MOSCOW, March 18: The Russian army loses more soldiers to suicide than any other major armed force in the world, the Gazeta newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing an internal defence ministry document.

Four hundred and forty two soldiers died in non-combat situations in 2007, said the newspaper. Two hundred and twenty four of the non-combat deaths were suicides among draftees.

By comparison, 155 committed suicide in the US army in 2006, the paper reported, one and half times less than the Russian army the following year. The Russian army has around 1.1 million soldiers.

The Russian army has an atrocious reputation for hazing. One human rights group estimated that half of the suicides in the army were due to brutal bullying by older soldiers.—AFP