Customer Reviews

One Soldier's War

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Arkady Babchenko is a journalist, but he came to that career after having served 7 years in both Chechen campaigns. In his introduction, he explains that he has changed some names, reported some events he only heard about but didn't see, created composite characters out of several, and changed the timeline of certain events in the telling of the stories, as he tried to bring all the stories together to form a book. As it is, the stories are disjointed and disconnected, some incredibly short and some extremely long, each an interlude in an interminable conflict. Yet they come together to sketch a frightening, hauntingly fractured portrait of a war that is otherwise not well known in the West.

Babchenko's episodic style seems to recall, perhaps quite consciously, the greatest Russian novel by a war journalist, Isaac Babel's Red Cavalry. Both are unflinchingly brutal in their descriptions of human decay, moral and physical, of the blood and filth that attaches to bodies in conflict, and the corrupt souls that flock to it. He says multiple times that no one can be made to understand war if they haven't seen it, and that every soldier who served in Chechnya left their life there; the book is a personal catharsis for a man who cannot leave behind what he took from the battlefield.

For anyone who reads it, it's a profoundly moving attempt to explain why.

Arkady Babchenko's book about his participation in the wars in Chechnya was a rare find for me. I've been greatly interested in these modern and current wars but the literature on them is quit limited and usually comes with a bias/agenda. Accounts from the soldiers themselves are rare, as rare as those from the Soviet-Afghan war. Such an account will more than likely come with a bias of its own, but there is a distinct difference between a primary source (an eyewitness account in this case) and a secondary source with an agenda. Since, in this case, the author is regularly critical of both the government and military high command, the majority of this book simply deals with what it takes for a soldier to survive such a war.

For those interested in this account, you should be warned it is not an easy read. War is never glamorous, and the type of war Russian soldiers found themselves in during the Chechen conflict regularly involved atrocities, torture, wanton destruction and murder. That being said, the book is separated into three parts. The first part consists of mini-chapters, 1-3 pages each, with no real linear narrative to connect them to each other. Just quick "sound bytes" of what war was like. These quick glimpses into the war are probably what stayed with the author long after he had returned home. Arkady was drafted and participated in the first Chechen war, then volunteers for the second. He claims that while his body may have left the war his soul had stayed. The overall translation is good, but not great, as there are a few mistakes and omissions which tend to take away from the storyline(s). But this can be overlooked as some of the events recalled here are simply too powerful to forget, more than once I had to reread entire paragraphs just to make sure I understood what the author was saying.

The period of time spent in Mozdok is eye opening. Hard as it might be to believe, soldiers do go through a hazing process when they first arrive in the army. It was the same during the Soviet Union and it seems to have lasted after the fall of the USSR. Most of the men in my family served in the Soviet Army and quite a few had something to say about the hazing process. Granted, I have never heard of the extremely barbaric experiences described here, but that might be because when my family members served the Soviet Union was not at war. But it isn't hard to believe that such beatings, torture, and humiliation took place on a regular basis if you have been keeping up with news coming out of Russia. Suicides by soldiers have been quite high and many take place because boys of 18, 19, or 20 simply cannot take being beaten on a regular basis for months on end. The author explains how he learned to deal with it or try to avoid it, some of his friends went AWOL, while another spent time in a hospital after suffering a broken finger during his latest beating. The chaotic situation the regiment he belonged to is also telling of the time. The mid 1990s were hard on Russia and her citizens. Corruption was widespread and few cared about anyone but themselves. Soldiers sold weapons and ammunition to the same Chechens that used said weapons and ammunition to then kill Russian soldiers in Chechnya, everyone was looking out for themselves.

I won't go into details about the many other stories you'll find within the pages of this book but suffice it to say, it's worth your time if you have an interest in what someone serving in the current Russian Army might go through. While each story is relative to the author and should not be generalized, the fact that such events can occur only speak to the severity of the situation young Russian boys might have found themselves in during the first and second Chechen Wars.

Soldiers War details hell on earth in a clear laconic voice of someone who was there and now can never leave. The descriptions of the war are so graphic and the detailing of the confusion of military and political leadership are simply chilling. The CIA was wrong about the evil empire's military prowess, I think all the Russians hoped to do was absorb enough bullets from the West and walk in with the remainder.
Worth a close read.

Arkady Babchenko went to war in Chechnya twice - once as a conscript and once as a volunteer. Perhaps one of the best ways to describe his experiences would be to say, "oh, the horror." Because there are some vividly horrific descriptions of combat in the war torn city of Grozny and other environs. There is also much here about the lack of effective leadership in the Russian army, as well as the eternal hazing, torture and general mistreatment of new recruits by the old-timers. While Babchenko writes well enough, the narrative is perhaps too long, long enough that all the "awfulness" simply becomes tedious.

