A soldier opened fire at a military base in Siberia today, killing eight soldiers and injuring two.

While changing the guard on the evening of October 25, soldiers stationed at a military base in Chita region, eastern Siberia, opened fire on other soldiers, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

After killing eight allies immediately and two wounded with varying degrees of severity, the soldier was arrested at the scene, Russian military officials said.

"The actions of this soldier may stem from a psychological collapse due to his personal circumstances, unrelated to his military service," Russian news agencies quoted the Defense Ministry's statement.

Two injured people were taken to hospital with wounds that were not life-threatening. An investigating committee headed by Deputy Defense Minister Andrei Kartapolov is on his way to the scene.

Location of Russia's Chita region. Graphics: Worldatlas.

A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry declined to comment further on the incident.

The situation of "old ghost bullying new ghosts" has been a serious problem of the Russian army since the 1990s but this has improved significantly in recent years.