Olga Ovcharenko The first female officer of the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, accused of beating soldiers Country: Russia

Biography of Olga Ovcharenko

Olga Ovcharenko grew up in the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria, the city of Nalchik, in a family of a doctor and a military border guard. Her father is still in active military service. Her grandfather was the head of a village in North Ossetia, and it was his example and guidance that instilled in her a love for her homeland and service to the country. From an early age, Olga dreamed of becoming an officer, mentioning in an interview with the newspaper "Amurskaya Pravda" that she had this aspiration even in kindergarten. No one could believe that a young girl who enjoyed playing with dolls with her friends, cross-stitching, and participating in dance performances, would suddenly decide to dedicate her life to the challenging and male-dominated field of military service.

In the eighth grade, Olga made her final decision to become an officer, while her parents hoped she would pursue a career as a translator by enrolling in a linguistic institute. At that time, Hero of Russia General Gennady Troshev visited their school, who himself had once studied at the same school. The young Olga Ovcharenko struggled to approach the general through the crowd of students and teachers surrounding him, to ask him where she should go to achieve her dream. During the conversation with Troshev, Olga received advice on which military institution to enter in order to fulfill her dream of a military career. The result of their conversation was Olga's admission to the Novocherkassk Higher Military Command School of Communication, from which she was later assigned to serve in the Amur Region. The young lieutenant dreamed of being stationed in Dagestan or Chechnya to be closer to home, but fate decided differently, placing her in a new place of service, in military unit 53790.

It was in this unit that Olga Ovcharenko met Major Sergey Solnechnikov, who in 2012 sacrificed himself by shielding a live grenade accidentally dropped by a soldier during a training exercise, thus saving the lives of many young men who were nearby. He was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia. A year ago, the newspaper "Amurskaya Pravda" wrote about Olga Ovcharenko, the first female officer of Kabardino-Balkaria, and today she is accused of assaulting soldiers. A video filmed on a phone was posted on social media showing a group of soldiers doing push-ups in their gas masks and protective gear, led by a female officer who resembles Olga Ovcharenko. In one scene, a soldier is on his knees, and the female commander approaches him and kicks him in the face. One comment on the video claimed that it did not capture everything that happened. According to the prosecution, this soldier was punished for disobeying orders and then fled the unit. The video was uploaded in May 2012, and it was filmed in February. The investigation revealed that Olga Ovcharenko forced one of her subordinates to do push-ups in a gas mask and then pulled and released the mask, causing severe pain to the soldier. The investigation also found that Olga regularly assaulted conscript soldiers, especially two who she did not like. She punished one for sewing green threads onto her uniform collar, and the other for failing to prepare a training plan for her platoon. It is worth noting that servicemen speak quite highly of Olga as a commander. They consider her strict but knowledgeable, and therefore, they respect her. According to Private Anton Kalashnikov, Olga Ovcharenko is a strict and fair commander who will not let anyone off for neglecting their duties. Initially, soldiers from other platoons made jokes about Olga's subordinates, but when her platoon's performance exceeded that of others, the jokes about their commander ceased. Sergeant Sergey Denisenko also speaks positively about Olga as a good platoon commander who handles her direct responsibilities well. He believes that she is more responsible and accomplishes assigned tasks better than her male colleagues. Olga's comrades not only speak highly of her as a commander, but many of them are also convinced that she has been set up. Currently, Olga faces the threat of 10 years of imprisonment.