MOSCOW, MARCH 19 (RIA Novosti) - A total of 37 servicemen died in the Russian Armed Forces in February 2007, the Defense Ministry said Monday.
The ministry's official Web site said 17 of them committed suicide. Another serviceman died in a hazing case.
Seven soldiers were killed, including due to negligence, one death being caused by the mishandling of a weapon.
Three servicemen were killed in the Chechen Republic, where illegal armed groups have continued operating since the active phase of a war ended earlier in the 2000s.
Ten people died in accidents in February, including one in a road accident.
In January, the army death toll was 35, including 26 suicides.
The ministry said last December that a total of 514 servicemen had died in 18,198 accidents and other non-combat-related incidents in the Russian Armed Forces since the beginning of 2006.
A report posted on the ministry's Web site said the majority of the deaths - 211 soldiers - were caused by accidents, while 193 servicemen committed suicide. Twenty-two deaths were caused by abuse of rank and hazing attacks.
In addition, 56 soldiers died in traffic accidents and 20 were killed by civilians.
The elevated number of casualties and hazing incidents became high-profile issues in the Armed Forces last year following a scandal involving Private Andrei Sychyov, who had both legs amputated after allegedly being beaten and tortured during the New Year's holidays in his Army unit in the south Urals city of Chelyabinsk.
