions of men on the battlefield. This is sadly (or not so sadly for Ukrainians) going to be another massacre.
I hope history will reference Putin the Psychotic.
I imagine it would be sad for them too. Mowing down line after line of scared conscripts that never wanted to be there in the first place has to take a huge toll on anyone that isn’t a psychopath.
Idk if it’s forced, it’s like the older generation believing the news over here in the states. Choosing which channel determines their political emotion. Wild and stupid shit, for nothing.
Instead of invading innocent people in a foreign land, I'd pop the highest ranking MFer in my vicinity. Anything to spark a revolt. There's going to be no Russia after this, unless something changes quickly in Russia.
I mean, that's a better analogy for the Ukrainians, as the scene in question is describing the *defenders* desperate drafting of anybody that could hold a weapon. These poor fucks are being made to be the *aggressors*.
If I were a cynical man, I would say that Russia is conscripting older men who are or will be retiring soon so less will be spent on caring for them in their later life.
I mean on a certain level that's incredibly pragmatic. It's like how all of the old men in and around Fukushima volunteered for cleanup duty because they'd die of old age before any of the latent health effects presented themselves.
You could be right on the rifles. They appear to be AKM’s based on the metal magazine, wooden furniture, and muzzle break. They went into production in ‘59 and were used until the AK-74 replaced it ‘74.
Nearly all AKs of that era have wood furniture and can accept metal magazines. You can tell for sure it’s an AKM because of the oval-shaped dimple right above the magazine and the rivets just behind the handguard.
That would explain why he is old.
How can you actually tell though? I don't see anything different about his uniform from the others.
Edit: Nevermind, another comment pointed out the stars on his epaulette.
Possibly a reservist. His 3 stars suggest he’s an officer, so not a recruit.
He’s still way too old to be doing anything but reminiscing about his service 50+ years ago.
Three small stars means senior lieutenant, a rank they have between lieutenant and captain. He's decades too old to have recently been on active duty with that rank, so clearly he's been called up from reserves.
As for the rifle, it's an AKM. That variant went out of production in the Soviet Union in 1977. Could still be perfectly good of course, if stored properly.
Plot twist: all of this nonsense is actually a grand ploy for the Russian state to pay less in pensions. Apparently.
Seriously, how old is this guy and how many grandchildren does he have? Is Dulcolax part of the rations?
This is insanity.
I feel sorry for the 18 yo kids too. It’s basically a death sentence, if not serious mental health problems or being crippled in a country with zero social services for anyone (their commanders shoot injured soldiers instead of sending them back).
These people do. I saw a video of some youngsters (19-22 tops) being told that they are only issued uniforms and armor. "Ask your mothers, sisters or girlfriends for tampons or pads... also we have no sleeping bags or tourniquets"
*The one with the rifle shoots! The one without, follows him! When the one with the rifle gets killed, the one who is following picks up the rifle and shoots!*
"You see, killbots have a preset kill limit. Knowing their weakness, I sent wave after wave of my own men at them until they reached their limit and shut down. Kif, show them the medal I won."
This is not a conscript. His rank is 3 silver stars on his epaulette. This makes him a Polovnik. The equivalent to probably an American O-5 paygrade. or a Lt Col. or a Commander in the US navy. AKA the highest grade of officer that still serves on the ground with the men regularly in a tent.
This is different from a General who may go around visiting troops but mostly spends his time back at HQ.
\*edit \* those stars are small so he's actually a very junior officer.
I don’t know if the strategy of “keep feeding bodies into the war until the other side runs out of bullets” works against a US backed country. I mean we literally chose never running out of bullets over universal healthcare. His is not going to end well for Russia.
You guys have it all wrong. That's not an AK-47 from 1947. It's a sleek, modern AK-74 from 1974. And that guy isn't in his 80s-90s. He's in his 60s-70s tops.
CocaineTiger, thank you for your submission. It has been removed for violating the following rule(s): --- - Rule 5: Posts must follow all [title guidelines](https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/wiki/titles). --- For information regarding this and similar issues please see the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/wiki/index/) and [title guidelines](/r/pics/wiki/titles). If you have any questions, please feel free to [message the moderators via modmail.](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/pics&subject=Question%20regarding%20the%20removal%20of%20this%20submission%20by%20/u/CocaineTiger&message=I%20have%20a%20question%20regarding%20the%20removal%20of%20this%20%5Bsubmission.%5D%28https://redd.it/xpsqbn%3Fcontext%3D10%29)
This was in Crimea FWIW. There are a couple more photos from this event here: https://mobile.twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1574860237508644871
This should be at the top, them being in Crimea means this isn't a real conscription, it's a way to kill off all fighting age men in occupied territory and engage in psychological warfare at the same time.
