The Deserter: Parts 1-3

this reporting was supported by the. international women's media foundation's. Howard G Buffett fund for women. journalists hi my name is Sarah toppel. and I'm a contributing writer for the. New York Times. magazine 2 and 1 half years ago in the. middle of the night Russian soldiers. invaded. Ukraine Ukrainian military casualties. are closely guarded secret but at least. 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been.

killed since then although that is. definitely an. undercount and according to British. intelligence more than half a million. Russian soldiers have been killed or. wounded just who are these soldiers. fighting for President Vladimir Putin's. ambition how did they explain their. involvement in this. war and for the story you'll be hearing. I set out to write about the Russian. military and meet as many service. members as I.

could I talked to 18 soldiers and. officers who fled the war at the risk of. Retribution by the Russian. regime and what I learned was that a lot. of these men had families and partners. who followed them into Exile into these. terrifying and dangerous. lives and so I found myself writing not. just about Russia on the front lines but. about Russia at. home and there was one person I spoke. with who whose story I couldn't get out.

of my head a man I'll call. Ivan Ivan grew up in a military. family he attended a military academy. and became a captain in the armed forces. of the Russian. Federation it was a steady job with a. decent. paycheck he ended up getting promoted. and on the very night he celebrated his. promotion he also met a woman all call. Anna Ivan and Anna f deeply in love got.

married started a. family I havan plan to finish his. military service retire and start his. new life as a. civilian but then he got sent to fight. in. Ukraine when I first met Ivan we sat. together for 8 hours a day for a week as. he told me his whole. story about his life in Russia what he. did as a soldier.

and everything he did to. escape some days after we spoke I'd walk. around for hours just talking to myself. and processing what Ian told. me I kept thinking how easy it is for. each of us when we're in any conflict to. feel like we're on the morally correct. side of. things that we're on some sort of Higher. Ground than our. adversary but what Ian story tells you. is just how much more complic at.

everything really. is how one deliberate action or one. decision leads to another and then. another until before you know it you're. in a crater getting shelled by tanks in. a war whose outcome you feel you have no. stake. in Ivan's story is also I think a kind. of universal love. story not just about romantic love but. about the type of love that would cause. you to do all kinds of things that you. wouldn't normally do just to.

survive and so here now is Ivan's story. and it starts with a message a call for. help from his wife. [Music].

the deserter part one The Ballad of Ivan. and. [Music]. Anna September 22nd. 2022 subject I need help hello my name.

is my husband is a member of the Russian. army he several times refused to. participate in the Special Operation he. should have been fired but he has not. been fired so. far we are against War we hate this mode. in our country please help us save his. life he has a foreign passport but he. cannot take it please I beg you help. today or tomorrow he must be sent to war.

my number is plus. [Music]. 7 thank you forgive me for writing this. letter so chaotically but I am crying. and feeling absolutely. hopeless an email to a German Refugee. organization on the day the German. interior Minister announced that the. country was ready to accept Asylum. requests from deserters from the Armed. Forces of the Russian. Federation on the night Ivan met an he.

was so drunk that he could barely. remember her face the next morning only. that she had the most beautiful eyes. earlier that day Ivan had been promoted. to senior Lieutenant over a dinner. banquet officers from his unit watched. as Ivan washed down a Soviet era ritual. that continues to this day they filled a. glass with four shots of vodka until it. was almost overflowing and threw Ivan's. newly acquired six epillet stars in. following custom Ian stood up and.

addressed the assembled comrade officers. warrant officers sergeants he began he. paused down the vodka and flipped the. cup onto the table scattering the Stars. I senior. Lieutenant present myself on the. occasion of awarding me the regular. military rank of senior. Lieutenant once the newly minted officer. had said everything clearly smoothly. without a hitch the commander of Ivan. unit continued comrade officers warrant.

officers sergeants do we. accept we accept they called in unison. they put three stars on each of Ivan's. shoulders doused them with vodka and. pounded on them hard so that the pins on. the bottom dug into his skin if Ivan had. messed up he would have had to drink. another four shots and try again. afterward they headed to a. club in the crowd under the dim smoke. out light he saw Anna she was hypnotic.

Anna noticed him too without exchanging. words they started dancing the crowds. parted forming a circle around them Ivan. danced for hours like he had never. danced before later he would call her. Andromeda like the goddess and the. Galaxy a constellation in the evening. sky that Shone so brightly it eclipsed. all the. stars at the end of the night or more. like early morning Ivan gave gave her. his phone and told her to put in her.

number Anna obliged but when she looked. up he was gone she stood there holding. his phone for what felt like an eternity. another guy came up and started chatting. to her buddy you're too late Ivan. proclaimed from behind them she peered. over and saw him covered in sweat. holding a huge bouquet of Lies he had. sprinted to a 24-hour flower shop. nearby Anna was in town from St. Petersburg as the maid of honor at a. wedding.

at the ceremony earlier that day she. caught the bouquet by the end of the. week Anna would be returning to her. University hundreds of miles away Ivan. would leave for a month-long assignment. around the islands of the Pacific a. routine expedition to observe an Eaves. drop on us Allied training there later. both would agree it had been. [Music]. fate the Russian ship was a simple. surveillance vessel with radio equipment. that looked as if it was from before.

Ivan's grandfather was born Ivan had. just bought his first camera and for a. month he took photos of the clouds low. and heavy over the waves he imagined all. the things he would tell Anna when he. next got the chance how when you first. go out on a ship you have to participate. in a ceremony befriending Neptune in. which the new Sailors Nearly Naked drink. sea waterer out of a glass and get. rubbed with Ash how they fished for. squid Dove right off the ship into the. warm Waters a few guys standing watch.

with machine guns in case of sharks. while the sunset streak the sky with. cotton candy pink and crimson. red Ivan spent hours on the deck looking. for a cell phone signal when he found. one he ordered Anna flowers sent her. sushi rolls through friends and plotted. a trip to St Petersburg to surprise her. for her part Anna sleepwalked through. her classes rereading all his texts she. marveled at his descriptions of the. Philippine sea the color of the water.

she was sure she had never seen a shade. as blue as what he. described one day not far from Port. Ivan's boat passed 50 m from an American. aircraft carrier that looked straight. out of Hollywood most of the soldiers. had never seen a ship so big the carrier. hatches were open interior compartments. visible with airplanes and all kinds of. equipment inside the Russians in. flip-flops and swim trunks or underwear. ran out to sea.

the Americans stood on the deck in blue. uniforms with white helmets and gloves. their ship glistening in the sun. everyone. waved Ivan grew up on the outskirts of. nowhere in an unremarkable midsized City. near a military base his family. considered themselves patriotic though. they didn't talk much about politics. Ivan was taught that he lived in a. righteous country nearly every Soviet. family had lost a man to the front in. World War II and in what Russians call.

the Great Patriotic War and both Ivan. and Anna grew up on stories of. sacrifice Ivan's father served as had. his father before. him as a child of the perista experiment. Ivan watched Russia sink into a decade. of banditry political tussles and. get-rich quick schemes while he and his. friends played with little green. soldiers in the courtyard their parents. struggled with the basics electricity. food water heat. Ivan's mother and father didn't make.

much but they could count on housing in. a small government-backed paycheck. though after the Russian Federation was. established in. 1991 often even that didn't. come every month the family drove two. hours to a larger city with a wholesale. Market walking through piles of plush. toys clothes kitchen supplies and. everything in between Ivan like everyone. else stood on a piece of cardboard while. the vendor held a curtain around him as. he Tri on clothes whether it was very.

cold or snowing or raining Ivan would. remove his pants and stand in his. underwear to poor to try on clothes and. warm changing rooms at Shops this phrase. dressed on cardboard is still used to. describe a generation of Russians who. lived through the poverty of the. 90s Ivan was in secondary school When. Vladimir Putin Rose to power at the turn. of the senty and began to establish his. system of control promoting from his his. inner circle while crushing oligarchs.

and cracking down on newly gained. freedoms still in this new Russia money. was everything though Ivan's family had. stability they had nothing on his. girlfriend's parents when he opened. their refrigerator there was so much. juice j7 the kind with pulp that his. parents never bought her father was a. businessman and though Ivan wasn't sure. what exactly that entailed he wanted to. be one. too but the year before Ivan graduated.

from secondary school he spent a week. with a family friend's son who spun him. a tale of Adventure in the Special. Forces where young men went on training. missions for days with just their bare. hands to sustain them living in the wild. with a compass and a set of. instructions in Wartime they would sneak. Behind Enemy Lines to help lead the rest. of the troops to Victory safely. protecting their own in defense of their. Homeland Ivan had always been a sucker. for r romance for a world where the.

villains and the heroes were clear there. were rules in the military games Ian. played as a child under no circumstances. could anyone attack a hospital and. that's the kind of world Ivan liked. where things were black and white and. every problem had a. solution Ivan got into one of the most. competitive Russian. militarys it wasn't that he dreamed of. going to war he just thought it wouldn't. happen becoming an officer was a fine. path for a kid from nowhere a degree.

free health care a pension and a. guaranteed apartment upon retirement not. that Ivan was thinking that far ahead he. was Spellbound by the promise of. Adventure at the Academy Cadets lived in. Barracks with metal bunk beds and neat. rows in the corner there were mats in a. punching bag the shower was cold water. from a hose connected to the tap Ivan. loved it. immediately angles were perp pendicular. beds were made and everything ended with.

one word Patna. understood the young men skied in the. back country learned terrain navigation. and hand-to-hand combat figured out how. much TNT would blow a railway and how. much would blow a bridge they studied. languages and built up their physical. endurance but upon graduation Ivan faced. The Perennial problem of the Russian. military its bloated officer Corp Ivan. was a lieutenant an doing reconnaissance.

Duty a position far from his. specialization the elite unit he trained. for his shifts were 24 hours on 24 hours. off drafting training and Duty schedules. that no one looked at and heating up his. food in the. microwave he tried to complain to his. superiors the state had paid for his. education and then assigned him here. there was no opportunity to do what he. trained for no chance to put what he. learned to the test where worse no one.

cared Ivan couldn't just leave the. service if he were to break his contract. he would have to pay back the state for. his education lose his benefits and have. a mark on his record it's not as if he. knew how to do anything else anyway when. he looked at the civilian sector for job. opportunities with his language skills. he saw ads that said military Cadet. graduates need not apply Ivan decided to. write it out but the lack of good. billets made life boring and difficult.

he tried to distract himself applying to. different remote rotations at least he. could try to make life more. interesting after he started dating Anna. Ivan found that he began to think more. critically it wasn't just that she. pressed him to be more thoughtful about. their relationship she challenged him to. think about a lot of things he had taken. for granted. before the contrasts didn't hit him all. at once but more slowly an accumulation. of in congruities that built up over. time.

Ivan told her about another work trip. when he had been sent to the 2,600 M. long border with China on top of a. reconnaissance station he could see both. sides of the boundary clearly on the. Russian side he saw a dilapidated. Village not even a town just a village. with broken roads and half drunk passers. by on the other side Las Vegas highrise. buildings Neon Lights wind. turbines it looks like the difference. between heaven and Earth he thought at.

the time Ivan and his comrades had asked. one another why couldn't their country. do anything like that it's bad the young. men agreed but like most Russians they. did nothing but remark on it without the. expectation that it would change apathy. is a skill that requires practice over. time Ivan had never considered himself a. big talker but Anna had a lot of things. to say she had been struck by the econ. OMC boom that followed the poverty of.

their childhood the future and its. possibilities had been dazzling she had. done everything she could to get out of. her own childhood nowhere and to St. Petersburg a city of white nights deep. Winters and Big Dreams she cared about. Art Theater music literature. international relations lofty College. conversations in Big City. bars before she met Ivan Anna received a. scholarship to go to America on a study. abroad program and she realized that the.

world was much larger than anything she. had been told about in school that a. person is bigger than where she was born. or what language she spoke these limits. boundaries they don't even exist she. told Ivan when they were falling in love. you make these frames. yourself theirs was a big wedding both. Anna and Ivan had wanted to keep it. small and simple to do something at a. cafe nothing pous but one thing led to. another and all their relatives came.

