Russia and Ukraine

[abaris]

the classical stalinist approach to military reform is to make sure no small fry has any choices besides performing and dying.    If this kind of pressure has adversely affect the performance of troops, just let the troops rape all the women they want when they succeed in taking territory to blow off steam.

It's not a Stalinist approach. As I repeatedly said, the Russian army has a long tradition of treating their conscripts like shit. In Napoleonic times, an indentured servant could gain liberty by serving 20 or 25 years in the army. I'm not exactly sure, how long it was. That meant in most cases, leaving their families for good. The Russian or formerly soviet army was also infamous for having one of the highest suicide rate of any armed force. Because of constant bullying by superiors as well as longer serving conscripts.

As rape goes, that has been an issue in every war on every side. It was less of a problem in Western armies, but it was an issue. In the soviet army, when they captured Germany, it also depended on the superiors. There were officers, who shot soldiers, who raped women. But there also were the ones, who allowed and encouraged it.

On the American side, there's a memorable quote by general Patton:

General Patton's writings about the second world war in his book War As I Knew It reflect the "inevitability" of rape in times of war. Patton remembers that in spite of his most diligent efforts, "there would unquestionably be some raping".

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/mar/03/gender.uk