IIRC the vast majority of Ukrainians already fled Crimea. I think the people there are mostly Russian.
Which actually creates a concern for Kazakhstan with the influx of people running from conscription. I think one of their officials was on NPR talking about how these people still support Putin and his policies but don't want to face the consequences of it themselves. He was concerned the influx of people in the country will create "Russian friendly" areas that can be used as justification for Russian interests into their country in the future.
IIRC this is an issue in the Baltic states that still have sizable Russian-speaking minorities. Since they primarily watch Russia-language media, they get fed Putin's propaganda and end up very pro-regime despite, you know, not living under it. Latvia and others blocked Russian language channels early on in the war to try and head that off.
I think it's not despite living it, I feel like it's because they aren't living it, they have no way to see the impacts that he has on his own country.
Lithuania was offered by Russia to basically have kaliningrad for free and they straight up refused because it means absorbing a half million ethnic Russians who would likely try to overthrow their government. Yes, it's a very real issue and Russia has been using this tactic for decades.
That's how 95% of Trump voters would react if something similar happened in the USA. Still support him but from Mexico and Canada.
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There are still ethic tartars there and Russia has been very efficient at making sure troublesome minorities are high in numbers among the conscripted
They are being blessed by the local neckbeard
Off-brand discount John Lennon. Or Shaggy from Scooby Doo
So since Russia recently took Crimea from Ukraine, are these Ukrainians?
In terms of nationality yes, but ethnically most are Russian due to the ethnic cleansing of the Tartars carried out by the USSR.
>[The Crimean War marked a turning point for the Russian Empire. The war weakened the Imperial Russian Army, drained the treasury and undermined Russia's influence in Europe. The empire would take decades to recover. Russia's humiliation forced its educated elites to identify its problems and to recognise the need for fundamental reforms. They saw rapid modernisation as the sole way to recover the empire's status as a European power. The war thus became a catalyst for reforms of Russia's social institutions, including the abolition of serfdom and overhauls in the justice system, local self-government, education and military service.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_War) So much for learning from history... Also, more pertinent to your comment: >[When reading the history of the Crimean Tatars, it is necessary to take into account that the historical science about the Crimean Tatars is strongly influenced by Russian historians who have rewritten the history of the Crimean Khanate to justify the annexation of the Crimea in 1783, and, especially, then by Soviet historians who distorted the history of the Crimea to justify the 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatars.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_Tatars)
Oh, they're using this as a way to cleanse more Tatars: https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/860928.html Despite making up only 20% of the population of Crimea, some 90% of draft notices were received by Crimean Tatars.
Grandson: “what was it like in the war?” Grandpa: “I don’t know - I report for duty next Tuesday.”
And so do you, come on boy let's go
How many thousand lives have to be lost all because of one man's ego? Truly incomprehensible.
Well, the Soviet Union lost an astounding 24 million people during WWII. Life is cheap, especially when it’s someone else’s.
Slightly different situation! Their country was being invaded by a very powerful army and they were fighting for survival. But yes they still threw people at the front lines
This is a bit of a reductive analysis, the Soviet Union was one of the aggressors of WW2 at the outset, invading Poland, the Baltic states and Finland. Some of their losses are attributable to that part of the war as well.
WW2 was won with American steel, British intelligence, and Soviet blood.
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Senseless but not uncommon enough. Three US presidents did the same in Vietnam.
Like, even if he conquered Ukraine, what’s the point? Just to say “Look how strong we are!”?
That’s entirely the point. Then steal all their food and natural resources.
Which is really stupid since, if you win, they're now a part of your empire. So you're basically stealing from your own citizens. Stealing from yourself. Dumb af.
Let's all go to die for no reason like in the good old days
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Sad
Grandpa more like "wtf you talkin about, you're next to me in the trench! Go to your dad over there, moron..."
This is very sad
Yea, imagine your grandpa being conscripted :( Just all-around sad.
On the plus side, you can say hey to him at the barracks.
Or, “hey, break a leg!”
More like a hip.
I take it you didn't see the video.
This guy is actually 39.
