Trauma or Personal Growth?

Since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian media have reported not only on crimes committed by former servicemen but also on their good deeds, reports Lyudi Baikala (People of Baikal).

In news reports, former “special operation” participants have been credited with pulling neighbors from fires, finding a missing pensioner in a forest, providing first aid to an airplane passenger, saving a governor during an assassination attempt, and paying off overdue alimony debts. Some former soldiers enter universities, become farmers or teachers, take up professional sports or charity work, and even run for mayor. None of these individuals report psychological problems upon returning, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is rarely mentioned.

In interviews, many military personnel describe how the war helped them rethink their lives. For instance, volunteer fighter Mikhail Lubkov, from Voronezh, called his participation in the war “a positive experience in every sense.” Lyudi Baikala journalists also found soldiers who said they experienced positive changes after fighting in Ukraine. One is 31-year-old Wagner PMC volunteer Artem Dilmuradov, previously convicted of murdering a family of three. Now he is working as a social coordinator for the regional branch of the Fatherland Defenders Foundation. He helps fellow soldiers secure payments and file paperwork. Dilmuradov also visits schools, telling students about what he calls the “cleansing of Bakhmut.”

Another soldier, 39-year-old Viktor Birtolan, returned from the front and started teaching the Law of God at the Gorlitsa Sunday School in a church in Yekaterinburg. He says his time in the war “cleared my brains,” that he “became more responsible,” and that his “sense of justice has become stronger.” Birtolan joined the school in September 2023, six months after leaving the front, where he spent about eight months and sustained multiple concussions.

The notion of positive experiences from war is discussed not only by the media and military personnel but also by Russian psychologists. Professor Mikhail Reshetnikov, rector of the East European Institute of Psychoanalysis and a doctor of psychology, called Russian combatants “the gold fund not only of the army but of the whole society.” He  argued that the danger of developing PTSD is exaggerated, saying, “Everything that does not kill us makes us stronger.”  Moscow-based clinical psychologist Tatyana Uryvchikova compared combat operations to tempering steel. Another psychologist, Langovoy, who fought as a volunteer, said he believes some soldiers experience post-traumatic growth, or positive changes after severe psychological trauma.

Some psychologists say as many as 20 percent of combatants may experience “growth,” a number that could outpace those at risk for developing PTSD. However, many researchers dispute the concept of post-traumatic growth. Anthony Mancini, an American psychologist, called the idea “very attractive” but said there is little concrete evidence, since the theory is mostly based on surveys of people who have experienced trauma. He notes that more in-depth research is needed.

Others caution against understating the danger of psychological trauma. “PTSD won’t develop in everyone, but almost all will have disorders that could emerge years later,” a clinical psychologist from Novosibirsk said on condition of anonymity. “Talking about this in Russia is falling out of favor, and that’s a perilous trend.” Clinical psychologist Fyodor Konkov, who has lived in the United States for many years, said he believes some Russian researchers are confusing “trauma” with “stress.” He said moderate stress can be beneficial but that “excessive stress is harmful to both physical and mental health.” Said Konkov, “If it’s trauma, it’s not beneficial in any dose or form.”

Konkov also suggested that Reshetnikov and other researchers in Russia must “survive under current conditions,” meaning they are pressured to claim there will not be a large number of soldiers with PTSD. Even so, some Russian officials acknowledge the problem. In mid-June 2024, Deputy Defense Minister Anna Tsivileva said every fifth Russian soldier returning from the front has been diagnosed with PTSD, and there are not enough psychologists to meet their needs.

Some soldiers who initially spoke only of the war’s positive impact eventually conceded that combat experience can be problematic. Birtolan, the Sunday school teacher, carries a folding knife with him to his classes because he no longer can imagine going anywhere “without a weapon.” He also recalled an incident when his nine-year-old son put a toy gun to his head; his first reaction, he said, was to kill him.

Speaking of which, no scientific study or psychological analysis could find any positive result out of war for those who never return. As the old saying goes, "war doesn't decide who is right, but who is left."