Anna carried a large bouquet accented. with yellow tulips her favorite flower. he wore his officer uniform she wore a. white trumpet dress that swayed at her. ankles her long Veil studded with. glittering. gemstones Ivan was solemn during their. vows his eyes beaming Anna cried. straight through the whole. thing after they married Anna left St. Petersburg and joined Ivan at his base. she had never spent much time thinking. about the military before she met him.

soldiers were just people who wore green. uniforms and stood at attention on. Parade grounds a few times a. day Ivan left in the morning came home. for lunch left again and was home for a. late dinner it looked like a regular. civilian job except everyone cursed all. the. time like most Russians Anna and Ivan. saw politics is something dirty. something better avoided it was best to. focus on things you could actually. control and so neither of them had paid.

much attention to Putin's political. maneuvering or his engineering a return. to power for a third term despite. sweeping protests in. 2012 they lived in a tiny studio. apartment that they renovated themselves. they had few luxuries but they were. happy they wrote each other poetry. danced together sang together and even. wrote a book just for the two of them so. they wouldn't forget they started. planning for a. baby when she was was young Anna kept a.

diary on page after page she begged the. world to give her true love she loved. Ivan with a kind of Mystical Force and. she wanted to have a family she worried. that his talents were wasted in the Army. he was smart greedy for life at his core. but the man she had fallen for had. chosen this road so she took it. too Ivan's disappointment with the. realities of service were bearable until. he got a new Commander. his subordinates nicknamed him Pig for.

his jowls and Ruddy cheeks Pig started. pocketing the rations earmarked for. field training which the guys were able. to sell if they brought their own food. from home Ivan was owed three days worth. after a weekend in the field so he went. to demand them if they didn't put an end. to this now who knows what would happen. first it's rations Ivan said then it's. our wages his colleagues told him not to. bother everyone knew Pig had plenty of. schemes. the confrontation went nowhere and.

instead the commander started singling. Ivan out writing him up for minor. infractions that everyone committed like. carrying a cell phone around the base to. get him. demoted when Ivan went to the military. prosecutor's office to fight his. demotion he was told he would win a case. against Pig in court but he lost of. course Pig had a ccia a roof how is this. happening Ivan would ask everywhere I'm. told I'm right so why am I being.

punished did I steal the rations no. those are my rations he stole them from. me and I'm. wrong graft was endemic in the Russian. military permeating every level from the. top brass to the grunts the scale is. astounding said Sergey fredin Sky one of. Russia's Chief military. prosecutors sometimes it seems that. people have simply lost their sense of. moderation and. conscience theft was hard to root out. even if someone wanted to it was less.

about criminality and more a mentality. the thinking was simple it's one thing. to serve the motherland but you can't. forget about. yourself Pig was among the many. commanders who stole State subsidized. fuel from the military and sold it on. the side at the civilian market price. there were a number of methods for doing. this blatantly filling a commercial. truck at a military gas station filling. a military transport siphoning fuel from. it tank to other carriers and then.

adding fake kilometers to trucks to. explain the difference on the accounting. end Pig was also ordering his. subordinates to saw wood from the base's. firing range so he could sell it. everyone did. it Russia's turn of the century. Prosperity had tapered off with the 2008. financial crisis and falling oil Revenue. though the government's official. statistics suggest that poverty hovers. around 10% an investigation by the. Russian Outlet The Insider shows that. the reality is much worse roughly half.

of Russian families in many regions live. below the poverty line outside the major. cities more than 10 million people do. not have gas in their houses they. collect wood for heating many families. still do not have indoor toilets they. defecate in holes in the. ground there had been plenty of idiocy. that Ivan overlooked in his service. literally hours of watching troops paint. the grass green ripping Dan lines with. his bare hands plowing and reowing.

snowbanks for no discernable reason. standing at attention for hours in the. freezing cold on the parade grounds then. there were larger frustrations like the. fact that they were promised weekends. and overtime but never got them every. repair at the base painting the barracks. fixing broken stairs was made using. money the officers and the soldiers had. to throw together though they were. making next to nothing. themselves according to the Rand. Corporation in 2008 around 30% of.

officers holding the rank of major and. Below were earning wages at or under the. poverty line units were asked to donate. for repairs but everyone knew there was. no answer outside of yes comrade as a. result men like Ivan sold military fuel. or Bartered parts to make base. repairs few civilians realized that each. commander in the Russian military was. actually a fiscal hostage when an. officer assumed his position he signed.

off on responsibility for all his units. equipment much of which had been sold or. Bartered by the previous commander and. so was never actually there this made it. impossible to abdicate his job because. it would look as though he stole the. equipment and he would have to use his. own money to replace it the equipment. that was there was outdated and broke. frequently not because someone did. something wrong but because the parts. were old and unserviceable or because. the repair unit didn't feel like coming. out still the officer would be blamed.

for not monitoring the equipment well. and. penalized so instead of reporting the. break the officer would sell some of the. military's fuel to repair the. Machinery was that really stealing or. was that simply the. job after his demotion Ivan stalked. around the base trying to foment a. rebellion he wanted to file a collective. complaint against pig to the military. prosecutor but none of the other. soldiers would go on the record with him. the main thing is that when they discuss.

something in the back rooms everyone is. like yes yes let's do it but when I come. up and say Let's Take Action everybody. says oh come on why he would rage to. Anna because everybody realizes that the. same thing that happened to me is just. going to happen to them they're just. going to be removed from their position. on some flimsy. excuse everybody's got debt everybody's. got families and no one needs. it Anna didn't understand why it was. this fight over stolen rations in his.

Litany of complaints that broke him he. could be so categorical so rigid she. supported his decisions but she didn't. understand why he needed this she told. him to be careful he was in the system. and he had two choices you either play. by the rules or get out she told him if. you go against your superiors you risk. everything was that really something he. wanted to. do at night in their tiny apartment they. sat at the kitchen table as he tried to. explain it to her the Russian military.

had promised him better a better Billet. a better life and some kind of purpose. and now after he watched them steal so. much they were ruining his. reputation how much more could one man. take what kind of military was. this the roots of the dysfunction could. be traced back to the army of Ivan's. forefathers during the Cold War the. Soviet Union built one of the largest.

standing armies in the world twice the. size of the US military more than 4. million troops were organized to repel a. large land Invasion a blundering force. with a huge officer Corp that relied on. young men serving two years of mandatory. conscription service for the bulk of its. Manpower for the Soviets national. service was both political and practical. Homeland defense strategy for decades. hinged on overwhelming the enemy with. vast reserves of bodies on the.

cheap the Russian Army's development. from the disarray of the Soviet Union. was as impressive as it was. disastrous 15 countries emerged from its. wreckage the Russian Federation. inherited most of the red Army's. personnel and Equipment but also its. baggage The Rusted storehouses low. professionalism and an overreliance on. conscripts and officers with no. professional non-commissioned officer. Corp in the middle to manage things the.

new country was faced with a fundamental. question should Moscow retain a vast. Army organized around fighting. existential battles with the west or. should it instead create a smaller more. mobile force of professional enlisted. soldiers in the first decade of. post-soviet existence with oil and gas. prices falling to Historic lows that. debate was largely. theoretical there was no money to feed. or house the Russian troops much less to.

professionalize them left to their own. devices units turned Fields into farms. and forage for mushrooms in the forests. soldiers in Siberia were fed animal feed. criminality abounded theft was rampant. commanders officers and soldiers sold. everything not nailed down at their. bases light bulbs steel rods electrical. cables they even sold their own weapons. to their. enemies in 1993 two naval officers stole. three uranium fuel rods they were caught.

trying to find a. buyer estimates suggest that as much as. 50% of the defense budget was stolen by. individuals as president Boris yelson. pursued partnership with the West the. Kremlin unveiled a new military doctrine. that positioned its Army as a regional. Force no longer focused on global. domination the generals disagreed they. dreamed of resurrecting the army of. their remembered Soviet glory and open. debate permeated The.

Establishment Russian troops meanwhile. fought in a series of conflicts called. the southern Wars most Russians. including Ivan barely heard about these. military operations in farway places. like South aeta abazia transnistria. tajikstan and dagistan except for the. one in cnia a secessionist republic. where a humiliating stalemate laid be. the limitations and the brutality of the. sclero. Force waves of ill-prepared conscripts.

and young officers were sent into urban. combat with Guerilla Fighters suffering. heavy casualties while perpetrating. gross human rights abuses including forc. disappearances torture rape and. extrajudicial. executions when Putin came to power he. too was eager to work with the West on. security issues even flirting with one. day joining NATO but he was repeatedly. rebuffed in part because of the Russian. military's poor human rights record.

particularly in Chia which Putin. pacified by destroying its capital. gry Russians often cite the hypocrisy of. such claims given America's own track. record in Iraq and. Afghanistan during Putin's first two. terms in office oil and gas prices. started Rising so the government finally. had money to spend on Military reform in. 2001 Putin appointed Sergey ianov a. former official in the KGB and its.

successor agency the FSB to the post of. Defense Minister Ivanov pushed for. shortening mandatory national service to. 12 months and for greater Reliance on. enlisted soldiers contract Niki rather. than conscripts to professionalize the. service but recalcitrants among the top. brass continued to thwart meaningful. change moscow's early attempts at rap. prma with the West were nearing their. finale in 2003 the Russian defense. Ministry issued a white paper that.

emphasized that the United States was. again the country's main security threat. the military budget increased four-fold. corruption continued if earlier military. fraud revolved around theft and the sale. of State assets it took on a different. dimension under Putin direct. embezzlement of the. budget in August 2008 while Ivan was on. summer vacation from the academy Russia. invaded Georgia ostensibly to stop tobli. from asserting control over the. Breakaway regions abazia and South aeta.

but more to prevent Georgia from joining. NATO though the operation succeeded. politically the Russian military's. performance was pathetic there was. horrible coordination between branches. poorly executed flight missions. malfunctioning equipment and deaths from. Friendly Fire Russia had not held a. combat training exercise for about a. decade the embarrassment provided the. defense minister anat ser of an. opportunity to push through New Look a.

major reform campaign designed to make. the military a leaner more professional. Force by upgrading equipment cleaning up. the corruption and reducing the numbers. of officers and. conscripts Ivan would experience the. reform's unintended consequences hirings. froze promotions ceased and officer acmy. paus new enrollment with no one coming. up the ladder to relieve them officers. like Ivan remain stuck in lower ranks. forced to juggle multiple.

roles at the same time politicians. talked while the top brass stole and all. Ivan was left with was Mindless. paperwork and now character. assassination none of the corruption was. cleaned. up Sergey shyu whom Putin appointed as. defense minister in 2012 did nothing to. change this the military increased. large-scale strategic exercises but. these functioned more like choreographed. performances appearances outweighed.

reality the most glaring example of this. was the emphasis on metrics verified by. the photo report activities had to be. photographed for documentation that. meant that a commanding officer was. supposed to not only do his job run an. exercise say but also produce a photo. report about it to send to his Commander. the same day the requirement covered. everything from trainings to Storehouse. checks there was no task more. universally derived Ed the Soviet era. adage we pretend to work and they.

pretend to pay us was reborn for the. digital age one former service member I. spoke to Alexi alshansky who was a. warrant officer responsible for the. training grounds of the fourth guards. tank division of the western military. District used Photoshop to repaint old. spotted camouflage uniforms into new Shu. favored ratnik pixels so that his unit. could recycle old photo reports I swear. I'm not joking he told me laughing about.

the proliferation of the practice I've. even seen photo reports verifying the. making of photo. reports as the slides shows went further. and further up the district ladder. Russia appeared to have the most. fearsome Army on Earth but at the ground. level everyone despised the requirement. for commanders it doubled the workload. for grunts it meant an absurd amount of. time wasted standing around. posing many ignored the trainings. themselves and just did the photo report.

there was no time for both even for. those commanders who actually wanted to. work the outcome verged on cartoonish. typically one man was chosen and. photographed he was sweeping the. barracks doing the dusting cleaning the. bathrooms fixing the piping and raking. the lawn everyone knew it was bogus what. kind of one-man company were they. running what a great guy who could do. everything in 2 hours photographs of. Ware house stores were taken from below. so it looked as if all the shelves were.

full when only the bottom one. was early in the pandemic when it wasn't. clear whether the photo report should. show a service member wearing a mask or. not wearing a mask Ivan just. photographed the same scene twice and. turned in both pictures so the duty. officer could pick which one he sent up. the chain of. [Music]. command Ivan managed to transfer to a. hardship posting where his service. counted double toward his retire M he. got a raise but he still spent all his.

time making photo reports or filling out. useless paperwork the new base was even. more Grim than the last it reminded him. of the western movies he watched as a. kid tumble weeds Fields deserts broken. swings the town was pathetic zero. infrastructure two rundown bars Ivan and. Anna lived on the main street from their. second floor apartment they could see. the skate park downstairs next door. there was an open field in the winter it. was a hockey rink in the summer a soccer.

field when Ivan went out with Sasha. their baby he could sit on the bench and. watch Anna. inside Sasha had been born a week late. Anna had worried about her pregnancy. constantly she joked that she was so. unable to let go that she must have. willed the delay. herself Ivan decided to stop drinking in. advance of the baby's arrival he wanted. everything to be perfect including. himself he put the crib together and set. up the nursery while Anna was in the.

hospital he held her hand through her. two-day labor barely leaving her side at. work Ivan spent his days shifting papers. he would submit a spreadsheet about. drivers surname first name patronymic. license category motorcycle car truck. car owner service member or spouse he. would enter the data and send in the. spreadsheet but a week later The Columns. changed places and he was told to submit. it again I submitted it last week didn't. I submitt it again a week later the same.

thing that was just one piece of paper. from One Division Commander multiplied. by all the other Chiefs there were a. billion pieces of. paper there were also endless Loops of. morning afternoon and evening roll call. assemblies on the parade grounds 8:45. a.m. for 9:00 a.m. flag raising 1:45. p.m. for lunch 3:45 p.m. afternoon roll. call 6:15 p.m. assembly. then there were the officer meetings at.