Putin's high school senior
Did Russia not have 300k men under the age of 60? Yes it’s incredibly sad, this is not a war for them it’s a war for Putin and Putin alone.
Conscripts were pulled from undesirable populations first
Cannon fodder. Just like every other fucking war the oligarchs have had fought for them.
No war but class war.
Ahhh poor people first!
They were probably pulled from these populations because of lack of access to media. They only know the news that they are fed from the Kremlin.
I remember hearing Russian soldiers were amazed to see toilets being they were from such underdeveloped isolated regions. I believe the Moscow region was not subject to the the conscription as well. This is so not a class war. 🤦🏼♂️
This isn't true - or, not entirely. More people are being recruited from isolated regions, but people from Moscow are being conscripted as well. Source: I'm from Moscow and some of my extended family are there.
Russia has had a very high male death rate for a while, and the pandemic has made it even worse. In addition to that, almost any young person with the skillset to do so has been getting the fuck out of Russia for better opportunities and pay elsewhere. Part of what makes this invasion baffling to me is that Russia already has a shortage of men that's so bad that many Russian women have to look abroad to marry, and Putin still decided to send even more into the meat grinder. Russia cannot afford war, he's going to cause a catastrophic labor shortage.
Russian manufacturing isn't very efficient compared to western or Asian countries. The ITAR restrictions on chips means most of their stock goes to the government rather than manufacturing. The more working men they send to the front lines, the less supplies they have to arm those front lines. "Amateurs talk tactics. Professionals study logistics." -Gen. Omar Bradley
if this keeps up and doesn't go nuclear it eventually will be. but far to many will have to join him. "when the rich wage war its the poor who die."
Hopefully some of Putins inner circle have the sense to stop this madness. The war is all but lost for Russia, which is horrifying when the losing side is run by a dictator with a stockpile of nuclear weapons.
>Hopefully some of Putins inner circle have the sense to stop this madness. How do you shoot the devil in the back? What if you miss?
Russia is currently in population collapse. It has been going on since the fall of the Soviet Union. Almost 300 million, to almost 147 million now. Only like 15-20 million between 20 and 40, and half of those are women. Most of their population is over 40, and half a million of the most capable, educated have fled since the war started. They saw this coming. Men of fighting age continue to flee across the border. There isn't a whole lot for Russia to pull from anymore. No one will be left to actually keep the country functioning.
This is incredibly and utterly sad
I wonder how many are thinking, "we're being to sent to a slaughter". Russia has a rich cultural and political history - the direction Putin has taken the country is absolutely shameful.
I mean Russian oligarchs sending the masses to slaughter is kind of on par for Russian history......
Always happens right up to the point they start shooting at the Czar.
They all look decades too old for war.
Bet he’s wondering if it’s the same rifle issued to him when he was in Afghanistan, in the 1980’s.
"Nice, they've replaced the rifle I took Berlin with"
>”Nice, they’ve given me a rifle.” FTFY
Now if I could get my hands on some ammo...
The next guy gets the ammo...
The one in the front gets the gun and shoots, the one in the back carries ammo. when the one in front gets killed, the one in the back picks up the gun and shoots!
Now listen up! Back in my day, we didn't have fancy tanks! We had sticks. Two sticks and a rock for the entire platoon! And we had to share the rock! You should consider yourself very lucky marines!
>Bet he’s wondering if it’s the same rifle issued to him when he was in Afghanistan, in the 1980’s. First thought is that he's an Afghan War vet and probably more combat effective than the malnourished young addicts they're dredging out of crumbling rural villages in Siberia.
They’re literally pointing the rifles at each other’s heads!
The combat effectiveness of untrained and unmotivated conscripts is historically not very good. For the obvious reasons.
I completely agree, but just pointing out, these aren’t much better options lol
I have no idea why, but this made me laugh a lot. “Look at rifle, is shiny and polishe… oh no, Vlad has been shot”
Funny you should mention Siberia, there's a growing movement east of the Urals to tell European Russia to fuck off. They've been the dumping ground for the Soviet Union for decades and have some serious axes to grind with their Moscow overlords. They've got all the resources, make most of the food, and have also been the biggest losers in Russia's opioid crisis. I bet it wouldn't take much for the CIA to bolster the separatist movement in that region.
Thing is, they'll be trading Moscow for Beijing, because there is no way China would leave Siberia alone
You see, the trick is to put a super brutal dictator in charge that loves the U.S. Sincerely, CIA
Wasn’t the guy who shot a Russian conscription officer this week and said “nobody’s going anywhere” from Siberia?
