Merriam-Webster defines "paper tiger" as "...one that is outwardly powerful or dangerous but inwardly weak or ineffectual." One could easily apply that to one who claims to be a great war hero, who claims great feats on the battlefield, and who is later discovered to be a fraud.
Case in point: A supposed hero of the Russian Army, a sniper known as "The Executioner," has turned out to be a complete fraud. His malpractices even extended to conspiring with other soldiers to shoot each other to get out of combat and collect benefits.
There is a word for men like this, but I won't repeat it here.
One of Russia’s most decorated battlefield heroes was unmasked as the alleged mastermind of a brazen fraud scheme in which elite soldiers allegedly shot themselves – and even their own commander – to collect lucrative combat injury payouts, according to local reports.
Investigators allege that Lt. Col. Konstantin Frolov – nicknamed "the Executioner" for his sniper skills – not only fabricated his heroic acts but also helped his troops siphon nearly $2.5 million in a sweeping military fraud scheme, according to the Russian newspaper Kommersant.
The outlet said a former brigade commander, Artem Gorodilov, was also implicated in the case.
At least 35 officers in Russia’s elite unit, the prestigious 83rd Separate Guards Air Assault Brigade, reportedly sat out of combat and collected almost $40,000 each, the outlet reported.
That's a lot of fraudulent wounds, which makes one wonder just how prevalent this practice is in the Russian Army.
Frolov has been revered throughout President Vladimir Putin’s three-year war in Ukraine, boasting of surviving five minor and two serious wounds, Kommersant reported, adding that his alleged bravery earned him four "Orders of Courage" – one of Russia’s highest honors – along with two additional medals for valor.
Investigators now allege those wounds were staged. Frolov ultimately admitted he had ordered his soldiers to shoot him deliberately, ensuring bullets missed his vital organs, according to the Russian report.
Well, that's certainly a whole new spin on the term "Russian Roulette."
While this is a betrayal of these men's fellow soldiers, to their chain of command, and to their country, we can't help but note that it's also a sign of declining morale in the Russian Army. The Russo-Ukraine War has dragged on for years now, there are no signs of any immediate end to it, and the regular soldiers of the Russian (and Ukrainian) Army have to be feeling awfully worn out and put-upon right now.
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A lot of these men probably had grandfathers and great-grandfathers who fought like lions in the Red Army in the Great Patriotic War - World War 2. (We should draw a great bright line between the rank-and-file soldiers who fought with great courage in that war, and the Communist leadership of the Soviet Union.)
Frolov and his co-conspirators could hardly do anything more to shame those veterans, those men who stormed Vienna and fought their way into Berlin, than by faking wounds to collect money. But there's this: We can only imagine what the consequences of this fraud and cowardice will be, in the Russia of Tsar Vladimir I. Whatever form that punishment takes, it's certain to be harsh and unforgiving. That's something the Russians have always been very good at.
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