A Verstka piece about a mother who searched for her son missing in the war and then becam...

A Verstka piece about a mother who searched for her son missing in the war and later became a participant in pro-war actions has won the Redkollegia award!

In March, Verstka published a piece by Vladimir Sevrinovsky about Irina Chistyakova. In 2022, she was a symbol of the protest by soldiers' mothers, openly cursed the Defense Ministry, and was not afraid to give candid interviews. While searching for her son, who went missing in the first days of the war, Chistyakova identified many dead soldiers.

Journalist Vladimir Sevrinovsky spent several years filming a documentary about Irina. Over time, she became a regular participant in pro-war actions.

The Redkollegia journalism award included the text in its list of winners for April 2026. Vladimir Servinovsky talks about his work:

Back in 2023, I promised myself that I would never again write about mothers of missing soldiers. There is nothing more draining than talking to a woman who has lost her child. Terrifying is the desperate hope whose futility you understand.

For years I wrote about other subjects. But Irina Chistyakova's story kept unfolding, and I kept filming her. I saw how a person who courageously cursed Putin and Shoigu, who denounced the commanders who sent her son to his death, two years later, with an honorary badge on her chest, was propagandizing for war in front of schoolchildren, pushing them down the same path.

I myself have a complicated attitude toward Chistyakova. And yet she is an important person to me. I may disagree with her, but I will not turn away. Through her story, for me, one can glimpse the tragedy of the whole country.

To read about how Irina Chistyakova went from being the heroine of opposition videos to a fixture at z-events, go to the Verstka website (with VPN):

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Verstka

Mother. The story of a woman searching for her son missing in the war

From the heroine of opposition videos to a regular at z-events