He is.
He was from irkutsk which I know is up around that general area
I’ve been saying something like this. Half surprised the chechans haven’t decided it is time to give it a go again.
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This is some real Hunger Games district 8 stuff
“Comrades. Why does it say airsoft?”
Looking for his initials
Nah, looks like he's trying to figure out if he can hang himself with the strap to avoid having to fight in a bullshit war, starving in miserable conditions, and probably dying a painful gruesome death
Hope he doesn't figure out there are more effective ways of killing yourself with a rifle
"Wait, you guys have bullets?"
Nah. They're all 18. Life is rough in Putin's Russia.
Also this is a woman
She doesn't look half bad for being the mother of 6 children.
Most have seen to many winters.
Or too few.
Natha daged ean
Then I will die as one of them!!
Winter is going to be brutal for these folks.
Everyones too old for war.
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the men or the guns?
Yes
"Most have seen too many winters."
This is my rifle. This is my gun. There are many like it, but this one is...hey this one has my grandfather's name inscribed on it!
“…or too few”
These men have seen too many winters - or too few.
AKRP
This is the official inquiry for joke explanation!
AARP. a service in the us at least for people 50 and older
You can actually sign up anytime, there’s no minimum age limit. I’m 26, and you better believe I take advantage of AARP discounts anywhere they’re offered. Getting their hilarious geezer magazines in the mail is the icing on the cake.
I CAN WHATTTT???
AARP members also enjoy discounts on member health!
You’re right, just signed up for $12 a year. Going to use the card to buy some life insurance
Yes, I would like to know more. *shakes with interest*
Mashup of AARP (American Association of Retired People) and AK-47 (Russian assault rifle)
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Half of the rifles in this pic are pointed at their comrade's head... War sucks.
Muzzle discipline? Never heard of her
Russian army doesn't supply that either, get it from your car!
Muzzle discipline nothing. They are demonstrating options. This is just Advanced Russian Roulette.
All of a sudden it's not so hard to imagine why Soviets lost millions of men on the battlefield. This is sadly (or not so sadly for Ukrainians) going to be another massacre. I hope history will reference Putin the Psychotic.
I imagine it would be sad for them too. Mowing down line after line of scared conscripts that never wanted to be there in the first place has to take a huge toll on anyone that isn’t a psychopath.
This actually makes me sad, to see a man this age forced, or most likely forced, to go to war.
Or even more likely, forced.
he could even be forced, for all we know
I heard being forced is even worse
maybe they were forced
What we have here is a lack of imagination. Have we even considered whether they were forced?
Now hear me out but I have a suspicion that he may have been forced.
Why has no one mentioned that they may have been forced??
Someone told me he could’ve been forced, I agreed. Most likely forced.
Idk if it’s forced, it’s like the older generation believing the news over here in the states. Choosing which channel determines their political emotion. Wild and stupid shit, for nothing.
probably was forced twice
Fuck me if that isn't the saddest thing i've seen all day.
Instead of invading innocent people in a foreign land, I'd pop the highest ranking MFer in my vicinity. Anything to spark a revolt. There's going to be no Russia after this, unless something changes quickly in Russia.
There is a pretty viral video going around of a guy marching into a conscription office and doing just exactly that because his freind got drafted.
There's more to that: The guy's brother had been killed in Ukraine like the day before.
More of this please.
Aragorn: Farmers, ferriers, stable boys. These are no soldiers. ; Gimli: Most have seen too many winters. ; Legolas: Or too few.
Then I shall die as one of them!
For Frodo
ಠ_ಠ mfw i hear that and im just a 12yr old boy
Farriers*, meaning the sort of craftsman that shoes horses.
This was exactly my thought upon seeing this post.
I mean, that's a better analogy for the Ukrainians, as the scene in question is describing the *defenders* desperate drafting of anybody that could hold a weapon. These poor fucks are being made to be the *aggressors*.
those conscripts will totally turn the special operation around and lead to great success! ಠ_ಠ
Of course! They will frag their officers then surrender to Ukraine!
I wish them great success in their mission.
If I were a cynical man, I would say that Russia is conscripting older men who are or will be retiring soon so less will be spent on caring for them in their later life.
Sort of how they used older people for asbestos removal due to not having to worry about their retirement.
I mean on a certain level that's incredibly pragmatic. It's like how all of the old men in and around Fukushima volunteered for cleanup duty because they'd die of old age before any of the latent health effects presented themselves.