8:00 in the morning and 5:30 in the. evening in the command headquarters. tactical room where everyone had to. leave phones outside and watch. slideshows after those meetings Ivan. would be assigned more paperwork that he. needed to submit in the morning so that. his Commander could go to the internal. formation and the base commander could. say to him did you do your job and he. could say yes no one cared that they. ended up sitting in their offices until. 10 p.m. working on filling out useless. columns if anyone asked for the overtime.

they were entitled to the commander. would say what you overworked your. shoelace is untied uniform violation. reprimand for an officer that reprimand. was 6,000 to 7,000 rubles or $65 to $75. no one wanted to pay that kind of money. so no one said. anything still some of the new look. reforms appeared to be working and the. Kremlin started to actively use the. military to further its foreign policy.

aspirations in 2014 Ivan had watched on. TV as Moscow took advantage of Ukraine's. domestic unrest and internal divisions. to Annex Crimea a small Elite unit of. Little Green Men in shu's newly. redesigned green pixel uniforms stormed. the peninsula their discipline and. professionalism were obvious no Russian. lives were lost though Europe and. America responded with sanctions and. sanctimony the Kremlin was able to. thwart Ukraine's aspirations for.

Ascension to the European Union and. force the West to acknowledge Russia's. opinion on geopolitical. Affairs the operation's success produced. a wave of. patriotism most everyone in Russia. including Ivan believed that Crimea was. theirs that it had only been given to. Ukraine by a drunken kushev it was a. good way to get people to forget about. their ouses even opposition politicians. like Alexi naali did not oppos the move. when unrest Royal Eastern donbas in.

2014 the state-run media told Ivan that. the Ukrainian Province wanted to seced. but that K wasn't letting it Russia. needs to help the ethnic Russians there. at intoned the Kremlin sent in unmarked. troops to support the separatists but. Ivan and Anna's TV showed them none of. that to them in the distant reaches of. their base it all felt so far. away across Russia milit turism was. Rising after successes in Crimea and.

donbas Russian forces deployed to Syria. in. 2015 to help moscow's embattled Ally. Bashar al-assad stay in power there the. military reforms again appeared to bear. fruit demonstrating that the Russians. were capable of small quick operations. and showing off the country's new. weapons strike Fighters and ship-based. cruise missiles fired from more than 900. miles away in the Caspian Sea Russia's. embolden Military Intelligence Agency.

the gru experimented with International. influence. campaigns since the fall of the Soviet. Union Russians had felt their. geopolitical influence wne as former. Soviet republics elected pro-western. governments and chose to join NATO. Putin's early attempts to partner with. the West ended in rebuke and shame now. Moscow was returning to the. international stage in Triumph and. President Barack Obama who had ridiculed. Putin at news conferences dismissing.

Russia as a regional power had to shake. his hand for photos in the United. Nations General. Assembly Ivan wed in on ayria deployment. it wasn't ideology or patriotism word. had spread that most Russian soldiers. did barely anything there most of the. actual ground combat was done by Vagner. a paramilitary group that first cropped. up in Ukraine though soldiers saw little. violence Ian heard that the salary for. an overseas assignment was double he.

also heard that a combat veteran. certificate entitled a man to a monthly. payment and two more weeks of leave per. year like a war vacation that continues. to pay Ivan asked to be sent but he was. denied it turned out that most people. had to pay for The Prestige of a. rotation if their new posting was bad. for Ivan it was even worse for Anna she. cooked their meals with the food rations. they were allotted the base's stores of. Dry Cereal were crawling with worms the.

service fed them old fish she didn't. like the other officers wives much and. didn't have close friends or work that. absorbed her was a far cry from her life. in St Petersburg reading Brodsky over. wine in the kitchen with her friends. still she remained madly in love with. Ivan and Sasha it was the small family. she had always dreamed of she took a job. in the municipality she was committed to. making their situation work around town.

everyone knew them Anna and Ivan Ivan. and Anna she was talkative opinionated. and. different when they got the chance they. took a trip to St Petersburg to see. Anna's friends Ivan noticed immediately. that the couple's apartment was nice. while they settled in the husband. continued working he was an IT developer. programming. something on his desk there were two. huge Sleek monitors and virtual reality. goggles Ivan noticed that the man could. get up and do something and then sit.

back down to work he wasn't chained to. his desk watching the clock it was his. choice how and when he worked they were. in St Petersburg but the man was talking. to a colleague in America in. English the couples went out for a beer. Ivan had thought he was making decent. money as a military man but he couldn't. afford the kind of beer the husband. ordered the guy just glanced at the menu. and chose the most expensive one400. rubles for a liter roughly. $44.50 and casually ordered some food.

for the table the beer was delicious. much better than what Ivan was used to. drinking he realized that their standard. of living was completely different and. of course he wanted this. too when they got home to the base Ivan. found that he was bored with this little. life they had built he had always liked. taking photos and started dabbling in. Photoshop he began teaching himself. coding at night helping Anna's cousin. with marketing their small business and. designing friends websites for fun Ivan.

and Anna made a plan he would leave the. military and become a web designer he. was almost done with his 20 years of. service and would be eligible for. retirement in. 2023 he would Bank the next two years of. vacation and promised overtime enroll in. the military's [ __ ] civilian. retraining program before his contract. ended retrain study web design himself. and make appearances at the mandatory. lectures. and take all his accumulated vacation. time while looking for a civilian job.

then by the time his contract was ending. that summer he would be settled as a. design specialist with a new job and a. higher income they would move to a new. city and start a whole new kind of. life in February 2022 Ivan registered. for a retraining course that would start. in September his commanding officer. signed off all he and Anna had to do was. wait and follow the plan but as Ivan. would later say Vladimir vladimirovich.

decided this was a bad plan he had a. better. [Music]. [Music]. one part two a change of. plans on February 24th news broke that. Russia inv ined Ukraine though everyone. said they couldn't believe it almost.

200,000 Russian service members had been. stationed at the border with Ukraine for. weeks the troops had been told it was. just an exercise but for some reason. they had been handed weapons medical. kits and gear around 4:00 a.m. local. time they began to roll across the. border the US government estimated that. Ukraine would be overrun within. days when Ivan lined up in formation for. assembly the new news was everywhere but. the commander made the announcement.

anyway we have launched an operation to. densify and demilitarize. Ukraine on base the reaction was muted. things continued as if nothing had. changed the same morning afternoon and. evening formations the same unit. Commander meetings at headquarters with. the colonel the same photo report minua. paperwork BS. routine perhaps it will all be over in 3. days anyway just like like Crimea they. told one. another but very quickly it was clear.

that things weren't going the kremlin's. way the second strongest military in the. world was failing to capture and hold. territory Russian troops were sto on. highways unable to occupy major cities. and losing equipment to Ukrainian. Farmers on. tractors Anna joined a wave of liberal. Russians expressing outrage at The. Invasion on social media a few hours. after she posted a story on Instagram. her supervisor called her and demanded. that she take it down did she want to.

get her entire office in trouble did. Anna not care about her own family at. all she agreed to remove it they had. been living in Putin's Russia for more. than two decades now they knew that. their opinions didn't really matter nor. could they say them aloud even if they. had. them Mass political Gatherings of any. kind had been effectively banned for. almost a decade by 2022 solo pickets. were the only allowed form of political. expression in major cities thousands of.

people took to the streets anyway many. were picked up in police wagons and. given 15 days of administrative arrest. in the first two weeks after the. invasion more than 13,000 protesters. across the country were detained still. many Russians did what they do best they. tried not to pay. attention in Ivan and Anna's small town. life went on as usual most everyone was. employed by the the government in one. way or another no one was interested in.

losing a job to hold a piece of paper in. the air if before the war everyone used. to say yeah we have a lot of problems. but at least there is no war now they. began to say well at least the war. doesn't touch us we live as we live we. have our own problems. here across Russian bases in mess holes. and offices during the 24-hour shifts at. Duty stations bored and chatting to fill. the time everyone seemed to just assume. that because this war was happening then. this war was how it should be they.

should just continue to practice their. patience that moral apathy they had been. honing their TVs told them that things. were going well anyway those who. followed the news on telegram might talk. about it with those they trusted did you. see that the 90th guard's tank division. had been ambushed on the outskirts of. keev or the tanks were stole on highways. because they didn't have enough fuel but. no one talked explicitly about why a. person could not say that they were. against what was happening at most they.

might wonder aloud why do we need this. war well we have enemies in the. west but couldn't this have been handled. more. intelligently couldn't the crimeia. scenario have been followed couldn't we. have supported pro-russian forces in. Ukraine or done a. coup maybe there's no other. way many probably did not have a strong. opinion Collective Russians didn't seem. to know what to think the Independent.

levada Center found that while 81% told. pollsters they supported the actions of. the Russian armed forces in Ukraine 51%. felt Pride for Russia and 31% felt. anxiety fear horror 36% believe that the. rest of the world condemn Russia for the. conflict because those countries obey. the United States and NATO while 27%. said it was because the world has always. been against Russia. the West responded with sweeping.

sanctions the rubble cratered but if the. move was intended to get the Russian. people to rise up against Putin's regime. it. failed of course there were some radical. Patriots who truly supported the. invasion but they were also careerists. and even if they had a negative attitude. toward the war there were plenty who. thought yeah it's bad but it's ours or. well since my Army is fighting I can't. betray it the thing about men in the. military is that they are military men.

they believe the propaganda that keev. was overrun with neo-nazis or that NATO. was poised to invade Russia or they just. wanted to see. combat but anyone who expressed surprise. at Russia's initially dismal performance. had obviously never set foot on a base. all those photo reports taken at clever. angles showing full shelves at empty. warehouses a decade of shu's appearance. over reality theatrics had left Russia's. soldiers poorly trained and equipped the.

reforms half completed and never fully. rooted in military culture it was much. easier to walk in unopposed in Crimea. send in soldiers without Insignia to. support separatists in danas or dominate. Rebel militias in Syria through air. superiority moreover it didn't seem that. Russia's Armed Forces actually. understood what they were doing in. Ukraine their commanding officers had. not been given instructions or battle. plans in advance rather than following.

traditional Russian military Doctrine. The Invasion looked like a botched. operation based on faulty intelligence. arranged by a few civilians in the. Kremlin who had never served a day in. their lives it didn't even follow the. basic tactical theory that Ian learned. as a Cadet to go on the offensive you. needed to outnumber your opponent 3 to. one the kremlin's reaction to failure. was Swift in early March the rubber. stamp Parliament fast-tracked two laws.

imposing a jail term of up to 15 years. for spreading fake news about the Armed. Forces or discrediting its actions two. weeks later it amended the laws to. effectively ban criticism of all Russian. government actions abroad calling what. was happening in Ukraine a war or an. invasion was quickly made illegal. instead it would be called a special. military operation SVO the few bastions. of Independent Media that held out. through the last two decades were banned.

or closed one by one most of the Foreign. Press quickly fled the. country by April the authorities had. detained 15,000 protesters Russian. courts had already made a practice of. charging people retroactively under. other laws for extremism for engaging. with undesirable organizations like. those promoting human rights and. personal Liberties and for social media. posts made before those organizations. were recognized ized as. undesirable many started deleting their.

social media profiles completely others. like Anna just sensored themselves some. horrified liberals left the country it. was only a matter of time before the. authorities would start sending those. caught protesting to the front. lines at Ivan's morning formation. commanders began asking for volunteers. to go to the SVO the first group of. roughly 30 soldiers from his base. shipped out in April at the beginning. the men stepped forward quietly on their.

own no one forced them to do it so. everyone on the base was surprised when. two of them returned not too long after. deployment Ivan sought them out it's. completely Savage they explained a total. baconalia chaos we are never going back. there the Looting the drinking the utter. lack of military discipline Insanity. their platoon leader had simply vanished. the rest of the The Troop seemed to. disappear. too I'm walking alone one of them told.

