A Look Inside War-Torn Russia
A Look Inside War-Torn Russia
When Kirill Babkin was younger, he and his siblings became orphans after their alcoholic mother was stripped of her parental rights.
Last spring, after his mother died in a house fire, 19-year-old Babkin volunteered to participate in the war in Ukraine, signing a contract that promised a very high salary to support his surviving siblings.
He was killed in Ukraine last September and was buried on December 11 in Yelabuga, Tatarstan, where Russia, with Iran’s help, produces Shahed drones to destroy Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure. When his obituary and tragic story were posted on the social network VKontakte, readers expressed their condolences and shared their thoughts on the developments of the war.
A person named Ildus wrote, ‘I feel sorry for his brothers and sisters. He tried to provide them with a comfortable life.’
This is very painful and tragic. However, another person responded to this message, writing, ‘He took up arms to go to a foreign country and take the lives of its people for the sake of his family’s comfortable life. Truly sorry.’
Such reactions, as the full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches its third year, offer a small window into the significant changes within Russian society. Vladimir Putin’s increasingly authoritarian rule has stifled protesters and political opponents, criminalizing criticism of the armed forces or even open discussions about the nature or purpose of the war.
The suppression of any voices not aligned with the Kremlin has made it difficult for sociologists, polling centers, and journalists seeking the opinions of ordinary Russians, especially in areas far from Moscow and St. Petersburg. In recent weeks, independent journalists have interviewed dozens of people, mainly in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan—regions that have sent the most manpower to the war and suffered more casualties than other parts of Russia. These interviews were conducted via encrypted messages on social networks to prevent punishment and threats from security services, and all names have been changed.
Irina, a 52-year-old social worker from Ufa, says, ‘If we want to talk about the war and its impact on each of us and our country, I can say things are getting worse and worse.’ She added, ‘The war is getting closer, and the fear of it is becoming widespread.’
Of course, this fear increases the hope that those who have not yet realized the depth of the disaster will finally wake up. Alisa, a 30-year-old who promotes a commercial company on social networks based in Samara, wrote in response to journalists’ questions about the impact of the war on her daily life, ‘What can I say? I no longer follow the news. It’s a defense mechanism to continue my seemingly normal life in these catastrophic conditions.’
Russian officials do not release casualty statistics from the war.
In the list of war casualties compiled jointly by the Russian section of the BBC and the Meduza publication, the names of over 90,000 people are mentioned. Western countries’ intelligence officials estimate Russian military casualties to be over 700,000. A British official predicted that by next autumn, the number of Russian military personnel killed and injured on the Ukrainian fronts would reach one million.
Estimates from independent media identify Tatarstan and Bashkortostan as regions that have suffered the most from the war.
Erik, a 55-year-old from Ufa who works for a cultural institution, says the voices of those who remain in Russia have increasingly been silenced. According to him, many Russian citizens have chosen silence and do not express their thoughts in any way.
But one cannot ignore the disabled individuals wearing military uniforms, walking with canes or in wheelchairs on city streets. Cemeteries are filled with flags placed on new graves.
Chinese Cars, Old Appliances, and Iranian Coca-Cola
In previous years, Russia’s economy was significantly focused on strengthening the middle class. However, after the start of the war against Ukraine, the military industries have become the engine of the economy.
Moreover, Western sanctions have put pressure on workers and entrepreneurs, disrupted trade relations with Europe, and forced many companies to shift trade routes to the south and east. Those who spoke with independent journalists admitted that everyday problems are increasing.
Many of them expressed surprise and regret that instead of the products Russians have become accustomed to in recent years, they now have to contend with Iranian Coca-Cola and Chinese cars. However, Denis, a 45-year-old researcher at the University of Ufa, says Russian citizens look to the future with hope and are optimistic about the country’s economic resilience. According to him, the blows of the war have become background noise for many people.
He further explains, ‘I can’t buy Italian clothes. I can’t fly to Barcelona for the weekend. I can’t buy a European car, or rather, I can do all these things, just much more expensively than before.’ Denis added, ‘Now, instead of Barcelona, one can travel to, for example, Bukhara, an ancient and very beautiful city. Of course, the flight to Bukhara is three times more expensive than the ticket to Barcelona.’
Erik further pointed to several incidents of exploding Chinese cars that have replaced Western brands, adding that Chinese cars are disposable, and this problem will likely seriously affect us in the future because repair shops currently cannot handle the volume of problematic cars. According to Erik, Chinese phones are the same.
He also reported a boom in appliance repair services and explained that people now repair old appliances more and buy new ones less. Meanwhile, in Tatarstan and other provinces, volunteer soldiers who have received bonuses for signing contracts with the Ministry of Defense and wages for fighting in Ukraine, or the survivors of those killed, have been raking in money. In some regions, large purchases have caused a flood of money and boosted the local economy. Larisa, a 28-year-old who works in the cultural department of the Samara government, says, ‘I can’t say the standard of living has declined. On the contrary, in some areas, the minimum wage has increased. But with these wages, you can’t leave the country even if you want to.’
For Rustam, a 27-year-old computer programmer from Saratov, the biggest problem last year was the blocking of YouTube and Discord. He says, ‘In 2024, I upgraded my computer and bought a new TV.’
However, inflation has become severe, interest rates have risen, and the value of the national currency decreases every day. These developments affect the standard of living, although not to the extent that I would fall into poverty or go hungry.
In Samara, like in other large and small cities in Russia, wherever you look, you see advertisements for the duty of a patriot along with the rewards for volunteer soldiers. Dmitry, a 41-year-old worker from Samara, says, ‘When I see these annoying ads with promises of astronomical payments, I hold myself back from bursting into laughter.’ According to him, in the past two or three months, the bonuses for volunteers to be sent to the front have doubled.
Dmitry added, ‘This tells me that the government cannot mobilize anyone and only tempts people with money.’ He added, ‘It would be interesting to know if such money actually reaches these volunteers or not. From those who have gone to Ukraine, I’ve heard that most of those who went to the front for money were quickly killed.’