Russia’s war crimes reflect population’s morality lows 

The war crimes committed by Russia’s invasion force in Ukraine are a reflection of the psychological and moral state of the country’s population, which was formed under the influence of propaganda and the government-sponsored policy of xenophobia. The latest two confirmed cases involving a brutal beheading of Ukrainian prisoners of war are a logical continuation of similar crimes committed in Syria, CAR, and Chechnya. At the same time, the extrajudicial execution of Hammadi Taha al-But by the Russians in Syria repeats the modus operandi of similar crimes that the Russians commit in Ukraine as they also involve beheading and amputation of limbs.

Russia’s gruesome war crimes not only equaled but also surpassed those committed by the Islamic State. An important difference is the lack of a religious motive for the Russians. Moreover, these acts go against religious norms traditional for Christianity, while most Russian regular army servicemen and Wagner mercenaries are Christians.

Thus, it is possible to conclude that the war crimes committed by the Russians are a reflection of the current morality level in Russia, as well as the effect of malicious propaganda.

Kremlin’s propaganda incites intolerance toward foreigners, calls for the destruction of other nations, and cultivates popular support for armed aggression. Starting with the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine, Russian TV outlets have been echoing Hitler’s rhetoric regarding Jewish communities, calling for their destruction. Eight years of such propaganda efforts affected the population’s mentality given that the average Russians were initially prepared to embrace such narratives.

Despite the ostentatious religiosity displayed by the Kremlin, Russian society is profoundly immoral and atheistic. Christianity in Russia has long been closely intertwined with the government machine, having become an efficient instrument of influence and propaganda pursuing the interests of the authorities and justifying their decisions.

That is why the Russian population perceives rather positively the calls made by Russian propaganda pundits to exterminate other ethnic groups and start a war. Average Russians justify their attitude by the need to launch new crusades against those who do not share Russian chauvinism or profess the same set of values. This peculiarity of Russia’s society today determines the Kremlin’s modus operandi.

The West remains delusional about Russia’s cultural psychology, putting excessive focus on Russian literature, which conceals the true values of this nation:

– cruelty,

– dependence on authorities and lack of independent thinking,

– desire to dominate the weak,

– xenophobia,

– rejection of ideas of democracy and freedom alien to them,

– envy,

We believe that the Russian authorities encourage such atrocious crimes for two reasons:

1. To make the enemy fear getting into combat with the Russians. It appears that in the 21st century, Moscow employs the tactics traditional for the Huns and Golden Horde, compensating for the low morale of its soldiers and its multi-ethnic composition amid general xenophobia, which affects cohesion. However, we believe that this tactic will prove ineffective in Ukraine, only further deepening the hostility toward the Russians in Ukraine in the future. By encouraging xenophobia, the Kremlin falls into a trap, becoming for Europe a new personification of the Hitler regime, whose crimes will affect the way Russia is perceived over the next 50 years.

2. To provide a motivation boost for the Russian military. The command’s tacit consent to looting and rape gives the Russians an additional incentive to go to war: to improve their financial situation and/or to address various mental complexes. Brutal killings are also a way of satisfying a perverse curiosity, a fight for a more privileged position in a social group, an attempt to win attention in a community that professes the values of a typical gang.

Russian society has more than a hundred-year history of being penetrated by a gang world with its peculiar way of life. This is reflected in people’s preferences in literature, music, and cinema, also being associated with a significant share of the population that served time in prison for criminal offenses or political stance. Thus, the values and traditions dominating in prisons and labor camps have made their way deep into Russian society. The fact that the Wagner Group and, subsequently, the regular army started to conscript convicts, contributed even more to the criminal traditions engulfing military ranks, which also somewhat explains gruesome crimes being committed.

In our opinion, beheadings of POWs and other war crimes are a reflection of Russian society and its moral principles, regardless of whether these atrocities are committed by Wagner’s mercenaries or regular army forces.