Ivan I don't know what to do I see some. dry rations lying there so I took it and. ate it I thought what the [ __ ] do I need. all this for picked up packed up and. left the man left his machine gun in. Ukraine and owed a large fine for losing. it I don't care about the fine he told. Ivan I'll pay it just fire me. faster a few men became a hoorde. soldiers stampeding their way back to. base men who had been scattered along. different parts of the front line ended. up running into one another at the.

airport in Moscow they had fled on their. own dime. unauthorized oh you're alone too yeah. I'm not [ __ ] going back there. soldiers were just walking off the. battlefield and returning to their. bases across Russia entire units refused. to fight in late March 300 servicemen. from a unit from buuk dagistan laid down. their arms and left Ukraine. by April 500 National Guardsmen had been.

dismissed for leaving Ukraine after Just. 4 days that month it became public that. 11 members of Oman a dreaded unit of. Riot police officers had refused to. deploy in July 150 contract soldiers. from the fifth separate guards tank. Brigade were dismissed after refusing to. cross the border into. Ukraine at the time a soldier could be. AWOL for over a week without prompting a. criminal investigation so the early. fusik didn't face immediate imprisonment. for leaving the front but they could be.

fired and for many soldiers the threat. of termination was deter enough these. men were often their family's only bread. winner they would be giving up their. entire life's accomplishments their. right to Free Health Care Child Care. Apartments extra veterans payments to. step into the abyss and Poverty of. civilian life with no training in. anything other than posing for photo. reports ripping up dandelion. but even those who actually wanted to be. fired didn't necessarily get their wish.

depending on a man's supervisor it. wasn't always easy to terminate a. contract especially as rank increased it. was a ton of paperwork and headaches for. everyone especially the higher ups so. there were men who drank a bottle of. vodka went to the police officers and. did something stupid in front of them so. that they would be taken to the medical. department where they would refuse a. medical. examination according to a provision in. the military regulations this would. trigger an early discharge refusal of a.

mandatory medical examination is akin to. the use of ban substances in Russia a. soldier could lose his driver's license. and be forced to attend a drug treatment. center but if this allowed him to get. out that was not too high a price to. pay not everybody was ready to go to. such extremes there were those who. thought yes it's bad and I do not want. to participate in it but I've got a bit. of time left until retirement so I'll. try to sit through it. and maybe no one will notice me and I'll. just stay here on my. base those people would have loved to.

quit but on their terms with all the pay. benefits and so on sure the army they. served in might be killing people but. they weren't the ones doing it just cogs. in the larger mechanism the existential. question repeated who should be held. accountable for the will of one. man Russians had been honing their skill. of Tolerance that patient in without. truly expecting anything to change the. thing is they weren't asking for.

anything more than what they had worked. hard for all those years this would. describe an overwhelming majority of. Russian service members and it included. Ivan who believed he could continue to. follow his plan they wanted to stay in a. military that was fighting a war collect. their paychecks get their retirement. benefits and leave without ever stepping. foot on the front line the phrase to. have your cake and eat it too in Russian. slang is to eat the fish and sit on the.

Dick evidence that this Hope was. misplaced was mounting after the first. few months of the invasion volunteers. began to dry up and the authorities. began an enlistment drive placards went. up around the provinces heralding Heroes. of the SVO calling men to join as. private mercenaries or enlisted contract. Niki recruiters offered huge signup. bonuses and Promises of coffin money the. ministry of Defense would ultimately. produce Sleek television ads that.

exhorted taxi drivers personal trainers. and security guards to man up showing. footage of their boring lives and asking. them is this the path you really want to. choose each man then morphed into a Ked. out Soldier moving through fog the video. explained that the monthly payment. started at $2,000 roughly triple the. nation's average income another ad. promised land tax exemptions. compensation for household utility bills. and sanitarium vouchers the ministry.

placed ads in subway stations at bus. stops and in store Windows Anna saw them. so often she had memorized. them strategically the Kremlin could. have started a mobilization right away. to build up a reserve Force but it. instead made the political choice to get. by with the troops it had hoping the war. would not disturb too much for too many. it tried to entice more people into. service the Russian regime passed a law. that allowed people over 40 to serve in. the armed forces even though a man.

couldn't call it a war out loud the. authorities promised that all combatants. in the special military operation would. be considered veterans under Russian law. entitled to a host of lucrative. long-term benefits recruiters promised. cash bonuses for Heroic Deeds like a. knocked out tank plane armored personnel. carrier and so on so on so. on conscripts who Putin had vowed would. never be sent to the front lines were. being cajoled by their platoon leaders.

to sign contracts so they could be sent. out we're all a team they were told we. have to go defend the motherland the. money was good if you were lucky if a. soldier was 300 Russian military slang. for injured even slightly wounded it. meant 3 million Rubles roughly. $33,000 after a few months there were. fewer and fewer troops at Ivan's. formation some entire outfits were gone. unit leaders were asked to make their. own lists of men to send out the base.

needed to send 50 men 20 men five men or. 20 again at HQ meetings at 5:30 p.m. even Ivan's Commander was angry why am I. always being asked to send people to the. SVO the chief of staff told his. subordinates to prepare a document. saying that each of them could not. possibly send more people as it would. disrupt the operation of the. base every time anyone saw so much as. hinted at Ivan going he refused only. when a name appeared on a combat order.

was a soldier obliged to go to the front. Ivan was able to make excuses for most. of his subordinates this one had to. attend one thing or another this one has. a back problem this one has a heart. problem this one has a family. emergency people could still go to the. local medical commission to get. certificates saying that they were unfit. to go to the front some people dodged. for months that way. when commanding officers were asked to. make lists they often took only the. names of their men who would go.

voluntarily and turn those in other. bases weren't as tolerant there were men. who were called to formation at 7:00. a.m. and asked to volunteer and those. who refused were forced to stand at. assembly for more than 15 hours the. military police were called and men were. handcuffed forced into buses taken to. the airport and flown to. belgrad there they were told that they. were going to war with no belonging. no equipment nothing they stayed there. for another 24 hours and then they made.

their own way back to. base by August us intelligence estimated. that Russia had lost up to 80,000. servicemen in Ukraine nearly 500. casualties per day pressure was building. generals asked the colonels who asked. their subordinates for lists upon lists. to throw at the front Russia's military. strategy was unchanged from Soviet times. the appetite from the top for bodies was. insatiable Russian military slang for.

killed in action is 200 many of the 200s. were platoon leaders younger officers. lieutenants senior lieutenants and. captains leading ill prepared troops on. the. offensive if a platoon Commander lasts. even 3 weeks at the front that's. happiness soldiers said rumors spread. quickly across group chats from Officer. school brutal careerists sitting fat in. the back back basements sent young. officers to die without a second thought.

without intelligence without. Provisions they were being given. incorrect information their commanding. officers were making basic tactical. mistakes for no reason an order has come. from above you have to fulfill the order. you have to Patna that's it what kind of. losses would result. irrelevant cruelty had long been part of. the Russian military experience since. the time of the Soviet Army the there. had been no professional. non-commissioned officer Corp to manage. millions of.

conscripts officers used violence to. enforce discipline including a hazing. system known as Josina in which. second-year conscripts Jets or. grandfathers brutalized first years as. part of the method of control a 1994. Russian Academy of Sciences report found. that a man entering the Army had an 80%. chance of being beaten 30% in a. particularly savage or humiliating form. and 5% chance of being. raped though the service time had been.

shortened and the first and seconde. distinction eliminated this war. resurrected the worst instincts of. Russian military culture the violence. was cyclical the younger officers who. had been abused by their superiors in. Russia's earlier wars in Afghanistan and. chia were now the generals reforms. proved to mean very little to wartime. command the savagery of jovina quickly. returned. it soon got back to Ivan's base that. commanders weren't showing much remorse.

over the deaths of so many of their. subordinates in. Ukraine one time the men overheard their. commander on the radio saying now I will. send you my meat further toward your. position this guy was calling his own. subordinates meat they threw a grenade. in his Hideout to kill him it didn't. work the guy had always been a bastard. so Ivan had no reason to doubt the. rumors another Commander earned the. nickname the butcher because of how many. men he had lost once the butcher was. sitting in his basement playing some.

kind of racing game on his phone when a. platoon commander who had just been on. the attack came in and told him here. comrade Colonel at the attack there are. this many 300s this many 200s the. butcher continued playing as he listened. then he sat straight up and shouted Duty. guard order me a pizza and returned to. his. game on August 1st their base commander. colonel s asked Ivan and his platoon to. line up in front of the podium during. flag raising in front of the entire.

assembly he informed them that they were. being sent to the SVO as. infantry they'd been expecting something. like this the whole platoon refused on. the spot they demanded to see a combat. order that officially listed their names. do you want to be terminated s asked. them since you refuse write me a report. of your. refusal Ivan believed that s was BL. fluffing that there was no combat order. with their names but if they wrote a. statement of refusal it would be the.

pretext to terminate their contracts. many of his men did it anyway they were. young they didn't have anything to lose. but their lives but Ivan had worked too. hard for too long he had completed. nearly 20 years of service more if you. count it all his overtime he was ready. to start his new life he was enrolled in. retraining taking coding classes online. trying to set up a Bitcoin mining. business on the side. everything was within his reach if he. stuck to the.

plan Ivan consulted with a lawyer who. told him that the Army could fire him. only for refusing orders so in his. refusal report he wrote that he hadn't. actually refused instead he had. misunderstood the task his Commander had. set out he was not refusing to go to the. SVO outright he would go but in his. current position which would keep him. far from the grinding front line he. cited his failing health for years Ivan. had a herniated disc he wanted to be. medically.

excused since his experience with pig. Ivan had been collecting documents so he. already had everything to prove that he. had medical problems and was owed more. than 300 days of. overtime he took the paperwork to the. Human Resources office and submitted a. statement requesting his time off Ivan. wanted to show that he was problematic. if the Army wanted to fire him fine but. he would not go down without a fight. if it was more work for the Army to. terminate him than it was to let him. continue serving maybe it would leave.

him alone perhaps he could draw this out. for the few weeks that remained until he. left for. retraining but when Ivan called the. retraining Center he was told that his. enrollment had been cancelled he. couldn't believe it he had the. confirmation paper in hand stamped. signed by the retraining Center signed. by his supervisor and signed Again by. the base commander how could the center. just cancel his admission was that even. possible he could only guess that the.

Colonel's office had contacted the. center called him a bastard for refusing. to serve and that was it can they really. deny me retraining he asked the head of. the program kind of came the. reply Russia's legal system uses the. trappings of a rules-based order as. window dressing for an authoritarian. state if you follow the complicated. minutia of the law to the letter. sometimes you can stand your ground and. win that gives people hope to keep. trying but other times the regime.

changes the rules in the middle without. warning it was as if you were playing. chess with an abusive. opponent sometimes you could pull a. Queen's Gambit sometimes your opponent. just smashed you in the face with the. board Ivan decided he would fight back. he would sue colonel s for denying him. his rightful retraining if he tried to. fire. him where is the refus usal report s. confronted Ivan at the parade grounds. another morning I'm going to sue you.