But another theme which continually rises to the surface here is the anger that veterans of the Chechen war felt, an anger, bitterness and frustration at how the people back home just go on with their lives, pretty much oblivious to the sacrifices being made every day by soldiers just a couple hours plane ride away. As a crippled veteran in a Moscow subway tells the author -

"I don't understand this world. These people. Why are they alive? What for? ... They want to rip everyone off, stash away as much money as they can, and that's it. So many boys died, real kids, these people here fritter their lives away ... Pointless people. A whole world full of pointless people ..."

Babchenko also talks about the "addictiveness" of war and combat, the rush it can bring. Much of these same sentiments were voiced by British officer, Patrick Hennessey, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, in his book, The Junior Officers' Reading Club. Because these feelings are universal. War is indeed hell, whether it's in Chechnya, Afghanistan, or Iraq, and regardless of when it happens. Babchenko's "One Soldier's War" is perhaps in truth every soldier's war. This book is one soldier's attempt to expiate the demons he carried back home with him. - Tim Bazzett, author of SOLDIER BOY: AT PLAY IN THE ASA

Wow ----- never thought I would be caught up in a book until 1:30 a.m. This is an account that I will never forget. It allows a non-military person a rare look into the workings of what must be one of the most brutal military organizations in the world. The hardships are probably overcome by fear, love of mother Russia, and personal comradeship. Certainly there should be no loyalty to such a corrupt organization. A remarkable account. This book should be read by anyone with an interest in military issues or contemporary Russia. The style of writing is objective, not editorial. Young Arklady Babchenko simply tells it as it happened. Many thanks to Nick Allen for bringing this to the English-speaking world.

I purchased this book among twenty or so others to learn more about the First and Second Chechen wars. In all honesty, this book has been one of the best I have read about the subject, no doubt due to the author having took part in the fighting there. He provides a raw, untainted account of what the journalists and public were not privy to during this time. His writing style is extremely effective, making the book a surefire "page-turner". Highly recommended!

In this first book written by a young Russian law graduate, who winds up serving two tours in Chechnya, we see how brutal and poorly run the modern Russian army is. The Russian army depicted is the exact opposite of the US army: conscripts versus all-volunteer, poorly trained, discipline enforced through physical violence at all levels including majors and colonels, and rampant theft of supplies and equipment. The book is organized as a series of independent chapters, which aren't well connected. I would recommend the book, but don't expect a highly polished, professional narrative.

Before I continue: The tale told is unique and compelling; and I would read it again if I hadn't already read it. It's well worth reading, and recommended.

But this is a spot for reviews, so some critical words are justified.

Some reviewers have questioned how accurate the account really is (what is described in the book is indeed colloquially speaking 'unbelievable'). The author admits that some characters are composites, etc, but insists that everything described happened. Not having been there one cannot really know for sure - I share the skepticism, but am inclined to believe the author. This was a dysfunctional army, in a dysfunctional country, in a dysfunctional war.

The manner of the telling leaves something to be desired. The style is quite laconic at times - leaving partsof the account almost lifeless. The account is also rather blinkered - very little peripheral or broader context is ever provided. If nothing else, one wishes for a clearer sense of the timeline of this 'one soldier's war', or some sense of progression in his experience. This may all be inherent and intentional style - a mirror of the soldiers situation and psychology. But there's a hint at a pulse e.g. when describing the draw back to the army, and the book would be livelier read if it was evident more often. Perhaps something is lost in the translation.

But although perhaps an imperfect work, a compelling read well worth picking up.

Mr. Babachenko carries us into world of suffering and agony in a way that very few writers could ever accomplish. There are people who unfairly slander this book without giving him his fair share of well deserved praise. In the rare case that you have any doubts as to the validity of his ideas on the rigidity of dedovshina, I recommend you view the following short videos: [...].
What is clearly seen in this book is that a culture of patriarchal violence does exist within the Russian military establishment. How this culture of violence impacts the minds of Russia's warriors is a subject that has not been covered in sufficient detail within the existing popular literature on war. Mr. Babachenko attempts to fill this void and in doing so paints us a vivid if not despondent view of life in the Russian armed forces. He is able to mimic Tolstoy in that he paints a picture in which soldiers are not in control of their futures but are rather awaiting their unalterable fates. In the annals of contemporary war literature this book finds its niche in its visceral rejection of the cool and always in control soldier and instead paints a narrative of human beings who are justifiably terrified of the circumstances that they find themselves in. Other books such as "One Bullet Away; the Making of Marine Officer" and "Joker One" reach this level of psychic turmoil and as such are powerful reads. Mr. Babachenko, I feel one ups these well written books not because of anything particularly noble but rather because of the sad reality that he poignantly captures.

Babchenko's book is more of a memoir for a veteran of both the Chechen Wars. We follow him from his conscription for the first war and the total mess that it was to his return in the second war. He highlights the brutality of the Russian troops towards their own soldiers, the corruption that was rampant in the Russian Federal Forces, and the despair of the ordinary soldier thrust into the war with only having fired his rifle TWICE in training!
Definitely a good read and highly recommended!