A soldier got two years for beating his comrade-in-arms in Pyatigorsk (Stravropol Territory)

In Stavropol Territory, a private serving a regular term at a Russian MIA military unit located in Nalchik (KBR) has been sentenced to two years of imprisonment at a penal colony for non-statutory relations.

"Private Mars Smakov, the defendant, was already convicted by the Pyatigorsk military tribunal on June 2, 2005 for a similar offence and given one year of suspended imprisonment. However, he repeated the crime under Article 335, Part 1 of the Russian CC - non-statutory relations," said Sergey Derepko, major of military justice, assistant of chair, Pyatigorsk garrison military tribunal, on Wednesday.

According to him, his comrade-in-arms whom the defendant had beaten for refusing to offer him a cigarette acted as the victim in court.

The military tribunal found the Smakov's actions as a second offence and cancelled the suspended sentence. "Since there a lot of military units and elements in the South Federal District, non-statutory relations in them constitute a rather serious share of the total crime rate," stated Derepko, reports "Interfax."

The "Caucasian Knot" reported earlier that eight soldiers from Kabardino-Balkaria left their military units without permission. According to the information obtained in the military registration and enlistment office of Kabardino-Balkaria, the main reason for deserting the army is still non-statutory relations.