Commander sir Ivan replied s walked up. to him bent down to his ear [ __ ] you he. whispered before straightening up that's. it get out of here don't show up at the. base. again Ivan was suspended his lawyer. advised him to continue attending the. morning formation so no one could accuse. him of being awall they would fight his. dismissal in court his wrongful. termination Ivan never technically. refused any official order if he were.

fired he would be left with nothing Ivan. would show up to the base for roll Co. and go home for the rest of the day. waiting for his. termination Ivan and Anna disgusted and. tried to put a positive spin on things. it could be a lot worse after he was. fired they would start their lives again. even with. nothing across Russia other officers. were refusing to go to the front. a far more dangerous trend for the war. effort than the refusal of an average.

contract Knik officers who refused. couldn't be discharged they were too. valuable the state had paid for them to. be trained for this instead all manner. of pressure was applied to ship them out. they were mocked mercilessly in front of. assemblies marched around to the B's. political Affairs office for. conversations sent from there to. different cabinets of commanders for. more. conversations every every where it was. as if they were reading from the same. Playbook what are you a traitor.

abandoning your own subordinates you're. not a man pull yourself together coward. then threats we'll put you in jail we'll. find a reason to put you away we'll turn. you into the prosecutor's office then. harm we will take you out handcuff you. to a radiator and. shoot the risks of refusing orders once. a man arrived behind the ribbon as the. front was called were even greater. they had all heard rumors about the pits. the basements where officers were held.

against their will for refusing to fight. there was also a bulletin board which. soldiers took to calling the Wall of. Shame at the center of Ivan's base. displaying the portraits of these men. everyone knew that the Russian military. had no squeamishness about extrajudicial. reprisals throw a man in a ditch and. shoot him and tell his relatives he. deserted as rumored of Ivan's refusal to. be sent to the front spread through. their small town people in the street.

buted into Anna's life your husband came. up with the idea of not participating or. something they clucked soon the head of. Anna's Department again called her into. her office what do you mean your husband. doesn't want to we must defend our. country he's in the military that's his. job Anna wanted to shout at them that it. was Ivan's job to protect his country to. defend the Homeland land if something. happened on their territory she was sure. Ivan would be the first to.

volunteer but forcing a man to kill for. no reason there was a big difference she. didn't dare say any of that aloud yes I. understand she would reply we've made. that decision that's it she tried to. speak neutrally to stay detached without. stirring up unnecessary. conversations she felt she had no other. tools only that she could deaden her. Bright Eyes on. command Anna and Ivan were part of the. state machine if she wanted to survive.

she could not start any fights but she. could not rhetorically cave either this. small shred of dignity was all that. remained on September 21st Putin. appeared on their televisions and. announced a partial. mobilization there had been rumors for. weeks the front was hemorrhaging men I. will repeat we are talking specifically. about partial mobilization Putin decreed. trying to preempt the Panic that. followed the priority will be those who.

have served in the ranks of the Armed. Forces and have certain military. Specialties and relevant experience. before being sent to the place of. service those who are drafted will. undergo mandatory additional military. training based on the experience of a. special military. operation what Putin had not announced. but was written clearly on the defense. ministry's website was that the. mobilization included a stop-loss. measure in which Personnel remained on. active duty involuntarily until the end. of wartime.

conditions military strategists weren't. sure what took the Kremlin so long with. very few exceptions no man could be. terminated no contracts would be broken. Ivan had no idea if his commanding. officer had submitted his termination. documents in time would his punishment. be his. salvation Anna was at a girlfriend's. house when Ivan called her did you hear. the news. mobilization she asked though she. already knew yes he replied she.

understood everything she hung up he's. announced a mobilization she told her. friend I'm. off Anna got up went outside and. realized she was floating a kind of. shock where she couldn't feel anything. happening around her a man walked toward. her you understand that mobilization is. happening she told him what he asked you. understand mobilization is happening she. shouted she needed to get through to him. to someone even this stranger she needed.

him to know that he should. run previously there were plenty of ways. to skip mandatory National military. service a man could rack up to ferment. until he was over 27 if he went to trade. school if he went to college if he. entered a graduate program if he was in. college he could sign up for the. military department and graduate as a. lieutenant in the reserves without ever. serving a day. defense minister Shu did this he could. get a health exemption sometimes real.

sometimes not so real there had been no. meaningful penalty for non-compliance. with a draft notice a fine of $50 for. ignoring it but the mobilization threw. all that into. disarray if the war's toll had been. confined largely to military families. who are mostly from the poorer interior. of the country now the regime was coming. for the sons of the middle. class on the day of the announcement. 1300 people were arrested for protesting. risking jail terms of up to 15 years but.

most showed their opposition by fleeing. for their lives plane train and bus. tickets out of Russia were selling out. quickly at astronomical. sums everyone worried that the borders. were closing the land Crossings to. Mongolia Kazakhstan Georgia and Finland. swelled with carful of men they waited. for days there were rumors arguments. stabbings stampedes when people died in. line ambulances couldn't make it through. the crush to pick up the.

bodies telegram groups monitored the. situation advising which roads were. blocked and which checkpoints had the. shortest lines the Georgian authorities. closed one of The Pedestrian Crossings. only people on Wheels would be allowed. in men traded belongings for bicycles. and scooters and dumped them after. reaching the other side a mangled. Monument to their leader. Ambitions hotels and hostels in Border. Town towns were so full that people. camped out on the floors of movie. theaters mosques and Railway.

stations in the first week after the. partial mobilization an estimated. 200,000 people left Russia but the. population of Russia is 146 million as. many as 25 million of whom were. draftable including retired senior. officers up to age. 65 there were still plenty of bodies to. choose from people without the means to. flee or those without a good. understanding of their rights the state. called up 300,000 reservists at first.

but the total permitted number of. mobilized was. classified the opposition newspaper Nova. gazetta said it could number up to 1. million the country's bureaucracy was. not ready to handle such a Herculean. undertaking officials did not have a. strong Reserve Force just lists of men. who had done their national service and. what their specializations were which. most hadn't maintained or refreshed for. years or decades it was clear that the. authorities were targeting poorer.

regions quotas were levied on districts. which simplified the task but it also. incentivized the local authorities to. speed up their results instead of. serving specific people with summonses. they started rounding up men on mass. they pressured them to go to the front. and demanded that they turn over their. documents in order to process them as. draes in those circumstances the men. hadn't technically been served as. summons and could leave but no one told. them that others were served draft.

notices at their places of employment by. secretaries some of whom were themselves. on the verge of tears people received. papers at their homes at their parents. homes doctors were drafted sometimes the. only medical provider in town was. ordered to the front women too surgeons. gynecologists dentists all sent to. Ukraine by mid- October. 2,457 protesters had been arrested many. of the men who were detained were given.

military. summonses. 1,747 administrative cases were opened. and 58 people faced criminal charges 10. of whom posted their protest online 36. military recruitment offices and other. government buildings were set on. fire Penance for decades of national. silence was beginning dutifully the. Avalanche reported to local enlistment. offices with their summonses but those. offices were also at a loss reservists.

needed to be served processed medically. checked switched to active status sent. to training outfitted housed and fed but. there didn't seem to be a plan in place. to do any of that the draes arrived with. their friends their wives their. girlfriends their children their mothers. everyone was stressed and in shock where. are they going with whom what should. they bring do they really have to go. they had dependence debts health. problems people were arguing shouting.

demanding many were already drunk it was. obvious that the officials had no idea. how to answer their questions in. dagistan protesters blocked a highway. and besieged military personnel at the. local draft office in the Saka Republic. one military commissar was punched in. the. face the men were coralled from. enlistment offices into training. facilities that were ill prepared to. receive them there were no medical. checks or only perfunctory ones not.

enough first aid equipment zero or. limited training not even properly. demarcated areas for sleeping families. hurried to buy the men's supplies. camping store shelves emptied out the. mobilized gathered money from friends. and family to equip themselves with. basic boots jackets and yoga mats to. sleep. on from the outside it was easy to see. the assembled men as a faceless. zombified Russian Mass lining up to. board helicopters and transport planes. to their own deaths but of course it was.

never that simple many of these. civilians drivers tilers plumbers. security guards computer programmers. miners never wanted to end up in Ukraine. they barely had any opinion on politics. they did not know or even believe they. had rights once their summonses came. they did not think they had a choice it. was a command issued by their. government I'm an honest person an actor. who was mobilized in the first days told. me I've never once in my life had any.

police record nothing not even any fines. ever if someone gives me a paper and an. order from the government I couldn't. imagine I would just break the law when. I asked another man a municipal office. worker why he hadn't run when he was. served his summons he was dumbfounded by. my question how would I have expected. that idea to even occur to him I work. four jobs just to survive he told me I. had never left my town I couldn't even. afford to travel to Moscow 2 hours away. where would I have gone and.

how the day after the mobilization was. announced colonel s called Ivan back. into the Tactical room where they held. command meetings all the deputies the. commanders and the leadership of the. base were in attendance sitting at their. desks Ivan took a seat at the first. table I handed him a piece of. paper familiarize yourself comrade. Captain he was told your name is on the. combat. order though he saw his name and that he. was clearly ordered to leave for the.

area of the special military operation. Ian read every single word on that paper. everyone had to sit and wait for him he. was in no hurry do you refuse no I'm not. refusing he left to tell his. wife Anna was already there when Ivan. arrived at home I'm going to be sent. away he told her and that's it no they. won't send you she said right I don't. know what right that you refuse write.

anything everything you can't. go Anna started looking for help on. telegram channels writing to every human. rights organization she could think of. searching for keywords like Defector. Refugee she wanted to get Ivan out of. Russia but his passport like those of. other officers was kept in a safe at the. military base Anna knew it was probably. hopeless but she needed to do something. the internet was a light with promises. anyone who hates Putin's path and loves. liberal democracy is welcome in Germany.

Germany's Justice Minister Marco Bushman. tweeted on the day the mobilization was. announced Nancy faser the German. interior Minister echoed his vow. deserters threatened with serious. repression can as a rule obtain. International protection in Germany she. told a German newspaper the next day. anyone who courageously opposes Putin's. regime and thereby falls into great. Danger can file for asylum on grounds of. political. persecution American officials made.

similar pronouncements perhaps. politicians had forgotten how many. people actually take them at their. word Anna emailed organizations in. Germany and France Russian NOS Bots or. humans she had no idea no one answered. she had always been their dreamer while. Ivan was practical and goal oriented to. the point of pigheadedness he didn't. think running away was is realistic he. didn't have his passport where could he. hide if the authorities wanted to they.

would find him anywhere an officer in. war was a valuable. commodity Ivan believed he had two. choices go to jail for refusing combat. orders or go to the front if he ended up. in jail they would send him to the front. anyway but first they would befriend him. with a mop and then send him as a Ze. Stormtrooper the convicts who were being. rushed to the front line it had happened. to the of a friend of his Ivan resigned. himself to going to Ukraine let's figure. out a code to communicate Ivan told Anna.

he assumed that contact would be. difficult everything could be. intercepted so there would be no cell. phones no texting or calling or talking. he remembered some codes from his. training if I say 103 it means it's okay. he explained if I say 102 that means I'm. going on a combat Mission so there a. chance I'll be out of touch for a long. time there's a chance I might not get in. touch at all 102 is downright serious. and 105 is I love you Anna dutifully.

wrote the numbers in her notebook. through. tears Ivan wasn't sure exactly when he. was leaving the military transport. aircraft were notoriously unreliable he. would go to work go to formation go home. go back go to formation and wait a few. days later he got home and told Anna he. had been informed that they would go the. next morning we have one one night left. he said Anna did not want to believe it. please can we stay up all night she.

begged let's have tea like always just. be close to each other let's not go to. sleep. please Anna gave him a little icon and a. cloth prayer to keep in his Flack jacket. when you're really scared she told him. imagine you're in a dome I'm protecting. you just imagine my love protecting you. from. everything they stayed up all night just. looking at each other. Anna Ivan. whispered the hardest thing is that I. don't know how I will kill people like.

us who have the same. Sasha why would I have to do that I. won't be able. to please I want you to live please she. told him please just survive. [Music].

