pretty much all of my hatred of bureaucracy and indeed the russian government as a whole come from having to deal with the voenkomat when i was 14-16. never before in my life did i have to deal with so many incompetent and malicious people in one place. they have obviously been bred in captivity to absolutely eradicate any kindness, compassion, and understanding in their actions. they do not have souls and find joy in making the average person's life as miserable as possible. such a kafkaesque institution either breaks people or ignites a fire within them that never dies. i was completely unprepared to deal with sadists that were given the complete power to fuck up my immediate life, and who actively enjoyed wielding it. and now i know. i fucking know it's not an accident that every russian man has the privilege of witnessing those soviet horrors personally. it actually makes me shake with anger having to remember the humiliation i went through as a young and defenceless teenager, and that the institution responsible for it wasn't abolished immediately after the ussr collapsed, but only given more power every 5 or so years (up until now, where it is an actual meat grinder). im not even exaggerating. i wish i was