In the Line of Duty: Hazing, Tragedy, and Reform in Kazakhstan’s Armed Forces
Kazakhstan mandates universal military conscription for men between the ages of 18 and 27, with a standard service term of 12 months. Tens of thousands of young men are drafted into the military each year during two annual call-up periods. Evasion is illegal, yet public attitudes toward mandatory service are increasingly ambivalent. Officially, military service is presented as an honorable civic duty, with promises of educational preferences and social benefits upon completion. In practice, many young Kazakhs seek ways to avoid conscription, motivated not just by the disruption of a year out of civilian life, but by fears of hazing and abuse. ‘Hazing’ refers to a covert system of informal hierarchy in which senior conscripts intimidate and mistreat new recruits. Although the Ministry of Defense claims such practices were eradicated in the 2010s through reform and a transition to a mixed staffing model combining conscripts and contract soldiers, hazing has remained a persistent issue. According to a Demoscope survey from September 2025, 37.8% of Kazakhstanis said violence and informal power structures in the army are excessive. Among respondents aged 18–29, support for a full transition to a professional contract army was significantly higher, reflecting broader concerns about conditions and safety. For many families, a draft notice is not a matter of honor but a potential sentence. The Dark Side of the Barracks: Fatalities and Scandals Kazakhstan’s armed forces have faced a troubling number of peacetime deaths in recent years, prompting growing public concern. Between 2020 and 2022, 259 servicemen died across the armed forces and other security agencies, with at least 11 more deaths reported in early 2023. In late 2025, MP Nartay Sarsengaliyev noted that 270 soldiers had died in three years. In January 2026 alone, three incidents raised alarms: a National Guard serviceman died in Shymkent on January 6; another soldier died from a gunshot wound in Ust-Kamenogorsk on January 23; and a serviceman in the Zhambyl region died from a firearms injury on January 27. While the causes ranged from illness to the accidental mishandling of weapons, many families suspect hazing and abuse as underlying factors. Several high-profile cases from 2025 further damaged public trust. In January, 18-year-old Dastan Kurmanbek was found dead from a gunshot wound in a Saryozek unit; the military declared it a suicide, but his family alleged murder. That spring, 18-year-old Salamat Sabitov, who was drafted despite serious health issues according to his family, died of meningitis just one month into his service. In September, 19-year-old Dinmukhamed Shynarbek was found dead in a military unit in the Almaty region; officials again claimed suicide, but relatives rejected the explanation and demanded an independent investigation. Officers have also been implicated in violence. In summer 2024, a conscript in the Mangystau region was reportedly shot in the face by a superior officer. One of the most publicized cases was that of 22-year-old National Guard soldier Yerbayan Mukhtar, who suffered a severe head injury under suspicious circumstances in a barracks bathroom in December 2023. Though military doctors...
