Two Russian soldiers have beencaptured after shooting dead six colleagues and deserting their base in the southern Rostov region this morning.
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Russian soldiers marchin Moscow's annual May Day parade
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The pair escaped with automatic weapons and a large quantity of ammunition but were arrested less than three hours later without further casualties, a defense ministry spokesman said.
Desertion is relatively common in the cash-strapped Russian army, where conscripts are routinely bullied by superiors and are poorly fed and equipped.
Russia’s President, Mr Vladimir Putin, has flagged military reform as a priority and has set his sights on a streamlined, modernized and ultimately fully professional army.
Despite Mr Putin's professed aim of slashing troop numbers, Russia still signed up a full annual quota of more than 187,000 young conscripts in this year's draft.