Russian women have been warned that fighters could return home as sexual sadists in need of violent gratification.
A training manual for military wives highlights the profound psychological changes faced by combatants deployed on the front lines.
“The changes may manifest in a temporary intolerance to touch and a decrease in sexual desire,” the guide says.
“However, they can also be expressed in increased sexual arousal, the need for frequent sexual acts and a predisposition to aggressive sexual forms.”
Women are told to give their traumatized men a chance to “defrost” after returning alive from Putin’s cannon fodder front in Ukraine, where hundreds of thousands have died.
Russian reports Sergei Shakhmatov (pictured), released to fight in Ukraine, had been sent back to prison for 17 years for raping two schoolchildren aged 10 and 12 upon his return to Russia.
Tsyren-Dorzhi Tsyrenzhapov, 42, was murdered again after returning from Ukraine. He had previously been convicted of killing and dismembering 18-year-old Ekaterina Skvortsova, but he was pardoned for the war.
Ekaterina Skvortsova was brutally murdered and dismembered by Tsyrenzhapov
Men must “get used to the fact that the danger has passed and that there will be no stabbing in the back,” says the leader of the All-Russian Popular Front, a pro-war organization created by Putin for “proactive citizens” in 2011.
‘It is not advisable to approach him suddenly, from behind. It is best to speak quietly first and then reach out and touch him.
‘If you don’t mind, hug him more often. You should make it clear to her that she can come to you at any time.
‘Here’s your hand, you’re close, and you’ll wait as long as it takes for your spouse to extend their hand to you in response.’
Women are told not to pressure returnees to tell what they experienced amid the horror of war, nor to bother them if they return disabled, as many have done.
They should never compare you to other men who may be adjusting more easily.
“It often happens that the husband, upon returning, withdraws and does not say anything,” explains the manual.
‘In this case, you should try to make him want to talk. [by saying] ‘Your experience is very important. And you can share it whenever you see fit.’
‘Just stand there and show him that when he is ready to talk, you will respond to his desire and listen. Learn to listen to the silence and just be there.’
They should not criticize fighters who return home even if they put bars on their apartment windows to feel safer, or sleep clothed, or behave inappropriately.
“It is important that you understand that behind this lies the need for security, which was lost during the fighting,” they tell the women.
‘Bear it [and say] ‘If you want to install bars, do so if it is safer for you.’
Spouses are urged not to say that they “understand” the returnees, but rather, “I can’t even imagine what you’ve been through.”
Pardoned murderer and rapist Vladislav Kanyus with his ex-girlfriend and victim Vera Pekhteleva (right), whom he stabbed 111 times, raped and strangled
Vera Pekhteleva, one of the many victims killed by Russian soldiers, was stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend.
Artem Bukotin, 32, is a war returnee believed to have carried out a double murder in Russia’s Rostov region.
War returnee Ivan Rossomakhin (pictured) is sentenced to 22 years in prison for the rape and murder of 85-year-old Yulia Buiskikh.
They are told the men may need specialist psychological help after seeing the brutality unleashed by Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Tell your husband that PTSD is a normal reaction of the body after a special military operation and that professional help can help him cope,” the guide says. ‘Make sure he doesn’t blame himself.
“Try to explain that PTSD is not a weakness or failure, but a common reaction to stress and trauma, and that it is important to get help to maintain your well-being.”
The manual has been criticized by human rights activist Alena Popova, who said Russian women were expected to solve the mess created by Putin’s war.
She said: “In essence, women are told to ‘suck it up, you have to be there no matter what he does.'” There is no doubt that PTSD is “real” and that war is “scary.” “. Destroys and destroys the psyche of any person.
‘But a woman shouldn’t have to endure everything because her husband has PTSD. Her aggression even more so. Aggression and violence – any violence – will never be justified by anything.
“The experience of previous wars has shown that the state does not care about the psyche of the people it sends there.”
She complained that the pro-Kremlin manual told women they had to be “proud” and support their men “even if he uses violence.”
Former police officer Vladislav Biryukov, sentenced to 16 years for the murder of his wife Anna Biryukova, was amnestied after participating in the war with Ukraine
Vladimir Putin pardoned Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, 55, (pictured), cruel murderer of prominent Russian journalist and human rights activist Anna Politkovskaya.
The murderer of Russian journalist and human rights defender Anna Politkovskaya (pictured) was pardoned after agreeing to fight in Ukraine
A Putin war fighter, Igor Sofonov, 38, went on a rampage with an accomplice Maxim Bochkarev, 37, killing six in a horrific massacre after returning to his home in the Karelia region of northern Russia.
‘The families he and his system destroyed… now apparently have to thank for it. And women, in his opinion, must endure and obey. But women will not tolerate this silently. And his voices are getting louder,” he said.
Hundreds of murders, rapes and beatings have been committed by war retirees, including convicts freed and pardoned by Putin for becoming fighters for Ukraine itself.
Putin has proudly called his fighters in Ukraine the “new elite.”
Sexual violence has been a feature of the behavior of returnees from a military that has been accused of using rape as a weapon of war in Ukraine.
Former Wagner mercenary Sergei Shakhmarov, 42, who fought for Putin in Ukraine, was convicted of raping two girls aged 10 and 12 in Novosibirsk, Russia, and sentenced to 17 years in a maximum security penal colony. .
Another returnee, Yury Gavrilov, 33, allegedly lured an 11-year-old girl to his apartment and committed acts of rape and torture in a two-hour ordeal.