Russian Tyranny and Conscription—Courtesy of Altruism

On September 21, 2022, the Russian government announced that it was conscripting 300,000 men to go to the front lines in Ukraine. Although the regime claimed it would only conscript army reservists, the draft reportedly has included teachers, students, flight attendants, and even people arrested for protesting the announcement—some being sent to fight without any training.¹

This desperate act on the part of Putin’s regime further demonstrates its complete disregard for individual rights—not only those of Ukrainians, as was already obvious, but of Russians as well. The regime has attempted to justify the war in Ukraine by claiming that Ukrainians and Russians are “one people” historically and culturally, and thus they ought to be ruled by the same government.² This view disregards the lives and rights of the individuals in question in favor of this supposed Russian “identity.” In short, Ukrainians must be subject to the same tyranny as Russian citizens because of this purportedly shared culture—and Russians must be forced to subject Ukrainians to the tyranny that is “good” for all.³

This is naked collectivism: the idea that individuals are merely cogs in a collective, and the collective is more important than the individuals that comprise it.

This idea has infected Russian culture for more than a thousand years, and it is an application of the morality of altruism: the idea that individuals must sacrifice their lives for some “greater” cause, such as God, community, or country. It is an idea at the core of two formative ideologies in Russia’s history: Orthodox Christianity and communism. A few days after the conscription announcement, Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, called for Russians to “sacrifice in the course of carrying out your military duty.”⁴ As the Gospel of Mark puts it, “those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the Gospel, will save it.”⁵ Substitute “state” for “Gospel,” and you have the philosophy behind Russia’s conscription.

Fortunately, about 115,000 Russians have had the sense to disregard this idea. Fleeing to neighboring countries such as Georgia, Turkey, and Kazakhstan, they have been branded “cowards” by their fellow Russians.⁶ But the truth is the opposite: Putting one’s own life first in a culture antithetical to that idea is a brave act. . . .

About Thomas Walker-Werth

Thomas Walker-Werth is associate editor at The Objective Standard and a fellow at both Objective Standard Institute and Foundation for Economic Education. He is currently writing his first full-length book, Reason for Living: A Rational, Fact-Based Approach to Living Your Best Life. See more of his work at walker-werth.com.

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