It Became Known About Another Conscript’s Death

A family from Mstislaul district cannot recover from their son’s death in the army.

A great response was caused by the report about soldier Aliaksandr Korzhych’s death in Barysau Pechy. As it has turned out, this place has had a bad reputation since Soviet times. Over the past month, there have been revealed a lot of facts of how the soldiers are being treated in the training unit in Barysau. Valiantsina and Dzmitry Starankous, whose son also died in the army, live in the village of Hadosy in Mstislaul district. The soldier stayed at the abovementioned training center for four months, returned to his unit and disappeared a few days later, horki.info writes.

He never looked like an athlete

Valiantsina recalls her only son lovingly. She says that he liked to ride on a bicycle, swim with his friends. He always helped not only the parents, but also his grandparents in the garden, although never looked like an athlete.

A few years ago, the Starenkous moved to Hadosy from a small village – they wanted to be closer to civilization. Pavel spent a lot of time at home, at the computer, but still was a friendly and sociable guy.

After graduating from school in 2014, he entered the Mahiliou Electrotechnical College, he studied for an elevator attendant. He started to work in his specialty in the regional center. The young man confessed to his parents that it was difficult to work, because modern elevators were stuffed with electronics, and people, especially during the holidays, in the heat of fun like to press all the buttons in a row, which puts the equipment out of action. But, although it was hard, the young specialist found pleasant moments in his work.

– Once he called me and told me with admiration about the view of Mahiliou from a high-rise building in the city center, – the woman recalls with a smile.

Pavel wanted to continue his studies, but he failed to pass the exams –the competition was three people for a place. Parents supported his son and said that they would help him in all his undertakings, they even were ready to pay for his studies.

At first glance, everything was fine

But the guy still did not manage to enter a higher institution, the draft notice arrived. Parents were sorry for their son, who, as they thought, was not ready for service physically. The mother and father tried to ask for a deferment, but they were told that there were no "hot spots" in Belarus, so a young man of any constitution could pass the service.

Valiantsina hoped that nothing would happen to their boy, and he would serve and return, like the sons of their acquaintances.

– In July of last year, our whole family went to Pavel to the oath in the 44540 unit near Zhodzina. We liked everything, we were satisfied with the conditions of service. The commanders tried not to give him extra fatigue, they had compassion, – Valiantsina shared with us.

Almost immediately after the beginning of the service, the young man was sent to Pechy. There, among other things, he studied the devices for communication and he used to say in conversations with his mother and father that he liked it and, perhaps, he would continue his studies in this direction in the future.

– When I called him at the end of July, he was upset about how hard it was for him to serve. I tried to calm him down. And I even went to visit him in August. At first glance, everything was fine, the son didn’t complain during their meeting, sent greetings to his comrades and relatives, asked about what was happening back at home, – the woman recalls.

In early November, the guy returned from the "training" center to his unit on the outskirts of Zhodzina. According to the mother, he was constantly upset during the telephone conversations and was coughing all the time.

On the day, when Pavel disappeared from the service, the young man did not answer a call. The mother confesses that she was haunted by a premonition from the very morning, when she sent a parcel to the unit. The message about Pavel’s disappearance arrived at nine o'clock in the evening.

After that, the military were watching the Starenkous' house the day and night for a week. But the people in the epaulettes could not explain to the parents how a soldier could disappear from the unit, where there were a lot of people and everyone was in plain sight.

"They say that was a suicide, but we do not believe it!"

Throughout the winter, Valiantsina and Dzmitry were appealing to the Ministry of Defense and the media, asking to help. They went to the unit, but they were not allowed to talk to the soldiers. Only deputy commander Aliaksandr Niaumiarzhytski (he was transferred to serve in Slutsk several days after Pavel’s disappearance) explained to the parents that it had been difficult for their son to serve.

The final of the story was tragic. In February, fishermen found Pavel’s remains in two dozen kilometers from the unit. The cause of death could not be established, and only recently, his parents got a copy of the diary, which their son had allegedly written during his service.

– My husband and I could see that the handwriting in that diary and in Pasha's workbook was completely different. But the investigation uses the poems about death, which are written there, as a proof that our child committed a suicide. We do not believe in it! Our boy was absolutely normal, an ordinary guy, and he never had a diary," – the heartbroken woman says.

All the year, the parents of the deceased conscript have been taking antianxiety drugs, hoping that those responsible for the death of their only son will be found and punished.