Dedovshchina (best translated as reign of the old-timers) is a system of dominance and abuse in the Russian and Soviet army as well as the prison system. Younger conscripts are made to do work for older conscripts and contract soldiers; they are subject to abuse if they don’t obey. Abuse can range from verbal to physical to sexual violence and is usually carried out by soldiers of middling status as the oldest soldiers are seen as above the task of disciplining the new conscripts. It’s also quite common for older soldiers to haze and abuse new conscripts just for the hell of it. A common practice for contract soldiers is to steal conscripts’ shoes and demand bribes to stop, among many other things.