MOSCOW, May 29 (RIA Novosti) - A total of 341 Russian servicemen committed suicide in 2007, Russia's chief military prosecutor said on Thursday.

Suicides remain the leading cause of non-combat deaths in Russia's Armed Forces, ahead of crimes, accidents and hazing.

Hazing became a high-profile issue in the Armed Forces following an incident involving Private Andrei Sychyov, who had his genitals and both legs amputated after being beaten and tortured on New Year's Eve 2005 by fellow soldiers in the south Urals city of Chelyabinsk.

The Russian Soldiers' Mothers Committee has estimated that around 1,000 soldiers die every year as a result of non-combat situations.