The video of masked men gunning down the audience at the Crocus City Hall concert venue was unbearable. But another shocking image soon followed. Footage published on social media linked to Russian security services showed one of the suspects being beaten with the butt of a rifle and his ear cut off.
Later, another image was released. A photo shows another suspect lying on the floor in a school gymnasium with wires attached to his genitals. Photos and videos from the courtroom showed full evidence of detainees being tortured.
Strangely enough, ISIS-K also released its own video shot by terrorists in a concert hall. Terrorist groups often create and spread videos of atrocities to project their power, recruit supporters, and instill fear in their enemies. Violence has become a means of expressing ultimate power over the lives of civilians who are suddenly defenseless before brutal and inhuman forces aimed at destruction.
When agents of the Russian state publish such images, they essentially do the same thing. Even if their violence is directed against suspected terrorists, their proud demonstrations demonstrate to everyone that the state has complete power over human life through law enforcement. Humans are reduced to bodies that can be destroyed, tortured, and humiliated, often gleefully and theatrically. No longer done in secret, violence is out in the open, celebrated and enjoyed.
Russian police, FSB, and prison authorities have used torture before. in recent years, evidence Prison staff revealed widespread rape or threats of rape against male inmates. Here the state embraces the worst practices of Russia’s traditional prison subculture: the violent denigration of oppressed castes. However, such violence was largely hidden from public view, even though videos of torture were leaked.
Torture of prisoners of war and terrorist suspects in the 21st century is not limited to Russia. Brutal footage of the torture of Iraqi prisoners by US military officers at Abu Ghraib has sparked a wave of fear and disgust around the world. Prisoners were sexually humiliated, and some were attacked by dogs and electrocuted.
All this was photographed by the torturers, who happily smiled for the cameras recording these atrocities. These images leaked to the press were not intended for public viewing. The American state sought to distance itself from this act and prosecuted the perpetrators.
However, recent events in Russia are very different. The latest images were distributed by state security officials themselves, and President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitri Peskov declined to comment when asked about the torture allegations.
The official (and officially condoned) nature of the Russian state’s inhumane treatment of detainees is extremely significant. By glorifying torture, the Russian state is reverting to medieval forms of punishment and showing that it is no longer a modern, civilized state. In such a society, like the philosopher Michael, Foucault The punishment shown was Inflicted directly and publicly on the body through stakes, scaffolds, and pillories. MModern states are moving away from this theatrics and toward more humane forms of punishment. The spectacle of human suffering has been hidden from public view.
The public resurgence of torture coincides with a carnival-like celebration of violence by representatives of the Russian state. Since the beginning of the war against Ukraine, state propagandists and politicians have reveled in rhetorical violence, calling for the destruction of Ukrainian cities, the killing of Ukrainian children, and even the use of nuclear weapons. Citizens are invited to share in the grotesque celebration of violence, death and destruction with journalists such as Vladimir Soloviev and Margarita Simonyan, and national representatives such as Foreign Press Secretary Maria Zakharova and Security Council President Dmitry Medvedev. has been done.
All enemies and traitors are promised vengeful and visceral punishment. President Putin promised to “hunt down” members of the Russian volunteer forces fighting for Ukraine. Such a clear threat of extrajudicial violence by the Russian head of state shows how little emphasis is placed on the rule of law and normal judicial procedures.
Another sign of the descent into pre-modern forms of punishment is the increasing use of traditional rituals of shame and humiliation. Modern states long ago left behind the use of shame as a means of public control and replaced it with more rational and humane methods of control and punishment.
In Russia today, people are not shamed in public squares, but on television and social media. In recent years, the practice of forced apologies has spread across Russia, starting with the regime of Ramzan Kadyrov in Chechnya. Ordinary citizens and celebrities have committed various aberrations, from “disrespecting” national symbols to making subversive statements to wearing the wrong clothes “contrary to traditional Russian values.” I am forced to apologize.
All these processes have been developing in Russia for many years under President Putin. But the war brought them to the forefront. Parallel to the rise of medieval punishment, another reversal of the modern state is also observed. Over the years, private forms of violence became increasingly acceptable, while modern states sought to eliminate it.
The state now accepts anyone who could help the war effort, especially those with a history of violence. People who were previously considered pathological are now highly regarded. Evgeny Prigozhin openly invited the murderers to join his private army. Following in his footsteps, the Russian state welcomed criminals, including those convicted of violent crimes, and granted amnesty and suspended sentences if they agreed to go to war.
Neo-Nazi extremists in Russia are also allowed to be members of militias and the state itself. One of those who tortured the Tajik suspect in the video was wearing far-right insignia.according to Andrei KartapolovThe Defense Commissioner said that when Russia’s neo-Nazi volunteers fight against Ukraine, this means “they have already modified their methods.” The “excesses” of these individuals are tolerated, even if they may bring bad publicity for a government that claims to be fighting “Nazis” in Ukraine.
Russia’s slide into the Dark Ages is deeply worrying, especially as the revival of medieval punishments and the legitimization of private violence coincide with the widespread use of modern surveillance technologies. In Russia, especially in large cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg, total population control is approaching China’s levels. The possibilities created by this strange combination of pre-modern and modern power practices are truly dystopian.
The views expressed in opinion articles do not necessarily reflect the position of The Moscow Times.
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