[Applause]. [Music]. part three the battle for the. boot there was little pomp to their. departure from the base Ivan was one of. three Junior officers in the transport. helicopter all of them had gotten a. reputation for refusing to go to the the. front these Scoundrels were joined by. two dozen contract Niki in what they. jokingly called the Flight of the Rogue.

officers Ivan had always been a nervous. flyer but he didn't feel anxiety anymore. he was busy making lists of things he. would need to acquire to ensure that he. would see Anna and Sasha. again the troop transport made multiple. stops as it crept across Russia along. the way Ivan started buying things to. augment his military issued gear he got. kit from an injured Vagner fighter who. had just returned from Mar opal the guy. sold him everything he had body armor.

with a rope and a carabiner as well as a. tactical belt and a first aid kit the. mercenary didn't rip him off he even. went to the airport to meet him because. he knew Ivan was in a rush Ivan also. bought himself Lowa boots he had read. online that they with stood shrapnel. from improvised explosive devices he. wasn't sure it was true but anything was. worth trying he bought an axxe and a. knife KN he tried to conol the men. around him to equip themselves too guys. you're going to war you could die of.

course the bullet is a fool he quoted. Alexander suverov one of Russia's most. famous generals but the odds go up when. you have normal. equipment I can't they replied I'm bad. man Ian thought it was depression maybe. he just wanted to be alive a little more. than they did maybe as Anna had said he. really was greedy for life. Ivan's transport truck rolled across the. border into Ukraine with little. Fanfare just one in a long Convoy on a.

broken road it had taken them three days. to reach this point they were never. briefed on anything just loaded unloaded. and reloaded into helicopters planes and. trucks the front was squalled their. final stop was a tent encampment. somewhere in a strip of forest but even. there Ivan spotted Ukrainian quadcopters. overhead there was trash everywhere. toilet paper bottles rations wrappers. boxes boots in the grass Ivan was.

baffled didn't these men realize that. the ukrainians would see this crap they. would throw their own [ __ ] back at them. in the form of rockets at their. heads some lieutenant colonel from Troop. services with a mustache came by in an. old Soviet car to welcome them settle in. here and they'll come get you he said as. he drove away and Ivan soon discovered. an immutable fact War can be exceedingly. boring the newly arrived Men set about. collecting the.

trash the Russians had deployed across. the front corresponding roughly to the. military District that the troops were. from so a base from the Leningrad region. would be at a different spot than a base. from the Nova Speers region as a result. everyone knew someone when he got to the. front the newly mobilized Mobic were. usually distributed to units from their. own. region when a new shipment of soldiers. arrived from their base the units sent. their buyers Scouts to plug holes in. their Rank and file they would come by.

looking for a Rifleman or an RPG Gunner. or a tank driver and so on the men who. weren't chosen by Scouts passed their. time talking or drinking whatever they. had managed to bring one by one everyone. was selected until just the Rogue. officers were left maybe no one wants us. that was fine with them they had no cell. reception but Ivan took photos of. everything the trench the tents the. coffee thinking he would find a way to. send them to.

Anna after a few days of loafing around. they decided to go to a village they saw. in their drive over they stopped the. first civilian car they saw will you. give us a ride the older man obliged. Ivan imagined it from his perspective. big guys with machine guns sauntering. down the street who could refuse the. driver had no idea that the officers. hadn't even been issued ammunition. in town it seemed that everything was. set up to service the front there were. power Banks charging and a big plastic.

tank where people gathered to get water. the post office was selling SIM cards so. soldiers could call home a girl at the. local shop was even running a currency. transfer service families in Russia. could transfer money to a Russian. account and for a commission the girl. would give the soldiers the cash they. bought water bread and sausages it felt. to Ivan just like being in Russia the. same small village Villages the same old. Soviet cars the same broken roads though. he tried to ask how things were he knew.

the locals wouldn't tell him the truth. it didn't occur to Ivan to consider. himself an occupier after all he was. there against his will guilt is a peace. time. luxury they had been at the front for 5. days when colonel s himself arrived he. was looking for Ivan personally I need. you to write a report as told him what. report didn't you a lawsuit against me. they need you to write an additional. report we'll take a picture of it and. send it in Ivan couldn't even fathom it.

a report like on a paper with pen he. didn't have those they didn't even have. water this clerical work seemed like. such absurdity they could all die right. now comrade Colonel what report Ivan. said I'm already at War what more do you. need the colonel looked at him what. lawsuit Ivan said it's over I'm already. here then is everything okay s.

asked yeah everything's fine Ivan said. he didn't need to consider it he had. been on bad terms with s in Russia but. in war he'd better not look for any. enemies the next day the Mustachio. Lieutenant Colonel returned and found. Ivan and his fellow Rogue officers guys. we totally forgot we had three officers. here completely forgot he said let's go. the mobics have arrived you will train. them after Ivan left Anna remained.

immobile on the floor of their hallway. the pain came from inside a place she. didn't even know was empty and she began. to. howl she lay there without sensing time. or space until she realized she needed. to watch. Sasha she got up and walked back into. the kitchen a friend arrived to try to. help Anna heard the sound of an aircraft. flying past the house she understood. that Ivan was on it her friend put her. in. bed the next day Anna tried to go to.

church to pray for Ivan but she was too. ill to make it she called the only. psychiatrist in their town I need. medication she told the doctor I can't. handle it I just can't handle it she. walked to the drugstore and found a line. of women out the door waiting for the. same pills I'll give them to all of you. without a prescription the pharmacist. announced I have a son there. myself Anna took two different. anti-depressants at a time they made her.

ill but she was Hollow anyway a blunt. stinging pain along with bitter. hatred she despised everybody but. especially people who talked about the. war it filled her with a kind of Rage. she'd never experienced she couldn't. criticize the SVO or say anything about. the government she couldn't scream or. grab hold of the person speaking and. Shout you've never sent a loved one to. their death you [ __ ] you'll never know. what it's. like everything she felt was compounded.

by the communal silence a feeling that. everyone was indifferent or resigned or. worse she was horrified by the response. of some of the women she knew one of. them threw her husband a party the night. before he deployed gathered friends to. see him off with a lavish dinner Anna. couldn't believe it. celebrations the worst part is he didn't. fly out that day he came back the woman. told Anna I was like why the hell are. you back I've already seen you. off it wasn't just enthusiasm there were.

plenty of stories of women who ran. pressure campaigns to persuade their. husbands to enlist men earn money in war. and you sit at home and get am measly. $30 they chided pointing to a neighbor's. new lot they threatened divorce they. drove their husbands to their wit's end. there were mothers who escorted their. sons to the enlistment office sometimes. against their will one woman story went. sent her husband to Vagner and then took. the payout for his dead body she married. another man who joined Vagner and met.

the same fate then she married a third. and a fourth she became Rich her social. media was covered in their photos oh my. dearest you are remembered loved. mourned the government's recruitment. propaganda campaign targeted women too. the regional authorities took pictures. of the wives and children of dead. soldiers who were given coffin payments. and ran them on telegram channels they. didn't seem to realize how awful it. looked when a young family stood there. holding 10,000 rubles roughly $100 with.

the caption we help the Widow of the man. who died for our. country still for such impoverished. people even such a some meant something. besides a mother who received her son's. body in a zinc coffin did not want to. think that her son was an. occupier she wanted to believe that her. son was a hero State propaganda. convinced her and her entire Social. Circle that her son died for a reason. not for the Ambitions of Vladimir. vladimirovich not for his power not for.

his money but as part of World War I and. she could find some semblance of comfort. in. that Russian children were already. exposed to war glamour from birth. playgrounds with decommissioned tanks. instilling in them that war is normal. that military hardware is normal but. after the invasion the campaign entered. Overdrive. in the 2022 budget about $130 million. was designated for things like military.

propaganda lessons the acquisition of. State insignia for schools and the. funding of children's patriotic events. in 2023 this Rose to more than $560. million in September 2022 the Kremlin. rolled out conversations about important. things compulsory lessons that would. focus on cultivating patriotism love of. country and the correct history Putin. taught the first lesson himself at a. school in.

kaliningrad two months later the. education Ministry announced a new. course in schools that would become. known as fundamentals of security and. defense of the motherland Secondary. School students would be required to. shoot guns with real ammunition they. would learn how to handle kalishnikov. rifles throw hand grenades and operate. drones at school assemblies. administrators lined up children in the. form of the letter Z Russia's symbol of. support for the war against Ukraine. schools installed hero desks in.

classrooms featuring images of Russian. soldiers who died in Ukraine active duty. soldiers as well as Vagner mercenaries. were often invited to speak to students. Publishers began scrubbing mentions of. Ukraine from history textbooks a. campaign for school children to collect. empty cans to make candles for soldiers. in the trenches was a success. it didn't stop with children New. Patriotic shows and segments aired. regularly on Kremlin curated television.

Russia fights only defensive Wars people. assured themselves a myth cultivated. since Soviet times across government. offices state employees were subject to. propaganda at Anna's office the bosses. forced everyone to watch a movie. explaining why Russia had no choice but. to save Ukraine showcasing gruesome. injuries that the fascist Ukrainian. regime had supposedly inflicted against. ethnic Russians severed hands injured. children they blocked the room's exit.

Anna put her head down on the table and. refused to look at the screen but her. co-workers were captivated is it really. so they exclaimed what a. nightmare Anna wondered how sick in the. head they had to be to believe. this after Anna's first social media. post at the start of the war she decided. that she would not post her own content. anymore when she reposted someone else's. the head of her Department called her in. and threatened her with prosecution for. discrediting the military unless she.

removed the. repost if you say anything again you'll. get a criminal record the department. head told her this is not a joke delete. it then her direct supervisor called her. I'm begging you I'm asking you as a. human being please don't put my head on. the scaffold I'm responsible for you. Anna deleted the repost and so whe. whether it was propaganda or. intimidation the ensuing silence was the. same Anna stopped speaking to her work.

colleagues but after Ivan deployed Anna. stepped through the mirror the same. people who had cursed and heckled her. when rumors spread that Ivan was trying. to avoid fighting now told Anna what a. hero he. was they told her how much they. respected her how they valued her. family's sacrifice don't worry dear they. could he'll come back he's defending the. country country she wanted to spit venom. in their. faces seven platoon formed up in front.

of a Forest Clearing it was mid October. warm muddy and Lush the Russians had set. up a hive of tents constructed a firing. range out of the earth and organized the. mobikes the three Rogue officers were. assigned their people the rest were led. by lieutenants who had themselves just. been. mobilized the men were nothing like. newon promised only some of them had. military experience others had zero. training Ivan set about choosing his.

three Squad leaders so that when he set. a goal they would be the ones to Corral. the 10 men under them to the. task in the encampment many of the men. were drinking Ivan couldn't blame them. but he told his Squad leaders that they. should tell everyone that there was no. alcohol in his platoon drunks were. capable of anything a drunk could see a. squirrel run into a tent and throw a. grenade at it and it was worse with. civilians who had been handed draft. papers out of the blue the mobilized. when they are drunk they are not human.

Ivan explained if anything shoots you. have my permission to fire if a drunk. walks in our Direction and doesn't. follow your command to stop shoot in the. air and I'll come out if he still. doesn't understand we'll end. him the next morning Ivan and his. platoon reported to a companywide. formation at the training grounds there. were obstacle courses and stations for. machine Gunners snipers and RPG G. Gunners Ivan had assumed that there. would be Specialists conducting the. training for the different activities. but instead colonel s tasked him with.

teaching his own men most of it Ivan had. never been in the Infantry but he tried. to remember what he could from the. academy he taught his men how to run how. to shoot and cover keep the shooting. constant when you take a position try to. shoot single shots so that you don't use. up ammo quickly so that the enemy keeps. his head down there's no difference. between firing three rounds and one. periodically without aiming just shoot. once Ivan drilled with every man he had. this had nothing to do with patriotism.

or benevolence it was all in the service. of. self-preservation each one of them could. end up being by my side in a fight and. making the difference to my life but the. opportunities for practice were abysmal. while the ukrainians actually trained. with their American javelins the. Russians treated their missiles like. treasure Ian heard that the anti-tank. Specialists got to train on one only. once he was told that a single mortar. cost 500,000 rues roughly. $5,500 later Ivan saw a specialist.

Totally Miss his shot and cost everyone. their cover the ukrainians hit back and. 10 Russian soldiers were killed but as. the butcher was known to quip before an. operation the female reproductive organ. will bear more children but the rocket. is. expensive the Russian military remained. the Russian military no matter the. location. Ivan found that he was always being. called somewhere to write a report. attend some meeting stand in a formation.

useless tasks as if they were on their. boring base in Russia not 5 kilometers. from Death on a stranger's land it was. always raining or miserable Ivan was. constantly trekking through mud and. puddles it was impossible to remove the. grime from his boots still he made it a. point never to complain got it he. chirped that's right comrade colonel he. answered every request attended every. formation kissed every ass he had to my. life depends on me right now it's clear.

what sabotage leads to the basement pits. were never far from anyone's. mind a few weeks passed before they were. told to pack up they would be going to. join their new units the buyers were. coming back and the guys gathered their. kit Scouts drove in and looked them over. are you. Captain yes Ivan said. first Battalion the Scout shouted and. Ivan climbed into the. carrier the town they arrived in looked.

as though it had been a nice place the. kind Ivan would have loved to visit in. peacetime people had taken care of their. Homes and Gardens they grew grapes on. canopies over their. carports now the whole place was. pockmarked by battle houses leaning. sideways fences collapsing roofs. Shattered by. shells the Russians didn't know or. didn't care about the street names they. called them by numbers first second. third Ivan was directed to head along.

