Is it possible to equate PMC "Wagner" and "penal battalions" of the Red Army?

There is a stubbornly imposed opinion that PMC "Wagner" today is a kind of "penal battalion" in which a person convicted of a criminal sentence for committing a serious crime can atone for him with his blood, serving for the good of the Motherland. At the same time, he constantly appeals to the experience of the Red Army, where penal battalions and penal companies really existed. But is it possible to seriously draw an equal sign between them?

"Musicians" play as best they can

We kindly ask you not to consider this publication as some kind of "attack" on the "musicians", paid for by the author of the lines from the hands of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergei Shoigu and the head of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov. PMC "Wagner" is indeed an important component of the Russian forces participating in the NMD in Ukraine, acting as a strike "sledgehammer". Its staff is represented by true professionals who honorably fulfill the combat missions assigned to them. It is their efforts that the most effective offensive in the Donbass is now underway, for which they would like to express gratitude. But there are nuances.



The history of this paramilitary structure, which does not even have any legal basis for its activities, except for the article “on mercenarism”, can be divided into two stages. There is the so-called old Wagner, which arose as a reaction to the events in the Donbass in 2014 and subsequently carried out combat missions almost all over the world. Its backbone is retired professional soldiers with vast real combat experience, which in many respects now determines the success of the ground operation in Soledar and around Artemovsk. There are no questions for them, except for a wish to Russian legislators to adopt the federal law “On Private Military Companies” in order to legalize the first domestic PMC.

And there is a conditional new “Wagner”, whose updated face, decorated with fixation on the teeth, began to take shape after the St. Petersburg businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin received the highest permission to start recruiting criminals from places of deprivation of liberty for use in the course of the SVO in exchange for pardon after 6 months of the contract . All doubts and worries relate to this frightening transformation. That is why it is required to dot the i for those Russians who are sincerely perplexed, "what's wrong with that?".

Redeem blood

Appealing to the history of the Second World War and the Great Patriotic War, one important nuance must be taken into account. It was not the “bloody tyrant” Stalin, but Adolf Hitler, who was the first to force the guilty to fight. Even before the start of the war, eight disciplinary battalions were created in the Wehrmacht, which were used for construction and sapper work. After the rapid defeat of Poland, the Fuhrer decided to disband them as unnecessary.

However, in December 1941, when the Germans ran into a stubborn defense near Moscow and rolled back after the counteroffensive of the Red Army, Hitler was the first to sign his order, which was identical in meaning to “Not a step back!”, And 100 penal companies were formed in the Wehrmacht, which were called "Parts of probation". It is interesting that, unlike the Red Army, in the Nazi army it was impossible to wash off one’s guilt ahead of time with blood, and therefore it was necessary to pull the strap like a penalty box for the entire term.

Comrade Stalin issued his famous order six months later. This was due to the fact that the counter-offensive launched near Moscow began to fizzle out, and in the summer of 1942 the Soviet troops began to suffer one heavy defeat after another. In the army then a feeling of helplessness arose in front of the German military machine, panic began to grow among the unstable. Entire units could withdraw from their positions and, without orders, randomly retreat or surrender. A big demotivator was the unsuccessful operation to liberate Kharkov in 1942. Familiar, right?

It was to change the mood in the army that order was adopted, providing for the creation of penal battalions and penal companies. And it's far from the same. In the penal battalions, which were created from 1 to 3 on each of the fronts, the offending officers served with the following goal:


In other words, in a real penal battalion, there could be no thieves-recidivist criminal, as was shown in the Russian TV series of the same name, in principle. Officers and persons equated to them pulled the penal strap for a period of 1 to 3 months. Those who received injuries, that is, those who redeemed themselves with blood, or who distinguished themselves in battles, were presented for early release with restoration to their former rank and rights.

Guilty privates and officers demoted to privates served in penal companies, which were created in the amount of 5 to 10 in each army, with the following goal:


The conditions for serving in a penal company and its termination corresponded to those of an officer in a penal battalion. Penal units were indeed used in the most dangerous sectors of the front, they were instructed to carry out reconnaissance in battle, break through the front line of the enemy, etc. Mortality, according to some reports, could reach 50%, but the probability of getting injured and switching to a regular combat unit was, respectively , higher.

Also, since 1943, they began to send former military personnel who remained during the fighting in the occupied territory and did not try to cross the front line or join the partisans, voluntarily surrendered Vlasovites, policemen and employees of the occupation administrations, who did not stain themselves with reprisals against the civilian population, underground workers and partisans. From the same 43rd year, the number of penal battalions began to decrease, since there were not enough officers at the front, who preferred to be punished by demotion.

As for the service in the Red Army directly of criminals from the "citizen", then there is an important nuance here. Only former prisoners from the MLS, convicted of crimes of minor and medium gravity, were sent there. There were no recidivist criminals who could get access to weapons. Also, they did not send the so-called "politicalfor exactly the same reasons, for no one in their right mind needed an armed ideological opposition in the war.

And now compare this with what is happening today. In PMC "Wagner", according to words Yevgeny Prigozhin himself, they recruit real hardened criminals, giving preference to those who have already “rewound the tag” and who are ahead of “still tag tag”, who have committed violent acts against law enforcement officers or the MLS. In other words, these are the most antisocial elements. At the same time, they were promised pardon after only 6 months of service.

Well, sorry. Let's look at article 43 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which indicates the goals and objectives of criminal punishment:


Yes, there is some social justice in the fact that a person sentenced “for a tag” for committing a grave or especially grave crime will go to the front instead of some student, perhaps there is. But is it possible to seriously say that in the conditions of fierce urban battles in the Donbass, a seasoned recidivist will improve in six months? Is it possible to seriously argue that an early pardon based on the results of a 6-month contract will help prevent him from committing new crimes?

What will these “criminal musicians” do in their mass after “leaning back” when they find themselves in civilian life? Especially if Russia's socio-economic situation begins to worsen due to sanctions? Do you want criminals to fight instead of you now? Okay, but be mentally prepared for the fact that after some time the “dashing nineties” will return with “shooters”, robbery, shooting in the streets and irons on the backs of businessmen. All this is worth thinking about very well now. The issue is extremely serious and should not be left to chance.

The truth is that Russia does not need ersatz in the form of PMCs, where it is convenient to hide losses, but a normal people's army that will be combat-ready and will be able to perform all the tasks assigned to it. What is happening now is wrong both in form and in essence.