Russian Army Life, One Instagram Pic at a Time

Russia kicked off its spring draft this week, and there’s one guy out there who helps outsiders imagine an average soldier’s daily routine: Last year, Mikhail Shamsutdinov was conscripted into the Armed Forces for his compulsory 12-month military service and stationed at a unit in Siberia. Within a few months, he gained online fame as a photographer under the nickname “shams2517” on the Instagram photo-sharing platform.

Picture caption: “Me and my Ural 4320,” a heavy-duty truck used by the Russian military.

“I started taking pictures for myself; then our city blogger said ‘cool, post more,’” Shamsutdinov said in emailed comments. “I thought Instagram was a photo editor, not a social network,” he added. Now his account has about a thousand followers. His original caption says, “It’s hard when you study…” – a play on the Russian saying, “It’s hard when you train, but easy when you’re in battle.”

shams2517 in English: “Purely personal weapon.” Soldiers cleaning their firearms.
This year’s spring draft is expected to net 153,200 conscripts.

shams2517 : “We’ll miss you, footwraps.”
The Russian Defense Ministry has pledged that footwraps – or “portyanki,” one of the symbols and traditions of the Russian military – will disappear from the army uniform by the end of 2013.

shams2517 : “Breakfast”
For the past several years, the Russian army has been introducing a new buffet system of meal service, set to reach all units by the end of 2013. Rights activists have complained that poor health and nutrition are a bane for conscripts.

shams2517 : “Army food, physical exercise, weighed 110 kg, now 70 kg.”

shams2517 : “Wednesday is rubber day.”

shams2517 : “Weekend”

shams2517 : “In relay races, too, we are second to none: assembling and disassembling a rifle, and transporting a wounded man…”

shams2517 : “Platoon commander watching to make sure orders are followed.”

Soldiers in their barracks prepare for an inspection by superiors.

“Park-and-chores day” – when soldiers clean up around the unit and check their vehicles and military equipment. Pictured: barracks with a new flat-screen TV and classic bunk beds.

shams2517 : “One of the few joys in the ration.” The bar of “Army Chocolate,” packaged especially for the military, bears a quotation by the famed 18th-century Russian military commander Alexander Suvorov: “Discipline is the mother of victory.”

shams2517 : “Today: 200 days of service.” Pictured: a traditional Russian/Soviet military belt buckle. The Defense Ministry also plans to scrap the weighty belts from the army uniform by year’s end.

shams2517 : “Full house in the barracks, watching ‘Saving Private Ryan.’”

shams2517 : “Regulation haircuts!”

shams2517 : “Ruthless spring army soccer.”

shams2517 : “This kind of thing happens too.”

shams2517 : “86 days till home, meanwhile the first week of Lent is coming to an end / no atheists in war.” Shamsutdinov is due home in mid-June.