hazing can be useful...if kept within reasonable bounds.
(admittedly, lining up new soldiers and kicking them down one by
one is a bit harsh... 
)
also, the worst only lasts for a (relatively) short time. once you
become a senior towards the end of your service, it becomes your
turn the haze the ####ing new guys!!! 
bwahahahaha!!!
ok, it's definately not the best leadership method, but it gets the
job done, without any "touchy-feely" [email protected] considering the
military's low budget, poor resouces, forced condscription system,
and also the high possibility of being sent to actual combat, it's
kinda inevitable something like this would emerge within the
enlisted ranks...
so, does it make them tougher? yes
does it make them better soldiers? to a certain extent, yes
(altough exactly to what extent, is debatable....)
keep in mind: russia is not the only country with an
instituionalised hazing system. other countries practice it as
well, to varying degrees - including south korea (where i'm from,
btw...) in fact, russia's and korea's military share a number of
striking similarities, except that korea's is a lot better, but i
may be a little bit biased on this point... 
