Experts warn: “Danger for Russian society”. Alexander Mamayev’s return from the Ukrainian front ended in tragedy. During a party the 44-year-old got drunk and stabbed his wife in front of their children. He thought his wife wanted to grab money from his pants pocket. People who know Mamayev, who hails from a town in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region, told the court that before the war he was a calm man who “wouldn’t mind a fly”. It is just one example of the crimes committed by those who participated in the Russian invasion of Ukraine after returning home.

This often happens under the influence of alcohol. Another example is the case of Sergeant Stanislav Jonkin. He wanted to celebrate last year his leave from the front in a nightclub. According to him, a fight broke out and Yonkin fired a flare gun. The flare he dropped caused a fire. 13 people lost their lives.

Post-traumatic stress disorder

According to Russian-language online outlet “Vertska”, those who have participated in the war have committed 190 crimes in two years, including 55 murders. Most of the perpetrators were drunk. They later complained of uncontrollable violent outbursts. According to psychologists, these are signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Reports on criminal offenses in Russia show that many of the crimes were committed by former mercenaries of Wagner’s private army. Russian authorities have launched a program to treat those who took part in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and returning from the front suffer from stress disorders. There are so many sufferers that not everyone can be helped.

Additionally, many service members with PTSD refuse help. According to a study by the Bekhterev Psychoneurological Research Institute in St. Petersburg, between 3% and 11% of war veterans may develop post-traumatic stress disorder. Last year the institute sent treatment methods to various institutions, and the Russian authorities announced the creation of corresponding rehabilitation centers. According to the Russian Ministry of Health, 11,000 Russian military personnel who participated in the war against Ukraine, as well as their family members, sought psychological help last year during 6 months. These are mainly men who left the army for health reasons or relatives of fallen soldiers.

However, Health Minister Michael Murasko was forced to admit that only 15% of patients were able to receive treatment at the same time. Some soldiers diagnosed with PTSD even had to return to the front. This was the case of 25-year-old Alexander Strebkov, who had joined the army during the draft. Despite the doctors’ diagnosis that he should not be given a weapon, he was sent back to the war zone.

How to get back to normal life?

A Russian psychotherapist who does not wish to be named claims that in major military conflicts, such as the invasion of Ukraine, the number of mental disorders among military personnel is likely to be significantly higher than a study by the Bekhterev Institute suggests. And he specifically cites the Department of Veterans Affairs in the US, which estimates that the incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder among military personnel in various conflicts is as high as 29%. The psychotherapist therefore expects an increase in criminal acts in Russia due to post-traumatic stress among soldiers. “You have to take into account that some who fought, like those in the Wagner group, already had a criminal past. Their mental state may have been further strained as a result of the war,” he says.

He also warns that when left untreated, post-traumatic stress disorder can cause secondary disorders. “There is also an addiction to alcohol or psychotropic substances, which causes social problems.” According to the psychotherapist, families suffer the most, which also damages the children’s mental world. What could be the cure? “It is based on reliving traumatic experiences,” says the psychotherapist, who has counseled, among others, veterans of the wars in Chechnya. “Such reliving often helps patients process their experiences,” he says. Rehabilitation requires an average of ten sessions over six months. Some psychologists who treat military personnel with PTSD try to glamorize the men’s experiences.

“While this can be emotionally supportive in therapy, in terms of human values ​​it can lead to seeing violence and aggression as normal,” the therapist warns. Instead of falsely heroizing their actions, sufferers should be helped to understand their situation and process feelings of guilt. And he brings Germany after World War II as an example. At the time, the term post-traumatic stress disorder did not yet exist, and there was no treatment. But German society revised its views. “The main goal of treatment is to normalize the patient’s life so that he understands his mistakes and builds a new life,” says the therapist. “Everyone has a right to it.”

Editor: Irini Anastasopoulou