First Street to command. headquarters the road was marked by a. tank that was wrecked when the Russians. drove it over a pile of their own minds. as he walked he picked up an apple from. the ground and bit into it it tasted so. sweet he saw a familiar face a sergeant. from his base call sign fiend fiend. recognized him too they Tre each other. enthusiastically it was nice to run into. someone from. home fi showed Ivan around a dilapidated.

house the soldiers had occupied they sat. in the kitchen rations wrappers and half. open containers the soldiers had taken. from the village cellers lay on the. table between onions sat a grenade Ivan. took a photo with his phone amused by. the Oddity of his new reality everyone. was smoking lazing around on the floor. they explained that they had nothing to. do but wait. what if a shell hits this house Ivan. asked you could at least sit in the. basement it's a roulette they replied.

there have been cases where people hid. in basements the mortars didn't hit you. but they hit the concrete foundations. and kill you. anyway nah I'll probably sleep in the. basement Ivan decided he went to have a. look 10 ft away from the basement. entrance a grad was stuck in the ground. the men were sleeping next to an. unexploded rocket there's a toilet there. but don't use it or May detonate the. guys called to. him back at the table fiend started. explaining the setup the battalion's.

headquarters were across the street. although they were supposed to be a. specialized reconnaissance unit they. were now in charge of initial assaults. the first group to take territory it had. turned into a blood bath for months they. had been trying to take a Windbreak in. the rolling Farmland that everyone. called the boot for its shape by early. October they had already been repelled. half a dozen times and taken a lot of. casualties they knew they would make. another attempt they just didn't know. when the boot was heavily fortified the.

ukrainians had dug extensive tunnels. it's [ __ ] there a guy who survived the. last offensive told Ivan it's not like. you just walk in and that's it there are. a ton of guys sitting down. there their Commander whose call sign. began with an l so we'll call him lion. was another man Ian knew from home lion. had been a tanker but ended up as a. commanding officer an infantry he left. their base in August as a major and was. promoted to Lieutenant Colonel during. his time in the. SVO at the base he had been an [ __ ].

but the guys agreed that as far as. commanders who stayed safe in the rear. trenches go lion was a good one he. pushed back against his superiors when. he was given stupid orders fiend relate. a story in which lion refused to send. his men forward during one assault on. the boot there's no option lion shouted. it's a meat grinder there the guys. believed that they had been punished for. lies and transigent refusals assigned to. worst patrols at the point of contact.

but they didn't mind at least their. Commander didn't think of them as trash. by the spring lion would be. dead Ivan headed to the command HQ to. officially receive instructions lion was. in the basement the walls covered in. rugs I'm here Ivan reported well lion. looked him over you can't get the [ __ ]. out now can you that's right Ivan. replied lion passed him a list of his. platoon personnel and dismissed him Ivan. asked his new Deputy to collect the rest.

of the men who were living all over the. village it took an hour to assemble. everyone when his 30 men lined up Ian. learned they were all contract. niky Ivan addressed them okay men let's. work let me say right off the bat that I. have no combat experience we'll get it. together Whoever has combat experience. step out and tell me about it one man. stepped forward his call sign was. student he had fought before in one of. the Southern Wars of Ivan's childhood he.

was a machine gunner there are you ready. Ivan asked him yes I'm ready you'll help. me if I need it. yes the assembly was over the guys. explained that over near a fence there. was a can if you put your phone on the. can sometimes you could catch cell. reception Ivan went over opened WhatsApp. and messaged Anna 103. it hadn't taken Anna long to quit her. job leave the base and move home to her. family after Ivan's deployment she.

started trying to renovate their. apartment to give herself something to. do before Ivan left he removed his. wedding ring and gave it to Anna for. safekeeping she wored on a chain around. her neck like a. Talisman as the child of a deployed. officer Sasha was placed into a good. daycare right next to their apartment. they could have their pick of any in the. city and and chose the closest one it. disgusted her when the other parents. fawned over them during pickup and drop. off she avoided their attempts at.

conversation Anna kept her phone on her. at all times with the volume all the way. up it was always charged she continued. to watch telegram channels and contact. groups about Ivan's case she. corresponded most with an organization. called adite lesum which worked. specifically to help service members. escape the group's name could translate. as get lost go [ __ ] yourself or go by. the. forest it was started by gregori sperin. an exile from St Petersburg who had fled.

the war and gone to tobli Georgia. sparland graduated from college as a. Reserve officer the same method that. defense minister shyu employed to avoid. actual service and had the idea for the. project within days of the. mobilization he wanted to find a way to. help people not go to war it was a way. to take Civic action to prevent. Ukrainian death deaths and the Russian. Army's atrocities as well as to save. Russian. lives if they were all guilty of Paving. the way to this war they could at least.

atone by trying to prevent the greatest. amount of. harm when he announced the idea on. social media sparland immediately. received hundreds of replies on. volunteers designers it people. psychologists lawyers people who had. cars and offered to drive deserters. those who wanted to contribute money to. help evacuate those who didn't want to. fight messages poured in I live near the. border with Kazakhstan and I know how to. bypass the checkpoint please keep my. contacts but delete all the messages.

within a week adite lesum had developed. a database of information about the. rights of service members the mobilized. and their families advising people on. how to avoid their draft papers and how. to leave the country Adil estimate. helped Junior officers Escape Russia but. never anyone as high ranking as a. captain Anna lived from one phone call. to the next she slept 15 minutes at a. time 50 minutes of sleep and then awake. 50 minutes of sleep and then awake in.

her dreams there was only Ivan only war. and only death she started scratching. her wrists and ankles they were covered. in blood they would Scar and Shimmer. like. burns the guys in Ivan's platoon were as. he put it decent men they had all picked. their own call signs when Ivan passed. around a sheet of paper. among them were Be Blood the deputy. platoon leader and first Squad Commander. fiend second Squad Commander keba third.

Squad Commander Achilles apricot and. student machine Gunners Frost old man. and space on the RPGs Hunter paddle. Shepherd and tinman Rifleman Rich Lake. the. medic when Ivan talked to them they. explained that they hadn't been dragged. there against their will some were. career enlisted others signed. three-month contracts thinking they. could make some money and go home after. signing they were told to report back. the next morning for transport to the.

SVO they never even met the commander of. the base they were assigned to none had. received the training they were. promised Ivan couldn't believe they. chose to be there you do realize you can. die in a war he asked this isn't a job. where your failure is your termination. your failure in the Army is your. death yeah yeah they replied they told. Ivan that they fought in another man's. War for the economic well-being of their. children after a while as more and more.

of their comrades were killed that war. would become theirs as well it was more. than just the money the government. promised that their children could be. admitted into schools normally reserved. for those with high marks bribes or. connections back home Shephard was a. Rancher he bred sheep and horses it paid. well about $400,000 rubles $4,400 a. month in profit. which was four times what Ivan made. Shephard explained that he had five. children and eight sisters and brothers. he made a decent living but he organized.

weddings for his siblings and helped. their children now one of his daughters. was trying to get into the police. academy Shephard explained to Ivan that. he had been told it would be much easier. for her to get in if he was at the. SVO 3 months for her whole. future the mobilization had put an end. to these ideas now every katnik was. obliged to serve until the end of. wartime conditions which could continue. indefinitely the platoon got along fine.

when someone went to town to buy. something he brought back extras for the. rest of the men people would drop by and. grab coffee or a cookie and talk they. didn't have much else to do humanitarian. Parcels were often passed through Lion's. basement though they had already been. picked over by others along the way the. good stuff never made it to the front. line instead they got chocolates and. socks and sometimes they got postcards. from school children who wrote to them. during patriotic lessons Ivan took one.

to his kitchen of grenades and onions. and pinned it up on the wall Soldier. come home it said accompanied by a. child's drawing remember we're waiting. for you he thought it might cheer. someone up but when he looked at it he. just felt. empty it wasn't long before Ivan was. summoned back to Lion's basement and. shown Drone footage of of the boot they. could see the trench full of ukrainians. in the frames lion told them that the. two companies had been assigned. different segments of the boot one.

company would move first then the other. like a pincer to force the ukrainians to. Retreat through the middle Lion's three. platons would divide their section into. three parts and do the same pincer move. on a smaller scale Ivan and his three. Squad leaders rewatched the Drone. footage more closely the ground was. scorched from past battles and. overturned armored personnel carriers. were scattered around the burned brush. the guys who participated in previous. attempts pointed out where the. ukrainians had positions earlier a.

pumping station and a Vineyard which. housed a snipers Nest Ivan and his. deputies agreed that they would run in. shooting throw a grenade at the. Ukrainian trench take the point and wait. for. reinforcements it wasn't a brilliant. strategy but lion didn't care they just. had to advance 90 lives for 2 miles of. Earth. previous attempts to take the boot had. been on foot they had crawled across. minefields and been overpowered now. without radically increasing their.

numbers they were told that they would. ride in with a tank which would clear. the mines with a visor that dragged on. the ground and raise the top soil. command said the men would walk behind. it if it snagged a mine the vehicle. would take the impact everyone agreed it. was idiotic like banging your spoon on. your plate and yelling to the ukrainians. I'm here I'm. here they had two days to to train so. they went back to the range during one. practice they were told to line up in. formation the general in charge of their. entire operational Direction strowed out.

to address them comrades we've got to. get the boot he began leaning against a. tree with his hands on his stomach I. know exactly how you feel I have a son. in the Airborne I was storming a forest. the other day ran into a wooded area. just like this. myself he told them not to worry another. company would come in from the right. side we're going to have artillery like. you've never seen in your lives there. will be 13 tanks you're going to be. covered from all sides reconnaissance.

reported that there are no more than 15. people in this Forest belt there are. only mobilized men guarding it don't. worry they are even more afraid than we. are they'll run away as soon as they see. you Ivan knew this was a lie their own. drones had shown them the troop strength. and the extensive tunnel system he knew. from school that any stronghold should. be attacked by 280 artillery shells not. fired just in the general area but at an. actual Target and only after that would.

the Infantry at three times the. defense's strength go on the. offensive Ivan had watched the YouTube. videos of the third separate assault. Brigade of Ukraine formerly known as. azov he saw how real Warriors took. territory the ones who were fighting to. liberate it but Ivan didn't want any. territory he didn't want to do a. particularly good job he wanted to find. find a hole to sit in the main thing was. just to. survive the night before the operation. Ivan prepared his supplies he took apart.

all the magazines wiped down the Springs. oiled them and carefully hung all the. grenades in the proper way he put extra. ammunition in his backpack along with. his first aid kit he distributed medical. supplies to his Squad leaders they would. leave their phones in Lion's basement in. a bag so no one could see their. geolocation before I handed his phone in. he sent Anna a message. 102 when Anna got the message she. remembered a video she saw online of a.

psychologist who said that we go crazy. the moment we allow ourselves to go. crazy she told herself that Sasha. couldn't lose two parents at once take. yourself in your hands you have a. mission she grabbed herself slapping. herself on the cheeks without that she. would stay still looking at the same. point on the wall like being submerged. in water Sasha was worried clearly aware. that something wasn't right for that.

