Russian Army Training.

[Fullhouse]

After this a bullet would be a holiday:

I volunteer for the blocking squad! (Click for link)

[PoorOldSpike]

I don't read too much into it..
For one thing the trainees might fully accept that it's all part of the procedure to toughen them up and are therefore prepared to stick it out to show they're men not boy scouts..
Also the instructors knew it was being filmed, so if they thought they were doing anything wrong they wouldn't have dared do it on camera..
Thirdly, it was worse than it looked, as everybody who was punched and kicked got straight back up afterwards, nobody crawled off to the medic with bust ribs or whatever..
Notice too the instructors punched everybody rather than select just a few for bullying, indicating it didn't matter a bit whether you were a good soldier, you still get hit, can't be any fairer than that.. :)

PS -Anyway if any disgruntled guy didn't like it, he could always lob a grenade through the instructors window in the dead of night, or stage some other 'accident' on the firing range or wherever..;)
Personally if I was in the unit I'd respect the instructors for their toughness and be determined to show them I'm just as tough as they are, to make them respect me back..

[Fullhouse]

I dont think the instructors new they were being filmed.

The soldiers are all conscripts on national service. The video caused a big scandal in Russia.

[PoorOldSpike]

US Marines can be brutal towards rookies too, dunno if this still goes on nowadays -

Pentagon brass 'disgusted' by Marine hazing ceremony

"In the video, taken in 1991 at a training camp for Marine paratroopers in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, a group of men can be seen performing a forbidden ceremony in which they pin paratrooper jump wings directly into others' chests. Marines were shown writhing and crying out in pain as others pounded the spiked medals into their chests through tee-shirts"

http://www.cnn.com/US/9701/31/hazing/index.html

[Soldier]

I see that as plain stupid brutality, on the part of the system. Be it there in Russia, United States or any other country, for that matter.
You toughen up a conscript, by exercising and feeding him well. Once he has a built like the "training officers in the video," then you can punch him in the belly, to prove what a tough soldier you've made of him, etc..

[Copper]

Ive seen harder punches and kicks being thrown around the town on a Saturday night by pissed up yobs.

I think this vid looks staged.