Difference between revisions of "Pokhorony okurka (Russia and USSR)"

|style="font-size:1.1em;"| ''Pokhorony okurka'' refers to a type of informal punishment in the Russian (and previously the Soviet) army and can be translated as ‘a cigarette butt funeral’. The term refers to soldiers caught smoking in prohibited areas. If such a violation is identified, the guilty soldier and his unit are ordered to carry out a march and dig a metaphorical grave for the cigarette. The commander gives a sarcastic funeral speech about the cigarette butt, soldiers shovel soil onto it and march back to their base. Depending on the gravity of the misconduct, its frequency, the discretion and creativity of the commander, particular scenarios may vary. The punishment can be intensified by its suddenness; for instance, the unit can be woken up in the night by an alert. A forced march can be complicated by the request to undertake it in full uniform (with helmet and bulletproof vest). The length of the march and the size of the pit can vary as well. The ritual can be accompanied by the appointment of guards of honour, the three-volley salute and other ceremonial procedures inherent in military funerals. The diversity of these scenarios emphasises traditional, informal and entrenched nature of this practice.