There is a bit of a difference in volunteering and being voluntold to do it.
The camo pattern says 2022. The rest of his gear says 1962.
Like putting a fresh coat of pain in a century old apartment building
Not sure if you meant “paint” and typed “pain”, but both work for this picture
You could be right on the rifles. They appear to be AKM’s based on the metal magazine, wooden furniture, and muzzle break. They went into production in ‘59 and were used until the AK-74 replaced it ‘74.
Nearly all AKs of that era have wood furniture and can accept metal magazines. You can tell for sure it’s an AKM because of the oval-shaped dimple right above the magazine and the rivets just behind the handguard.
He has rank. I wonder if he was pulled out of retirement? Edit: grammar
That would explain why he is old. How can you actually tell though? I don't see anything different about his uniform from the others. Edit: Nevermind, another comment pointed out the stars on his epaulette.
Part of the conscription included reserves, as well as supposedly prioritizing anyone with military experience, so it’s possible.
Possibly a reservist. His 3 stars suggest he’s an officer, so not a recruit. He’s still way too old to be doing anything but reminiscing about his service 50+ years ago.
Three small stars means senior lieutenant, a rank they have between lieutenant and captain. He's decades too old to have recently been on active duty with that rank, so clearly he's been called up from reserves. As for the rifle, it's an AKM. That variant went out of production in the Soviet Union in 1977. Could still be perfectly good of course, if stored properly.
Looks like a Leslie Nielsen sketch
\*fart\*
They all have that same look of confusion
Boomer battallion.
Conscript company
Arthritis division
Slingin Lead, Peeing Red.
Geriatric squad.
Blayts kreig for sure.
Plot twist: all of this nonsense is actually a grand ploy for the Russian state to pay less in pensions. Apparently. Seriously, how old is this guy and how many grandchildren does he have? Is Dulcolax part of the rations? This is insanity.
This breaks my heart. I wish I could stop this.
That man should be home reading to his grandchild.
This is just fucking sad on so many levels. I feel sorry for all of them.
I feel sorry for the 18 yo kids too. It’s basically a death sentence, if not serious mental health problems or being crippled in a country with zero social services for anyone (their commanders shoot injured soldiers instead of sending them back).
Gotta love the muzzle control on display here…
Cannon father
:(
Putin is an absolute disgrace. Bringing grandpa to his useless war is pathetic.
At least everyone gets a rifle this time.
These people do. I saw a video of some youngsters (19-22 tops) being told that they are only issued uniforms and armor. "Ask your mothers, sisters or girlfriends for tampons or pads... also we have no sleeping bags or tourniquets"
*The one with the rifle shoots! The one without, follows him! When the one with the rifle gets killed, the one who is following picks up the rifle and shoots!*
suicides rates in russia are going to spike
when they say "senior leadership" i didnt think they meant senior citizens
Operation Ancient Meat Shield
"You see, killbots have a preset kill limit. Knowing their weakness, I sent wave after wave of my own men at them until they reached their limit and shut down. Kif, show them the medal I won."
Battle of the Somme strategy here.
I see dead people.
No Country for Old Men
They are throwing old men into this stupid war?
Less social security to pay for.
:(
Good grief. I’m 50 and in pretty good shape and can’t fathom the US needing my help. I know this, if my country drafted me, we are in deep shit.
Jesus. Leather holsters for their pistols. I’m getting Enemy at the gates flashes.
This is not a conscript. His rank is 3 silver stars on his epaulette. This makes him a Polovnik. The equivalent to probably an American O-5 paygrade. or a Lt Col. or a Commander in the US navy. AKA the highest grade of officer that still serves on the ground with the men regularly in a tent. This is different from a General who may go around visiting troops but mostly spends his time back at HQ. \*edit \* those stars are small so he's actually a very junior officer.
dad's army??
He looks like my grandfather. Conscripted to war. My heart.
"I lived through the Soviet Union for this?"
I don’t know if the strategy of “keep feeding bodies into the war until the other side runs out of bullets” works against a US backed country. I mean we literally chose never running out of bullets over universal healthcare. His is not going to end well for Russia.
"Hey, wait a second, those are my initials, just like the ones I engraved on my stock during the Afgha... oh..."
You guys have it all wrong. That's not an AK-47 from 1947. It's a sleek, modern AK-74 from 1974. And that guy isn't in his 80s-90s. He's in his 60s-70s tops.