Word: shchit
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Dates: during 1990-1990
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Another group of officers has banded together in an organization called Shchit (Shield), dedicated to democratizing the notoriously conservative military. Shchit's members have demanded that Communist Party committees be removed from military units so that all political parties can compete equally for support among the troops. "Our goal is to make sure that the army is never again used against its own people," says Vitali Urazhtsev, 46, Shchit's founder. The group claims to have 3,000 members in military installations around the country...
...surprisingly, the senior military brass is not fond of Shchit. Most of the movement's leaders, including Urazhtsev, have been taken off active duty and expelled from the party. Now many officers keep their allegiance to the new organization secret. Says Nikolai Moskovchenko, 35, a major removed from active duty earlier this year for supporting the reformers: "The majority of soldiers and officers are with...
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