Key Takeaways
- “Zeroers” — Brutal Russian Commanders — “Zeroer” is slang for Russian military leaders who treat soldiers as disposable, using extreme brutality, torture, extortion, and “meat assaults” to enforce obedience. They send wounded, disabled, or reluctant troops to almost certain death.
- Promotion of Atrocity — Colonel Ramil Fatkhutdinov (“Mamay”), accused of severe abuses in the 5th Motorized Rifle Brigade, was awarded the “Hero of Russia” title, signaling official tolerance or encouragement of such methods.
- Institutionalized Terror — These practices, rooted in “dedovshchina” hazing, have become widespread and unofficially encouraged to maintain discipline in a poorly trained, high-casualty army. They help explain Russia’s willingness to sustain relentless assaults despite massive losses.
Analysis
On the front lines, they are called “zeroers,” and Ramil Fatkhutdinov is one of their most famous representatives. “Zeroer” is a slang term for a military leader who claims the right of life and death over the soldiers under his command. On Friday, June 12, this Russian colonel, accused of the worst atrocities against his men, was promoted to “Hero of Russia” on the occasion of the national holiday.
Andrey Belousov, the Russian defense minister, presented Faskhoutdinov with the certificate without specifying the acts of bravery that warranted this award, according to Meduza, an independent Russian media outlet.
Perhaps Faskhoutdinov managed to catch Putin’s attention by touting his own merits in a letter addressed to the president. In the letter, Fatkhutdinov claimed that he and his 5th Motorized Rifle Brigade succeeded in capturing Myrnohrad, a city often described as “strategic” in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, by the end of 2025. What he doesn’t mention is that the city wasn’t officially occupied by the Russians until February 2026…
“It’s the worst brigade there is”
In the eyes of the Russians and the soldiers, this honor primarily rewards a “zeroer”—a term from Russian military slang referring to a commander who uses brutality and mistreatment toward his troops.
“It’s the most rotten brigade there is. The men there are treated like cannon fodder.” In late January, Marina Borisovna, whose brother died while serving in the 5th Motorized Rifle Brigade, lashed out violently at Ramil Fatkhutdinov in her chilling testimony to the Russian Telegram account “Don’t Expect Good News.” She accuses the man nicknamed “Mamay” of condemning her brother to certain death by sending him to the front while he was wounded and unable to walk without crutches.
Marina Borisovna and other relatives of fallen soldiers have appealed to the authorities to stop Ramil Fatkhutdinov from leading his brigade. According to the independent Russian media outlet Astra, the wife of one of the fallen soldiers complained to Vladimir Putin himself more than a year ago, asking him to “stop” this colonel.
“Mamay” is accused of forming units of wounded soldiers and sending them to the front “to get rid of them,” according to iStories, an independent Russian investigative website. His own men have accused him of forcing soldiers under his command to kill others who allegedly refused to follow his orders. “We’ve been holding a defensive position for three days against assaults by other soldiers from the same brigade. They were ordered to ‘neutralize’ us,” says a fighter from the 5th Motorized Rifle Brigade on the Russian Telegram channel “Don’t Expect Good News.”
Ultimate “zeroers”!
This brigade is no stranger to commanders with brutal methods. It was under the command of Pavel Klimenko until his death in 2024. Ramil Faskhoutdinov’s predecessor was just as notorious for his cruelty. According to iStories, he had been accused of setting up a “torture camp” to mistreat his own men who refused to follow his orders and force them to hand over part of their pay. The new “Hero of Russia” is said to have maintained this “camp” as a disciplinary measure.
This colonel’s actions reflect the ancestral brutality of the Russian military. He may be taking sadism a step further, but he is certainly not the only one using these kinds of practices against his men. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of “zeroer” commanders on the Ukrainian battlefield.
The term originates from Russian military jargon, where 0 refers to dead soldiers, 2 refers to wounded soldiers, and 3 refers to deserters. “Zeroers” are commanders who threaten to reduce any soldier who refuses to follow orders to zero. This is nothing new in the Russian army. The dehumanization of soldiers by their superiors stems from a particularly brutal hazing ritual called “dedovshchina,” which is intended to “instill in the young recruit a mindset compatible with military life.”
Toward the end of 2022, “zeroer” practices became institutionalized and were unofficially encouraged by the Russian army’s general staff. The goal is to speed up training in this discipline using harsh methods, given that the Russian military needs to integrate fighters with no military experience, such as contract soldiers attracted by the signing bonus.
Discipline or assured death
In practice, commanders gather those they deem to have the least social value into a single unit and send them on missions from which they have virtually no chance of returning alive. These are generally former prisoners, alcoholics, or seriously wounded or disabled fighters.
The extortion of soldiers’ pay by their commanders is an extension of this logic of brutality, because if a soldier refuses to fight, he may be tortured, and his superior can then reduce that soldier to “zero” by sending him into combat where he is almost certain to be killed by the enemy. Thus, the commander erases all traces of the extortion. The “zeroers” prove that commanders in the Russian army have almost total discretionary power over soldiers.
However, there is a difference between tacit tolerance and official recognition. This difference is blithely bridged by the title of “Hero of Russia” bestowed upon Ramil Faskhoutdinov. Although no official reason was given for this honor, all soldiers are aware of the practices of commanders like him.
By honoring this colonel on National Day, the Ministry of Defense is implying that discipline is more important than the lives of soldiers. The “zeroers” and their strategy of terror largely explain why Russia can continue its relentless assaults on the Ukrainian population, buildings, and territory. The soldiers are so afraid of being abused by their commanders that they would rather risk being wounded or killed than retreat.
