Viktor Zubko said that following the spring draft Russian Armed Forces will have three different groups of military personnel, that is, those serving two years, 18 months, and one-year compulsory terms. He believes this will lead to a spate of hazing including moral humiliation and physical abuse.
"We forecast a spate of hazing including physical abuse between soldiers. Not all officers and military units are ready for the situation...and we are concerned about it." he said.
"I hope that with the shift to a one-year military service term and an increase in the number of students being called up, we will be able to make the problem less acute," he said adding that the role of officers is key in preventing violations.
Hazing became a high-profile issue in the Armed Forces following an incident involving Private Andrei Sychyov, who had both legs amputated after being beaten and tortured on New Year's Eve 2005 by fellow conscripts and a sergeant in the south Urals city of Chelyabinsk.
The Union of Soldier Mothers' Committee argues that officers also play a role in hazing, a tradition stretching back to the Soviet period.
The organization estimates that around 1,000 soldiers die every year as a result of non-combat injuries, with around half of these as a result of suicide.
