18/ "And the judge gives you a suspended sentence instead of a real one. And you can't get away from this hook, because if you escape, your suspended sentence will turn into a real one, plus they'll add on time for escaping. And you'll immediately go to jail for ten years. I spent three months there. They tried to put me on board three times and send me to war. I refused, demanded that they conduct a VVK [military medical commission]."
19/ "They conducted it, and it turned out that I was miraculously cured. They do it like this: if your index finger moves, you can pull the trigger - you're fit! I myself witnessed how they declared a man with a half-torn-off foot to be fit. Because there were huge losses, there weren't enough people."
Alexander was determined not to go back to war and remained in prison. Instead, he and his fellow detainees were conscripted illegally to help build a holiday home for the regimental commander.