Anna beat herself more if Ivan had to. survive so did. they she scrolled the news on telegram. endlessly Russians were on the retreat. and the. defensive that month General Sergey. sovin previously known as The Butcher of. Syria had been named Russia's overall. commander in Ukraine Surin had a. reputation for efficiency and brutality. under his command the Russians began. constructing what would come to be known. as a suran line miles of concrete.

pyramids known as Dragon's Teeth and. deep ditches called tank traps for the. defense of their supply lines they would. build miles of trenches with pill boxes. small fortifications that their troops. could shoot from the newly mobilized. would be put to work units could rotate. even rest there would be reinforcements. from men like I. the commander of Ukraine's Armed Forces. General Valeri zi stated bluntly Russian. mobilization has worked it is not true.

that their problems are so dire that. these people will not fight they. will but the mobilization had also. awakened the eye of some of the most. sympathetic quarters of society women. mothers of newly enlisted conscripts. wives of mobilized men gathered on. telegram groups to coordinate. humanitarian packages memories of the. mothers of conscripts from the chin War. who Moved like ghouls in the dark of the. Eastern Caucasus Mountains looking for. the bodies of their sons were hard to.

erase from the national. psyche the Kremlin worried that these. women would eventually take to the. streets they were active they wrote to. their Governors to their Mayors to the. committee of soldiers mothers to the. president's office to defense minister. shyu begging for their husbands and Sons. to be. returned Anna drove herself to exhaust. sourcing humanitarian packages for Ivan. she contacted everyone she could to. collect money for his Parcels when he. told her he needed a thermal night.

vision scope Anna started looking for it. everywhere she was not the only wife. trying to supply her husband at the. front everything near her was sold out. everything was expensive she found one. for sale in Moscow and contacted a. girlfriend there neither of them had any. idea what a thermal night vision scope. even was it looks legitimate she. reported back to Anna. or at least like a tube you can look. through when Ivan called her and told. her that everything was fine she knew he. was lying because he periodically sent.

pictures she watched as Ivan shrank to. half his former size they didn't discuss. it but she knew he sent the pictures to. help her geolocate his body so many. Russian women did not know where their. husbands died Anna knew she didn't. decide she knew that if Ivan were killed. she would go there herself to collect. his remains. she would not let him rot in pieces in. some sunflower. field at 0500 the company arrived at its.

position and waited Ivan saw spicy the. second platoon leader who would take the. middle of the belt well see you tonight. spicy told him yeah see you later they. shook hands guys it's going to be okay. Ivan told his platoon as they waited. we've been practicing everything's going. to be fine don't panic if you have any. questions tell me right away the main. thing to remember is to cover each other. the most important thing is not to panic. do not panic panic is the enemy on the.

battlefield everyone sat there breathing. out waiting for the sounds of the other. company moving in but it was. silent I couldn't understand where. everyone was lion radioed Ivan to. advance anyway and Ivan passed the. command down the line. the tank followed by an infantry. Fighting Vehicle rolled loudly into open. territory they were less than a mile. from the Ukrainian position spicy's.

platoon was moving too Ivan could hear. the men shooting from their tank no one. fired back everyone stopped and. dismounted immediately they came under. Fire everyone down Ivan shouted there. was a machine gunner shooting from the. Ukrainian stronghold the Russians. returned fire Ivan's Deputy Be Blood was. holding his hand screaming part of his. finger had been blown off down Ivan. shouted don't. move old man went to work he fired the. RPG straight into the Ukrainian.

stronghold it exploded then it was quiet. except for the radio spicy is 200 it. blared spicy is. 200 it had been about 5 minutes since. the offensive started the guy Ivan had. just shaken hands with they had been 50. yards. apart from from Ivan's vantage point on. the ground it looked nothing like the. Drone footage he studied back in the. basement with his Squad leaders he could. see only the trees no landmarks no black.

dirt no water towers or high points the. Earth began to burst then there was a. double sound that Ivan didn't register. until he saw something tough the Earth 5. meters ahead of him a splash then. another moving toward him like stones. skimming a lake in reverse a sniper was. working on him he turned and saw crater. he crawled backward until he tumbled. down into the. hole Ivan looked around and saw a. handful of others from his platoon also. hiding in the crater the hole was huge.

created by a bomb roughly 10 ft deep and. 20 ft in diameter the radio screamed. periodically this one's 300 this one's. 200 we need an evacuation right away. urgent help they had changed all their. call signs before the offensive in case. the ukrainians had been bugging them it. was Lion's directive and instead of 200s. and 300s they should call them X's and. O's but in the end it didn't matter. everyone was screaming as usual 200.

300 when Ivan poked his head out of the. crater he could see apricot a machine. gunner fiend second squad leader bare. blood Deputy platoon leader Tin Man the. senior Rifleman all lying there he saw. someone running toward their crater. totally upright despite the sniper. bullets and leaping through the air for. the the final steps at the last moment. there was a Grimace of pain on his face. Ivan watched it all as if it were in a. slow motion film I'm hurt Achilles.

shouted as he landed he was hit in the. back his pelvic bone shattered they. started bandaging him they stayed in. that crater for an hour or a few minutes. they didn't know how long thinking about. what to do hoping for backup I have two. 200s Ian called for support there are. 300s and a heavy. v300 a Ukrainian tank broke out of the. tree line firing hitting somewhere near. them retreating somewhere and then it. was quiet again Ivan looked out and.

radioed what he thought were the tanks. coordinates the Russians fired from. behind Ivan with an automatic grenade. launcher and missed 20 M right Ivan. corrected they kept firing Ivan kept. adjusting but the Russian efforts kept. failing they were just totally inept. wasting opportunities each time time. Ivan had to figure out the adjustment he. stuck his head out of the Foxhole. playing whack-a-mole with the sniper it. would be a dark comedy if the punch line. wen't Ivan's life half an hour went by a.

dozen attempts until it was clear that. it was useless to keep taking the. risk what began as an obviously bad idea. would grow ever more absurd Achilles. started to turn pale no one had thought. to check him for an exit wound when the. men turned him over it was right there. on his stomach. Ivan pulled out hemostatic powder that. Anna had sent him and poured a ton of it. in the hole where the bullet came out. with gauze on top they pressed down hard.

I need a [ __ ] evacuation Ivan kept. shouting on the radio go back on the. [ __ ] offensive line. radioed they must have been there for. hours when they saw the Ukrainian drone. the Russians started shooting at it the. Drone dropped its Munitions 10 ft from. their hole they managed to knock it down. but they knew they had been spotted. where's the trophy money I was promised. one of the men joked go get it and bring. it back to me Ivan replied and I'll put. it in order at least they still had. their sense of.

humor a voice above called to Ivan he. poked his head out of the hole it was. student the second machine gunner he was. 20 ft away pinned down by his heavy. backpack and couldn't cut off the strap. one of his arms was mangled they had two. options get student from above and risk. the snipers or dig a trench toward him. dig Ivan shouted his men they dug for. hours trying to make ridges and shelters. out of the ground but the Earth kept. crumbling in they dug a 10-ft trench but.

the more they dug the more it crumbled. they were tired they hadn't eaten it was. already the afternoon and they had set. out 12 hours ago a man could die Ivan. commanded let's keep digging they. stopped to take stock and realize that. the digging had made their own hole. smaller as the dirt fell into their. crater they were raising themselves up. to level ground it was like a. cartoon guys let's stop Ivan commanded. we're going to dig ourselves to the.

surface their water had run out all they. had left was cigarettes it felt as if. they were smoking one a minute. everything they touched was clawing at. their throats somebody had some candy. they passed it around until it was gone. they had no idea what to do next they. made a rope out of their belts old man. volunteered to run out and clip in. student with Ivan's Carabiner and then. they could all drag him into the. crater old man crawled over to student. and for some reason he decided to inject.

him with premod dool right there the. powerful anti-pain drug that the. Russians were given at the front was. known to relax people it made Student. floppy and impossible to drag as they. struggled to heave him the sniper. started again old man ran back and. jumped in the crater when he stood up. his pants were hanging low off his body. his jacket and belt were split in half. the sniper's bullet had skimmed him dumb. luck was their only savior attack line. continued to radio.

attack guys we got to do something Ivan. said to the men I can't just ignore. orders from command they will lock me up. if I go back what are we going to do. everyone knew that there were snipers. out there and that if they left the hole. one of them would surely die let's. pretend we attacking one of them offered. you go on the radio and talk as if we're. attacking and we will shoot from inside. here. let's do it Ivan decided everyone here. in favor of this story do you understand. what we are doing right now everyone. agreed is everyone clear Ivan repeated.

we all say the same thing yes Ivan got. on the radio I'm attacking we're. advancing we're. advancing all of them pointed their. weapons out of the crater and started. firing rounds in the air I'm attacking. Ivan shouted through their own melee. we're advancing we're advancing I'm. trying to move out I can't get out and. the enemy is is firing there's a tank. coming lion radioed get behind the tank. and follow the tank the Russian tank. drove past Ivan's crater is everybody.

ready Ivan asked his men let's at least. fake it stand up the men stood up and. the tank let off around all of them fell. over from the bang the tank pulled back. its turret right above the crater and. from 10 ft above their heads let off. another round the men were deafened. everything inside their pit was shaking. little grains of sand jumping up as. though gravity had been dismissed they. grabbed their ears falling down even. lower slowly Ivan heard voices more. distinctly it was lying on the radio. again screaming and cursing at them to.

advance I need an evacuation Ivan. shouted moments later explosions Sparks. smoke Ivan looked out of the crater and. saw more men running toward their hole. the evacuation vehicle had been blown up. the commander of the evacuation group. ended up in their hole too come on Ivan. shouted at him report from your side. that the evacuation group was hit so. that this comrade doesn't think we're. just [ __ ] around here the evacuation. team has been hit we need a way out we.

have a lot of wounded Ivan decided he. had had enough if no one came to help. them they would wait until dark and move. back we're getting out he radioed lion. don't leave without the 200s came the. reply if you leave them you're going. back to retrieve. them after the sunset the soldiers. crawled out of the hole they each. grabbed a wounded man and took turns. dragging everyone back they left the. dead apricot and an engineer who had. been attached to the platoon a few days.

earlier for the operation because they. didn't have enough hands Ivan crawled. all the way back the dirt and the Rocks. shredding the knee pads off his. uniform he turned and saw that some of. the men had disregarded reason despite. at least two snipers they walked upright. without. helmets Ivan who always wanted to. survive just a little bit more kept. [Music]. crawling in the safety of their rear. trenches as far from the front as you.

could get and still be near the point of. contact lion had the luxury of Fury why. did you leave the 200s he demanded of. Ivan you bastard I should lock you up. [ __ ] [ __ ] Ivan just listened he knew. it was important for the widows to have. proof of their husband's bodies to try. to collect the coffin payment or to have. peace of mind otherwise the state could. and probably would declare them. deserters and try to deny the women the. payouts it promised but Ivan had no. regrets he had to save the lives he.

could he also didn't think that was why. lion was so worked up about it Battalion. commanders must get some kind of penalty. for leaving bodies. behind when lion finished cursing Ivan. out he told him that his platoon would. be going to support the third platoon. led by Soviet who had taken the. territory they were supposed to. no sleep no food just more walking and. fighting yes comrade Colonel Ivan. replied Ivan returned to his men and.

explained the situation four of the men. refused immediately but lion threatened. them with arrest and they. relented it was past midnight as they. treed through the darkness Ivan's back. had started hurting they got to the. trenches dug near some trees and bunked. in for the night they hadn't eaten in 24. hours the third platoon shared some of. their rations Ian chewed a scrap of lard. someone past him and they lay down to. sleep huddling close to one another they.

were freezing Ivan woke up to a mouse. biting his finger he was Furious not. that the mouse was hurting him but that. it ended his Slumber it was so cold that. he couldn't fall back asleep it began to. drizzle though it was uncomfortable the. rain would make them less. visible Ivan heard a buzzing overhead at. first no one realized what it was a. quadcopter with a thermographic camera. which meant it could see them even. though they were hidden under trees it. could sense their heat and adjust a.

mortar Ivan had only heard that the. ukrainians had these his Battalion. didn't have anything like it immediately. they could hear the artillery exits and. the arrivals began falling around them. it was Carnage wherever they ran the. explosions followed when a shell missed. a direct hit it hit the thicket of trees. above them branches splintered in. fragments of wood Earth and metal. engulfed them a man near Ivan started. screaming arm arm more screams as Ivan.

ran he thought of Anna imagine that all. my love all my tenderness for you it. will be transformed into a protective. balloon that will protect you from. bullets from. explosions he could nearly see the. dome's boundaries surrounding him as he. ran at full. speed Ivan saw nothing felt nothing. until he tumbled down into a trench a. shell slammed somewhere nearby inches. from the opening a fragment hit the. third platoon Commander ripping out his.

stomach Ivan was a few feet away he. grabbed a soldier who was stumbling and. started walking the rain had turned the. road from clay to sludge it stuck to. their feet every step they took their. shoes getting heavier and heavier. between the grease the body armor the. helmet and the guy he was carrying Ivan. could barely move his back was hurting. and he began limping under the weight as. he walked Ivan started thinking in the. first attack just hours ago he lost two. men now this going back to Lion again.

what would happen they'll say you're. resting one day tomorrow we attack. again Ivan's back was twinging he knew a. guy back at the base Roman whose. herniated disc had gotten so bad after. wearing a flack jacket at the front that. he lost the use of both legs too bad. mine isn't more like his Ivan thought to. himself. or is it Ian focused on his pain he. turned it over in his mind what a. tantalizing. Daydream he heard on the radio that an.

evacuation vehicle was coming he limped. along toward the point and saw it there. men were starting to load up he passed. the Soldier's slack body to a medic and. stood by to give others a hand up when. he saw fiend fiend's leg was. wounded did you know Warrior died fiend. asked no brother I didn't Ivan said. Ivan knew Warrior was fiend's closest. friend fiend was on the verge of tears. brother I'm sorry Ivan repeated the main. thing is that you're alive that we're.

standing here with you fiend clambered. up the evacuation vehicle Shephard was. sitting on top of it what the next move. Ivan looked up at them thinking is that. it the driver called down shall we go. Ian turned it over again no he shouted. he climbed up. now let's go.