The war through Meduza readers’ eyes. Today we are publishing a letter from Ivan in Moscow

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War. What is happening on day 1518 An “oil rain” fell in Tuapse on April 20 — this happened after Ukraine attacked the oil-loading terminal in the local port. The fire at the terminal has not been extinguished for more than a day. Satellite images show that smoke from…

The war through Meduza readers’ eyes. Today we are publishing a letter from Ivan in Moscow

In the present moment, one thing is frightening: the war has become ordinary. If during the first six months or year society was in shock and closely followed what was happening, even if it remained silent out of fear of the consequences, now people have isolated themselves from what is going on.

Ukrainian society managed to mobilize, while Russian society distanced itself from the problem because of a feeling that it was impossible to influence the situation.

With every year, the war shows itself more and more strongly in the life of every Russian. The destruction of infrastructure, UAV strikes on residential areas, regular messages from the Emergency Situations Ministry and problems with communications, active agitation to sign a contract, including under pressure.

Yet what is happening does not provoke as much horror as it might have at the beginning of the war, because of the deep decline in morale and the heavy pressure from the state.

It is hard to stand up against the aggressive machinery of the state when, because of economic decline, life increasingly resembles an attempt to survive. Russian society feels divided, as if there is no alternative path.

The war did not reveal people’s true faces, but only intensified the deep traumas of post-Soviet society. Russians are beginning to prepare unified protest and opposition rhetoric; the Z camp and the liberal camp have found points of contact.

But there is a lot of work ahead. Ukrainian society, previously ready for cooperation and friendship with Russia, has been aggressive and distrustful toward Russians since the start of the war. Paradoxical as it may sound, the stated goals of the SMO were not achieved, but in essence were developed and escalated.

The war will end; the Putin regime has its expiration date, especially if Russians decide to shorten it. Ukraine and Russia will begin rebuilding territories and will deal with domestic political problems. But the echo of the war will hang in the air. A war that destroyed relations between two brotherly states.

It is unknown whether we will be able to restore trust between brotherly peoples and avoid the terrible mistakes of our generation. I am sorry that our peoples lost the future and received ruins, hatred, pain, and deaths instead.

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