War Through the Eyes of Meduza Readers. Today We Publish a Letter From Alexander in St. Petersburg

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War. What is happening on day 1530. The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to attack oil infrastructure on Russian territory. Following recent strikes on Tuapse and Perm, Ukrainian drones again attacked Primorsk, one of Russia’s largest oil-loading…

War through the eyes of Meduza readers. Today we publish a letter from Alexander in St. Petersburg

I have lived my whole life in St. Petersburg. Sometimes I thought about emigrating to the United States, because I genuinely love America. I use Apple devices, wear Levi’s jeans, watch American movies, and listen to American music. And not because I love America, but exactly the other way around: I love America because even now I am surrounded by American things. Despite my age, I am fully ready to start from scratch without the slightest problem and carry boxes, install outlets, and assemble furniture in New York.

In St. Petersburg I have a wife, three children, my mother, nine cats, two dogs. And a small company with literally eight employees. If I find a way to leave for the States, then I will definitely have to abandon my employees, the cats, and my mother. Possibly some of the children. In short, to secure a morally comfortable life for myself, I need to commit a vile act. And I am even ready to live with that. But through all these years of war, no one has answered me: so I commit this vile act, abandon my loved ones, and from New York I will be able to reproach those who stayed for their compromises. But tell me, will that make things better for Ukraine? Will anyone in Ukraine stop crying or being angry if nine abandoned cats remain in Russia?

A great deal of what [foreign] politicians and businesses are doing today is aimed at making things worse for Russia. But it seems to me that the things that need to be done are the ones that make things better for Ukraine.

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