It is not uncommon for released convicts to return from the war in Ukraine to commit crimes again, and then to escape punishment a second time by returning to the front.

This situation makes some police officers despair. “Four years ago I put him in prison for seven years,” police officer Grigory told the Novaya Gazeta website.

“And here he is in front of me again, saying, ‘You cannot do anything, officer. Now is our time, the time of those who shed blood in the special military operation.'”

Russian courts have routinely used participation in the war against Ukraine as justification for imposing lighter sentences.

But most cases do not even reach court. Moscow passed a new law against “discrediting the Russian armed forces”; this law has caused some victims of crimes committed by veterans to be afraid to report them.

Olga Romanova, president of the NGO Russia Behind Bars, which operates in the field of prisoner rights, says that the feeling of impunity increases crime rates.

“The main consequence of this is the gap between crime and punishment in public opinion. If you commit a crime, it is far from certain that you will be punished,” he tells the BBC.

The number of serious crimes recorded in Russia in 2023 increased by almost 10%, and the number of military personnel convicted of crimes in the first half of this year more than doubled compared to the same period in the previous year.

Sociologist Anna Kuleshova argues that violence has become more acceptable in Russian society, especially because criminals can now avoid punishment by going to war.

“There is a tendency to legalize violence. The idea that violence is some kind of norm will probably spread – violence in school, violence in the family, violence in relationships and as a way to resolve conflicts.”

“This is facilitated by the militarization of society, the return to conservatism and the romanticization of war. Violent crimes committed within the country are offset by the violence of war.”

Igor Eidman, Olga Romanova and Anna Kuleshova spoke to the BBC from outside Russia.