“Fieldwoman” unpacks: Russian agents force paramedics to have sex

The reports of a former Russian paramedic cause horror: as part of the “Sever.Realii” project, Margarita spoke to the medium “Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty” about her time in military service – and how she and her comrades fell victim of sexual violence in their own ranks.

According to their reports, Russian agents severely mistreated the paramedics. “You’re going to be a field woman,” they were told. The officers not only forced the women to cook and wash, but also to satisfy their sexual desires. When the paramedics fought back, the officers made their lives unbearable with threats and harassment, Margarita reports.

One officer even shot one of them. The woman is still struggling with the injuries to this day.

Violence in our own ranks – also against soldiers

The officers also did not shy away from violence against Russian soldiers: Margarita also witnessed how the officers killed their own soldiers.

The men who refused to fight at the front were initially locked up naked by the officers in a cold, damp cellar with rats. Had the soldiers not retreated, the officers would have forced them to dig their own graves.

The men had to lie down and, according to Margarita, were buried alive. The officers then fired on the pits. Those who survived were crawled out of the hole – and then sent to the front. The former paramedic reports that none of them have returned alive.

They couldn’t go back to Russia

After some time, Margarita decided to challenge the officers. An officer named Polkan initially made life hell for her to change her mind. But without success.

“I just lived on the street for a month. While others slept in tents and houses, I slept on the ground, along the road, in a small forest,” says Margarita. None of the women would have tried to flee to Russia. They could not have gone back because they could have be shot for escaping.

Every fourth woman affected

Margarita reports on seven women between the ages of 23 and 38 who were victims of sexual violence in their environment. According to statistics quoted by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, one in four women in the Russian military is a victim of sexual harassment.

But few women talk about harassment or even sexual violence in their own ranks, Valentina Melnikova of the mothers of soldiers in Russia told the medium. And as long as they remain silent, it will remain so.