Study shows shocking levels of PTSD

Russian war returnees

Back to the front in a drunken stupor

The war leaves Russian soldiers with deep psychological scars. A new study from Moscow shows the extent of psychological stress.

22-year-old Russian soldier Andrei Burychin was wounded in Ukraine last year. After his return, he was taken to a psychiatric hospital in Russia, but was soon released. Burychin drank heavily and, drunk, tried to drive back to his unit in the Chelyabinsk region. He was arrested for drunk driving and handed over to the military police. According to his lawyer, he eventually voluntarily returned to the front in Donetsk after learning that his unit there was preparing for a new, dangerous operation.

Burychin’s story is exemplary for the many Russian soldiers who return home from war with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

This is proven by a study published in the journal “Psychiatria” by the Moscow Psychiatric Clinic No. 1. According to this, around half of the 140 veterans examined were diagnosed with PTSD. After treatment, 19 percent were discharged with this diagnosis.

The researchers found that many of those affected also suffered from depression, anxiety or alcohol addiction. “Despite typical PTSD symptoms, other psychological disorders that are often in the foreground also need to be taken into account,” the study says.

The study is the first to systematically record the psychological stress of Russian soldiers who have taken part in the war in Ukraine since 2022. The average age of the patients was 34 years. More than 70 percent had intrusive memories of combat situations, three quarters suffered from anxiety, half from depression and almost half from insomnia.

However, personality changes that can accompany PTSD are particularly stressful for those affected. These often include increased aggressiveness, emotional instability and outbursts of anger.

As the Moscow Times reports, soldiers describe struggling with nightmares, fear and aggression after years at the front. “Three years without rest and family, sometimes you just lose control. I need a psychiatrist or a sanatorium,” the newspaper quoted a soldier as saying.

A Russian psychologist told the newspaper that many veterans feel alienated from society. “They feel anger at the indifference of civilians,” he said. “One soldier said he didn’t leave his house for two months so as not to hurt anyone.”

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Returning soldiers are increasingly becoming a threat to those around them. According to “Deutsche Welle”, veterans who were at the front committed around 190 crimes in Russia in 2023, including 55 murders. Many perpetrators were under the influence of alcohol and were shown to suffer from PTSD.