Behind Z curtain
Elena Chernyshova
Panos Pictures
The frozen and “unpredictable” history of a country with a double memory turns into a double reality in the present. It is fraught at best with the inability to move forward, and at worst with open conflict.“ Nikolay Epple, *An Inconvenient Past: Memory of the State Crimes in Russia and Other Countries *[Moscow: New Literary Review. 2020]
More than 90% of Russians were convinced there could be no war with Ukraine, so February 24 came as a shock. But the word “war” was banned; this was a “special operation.” In the first weeks after the invasion, any remaining independent media were closed down, access to alternative news sources via the Internet was blocked, and state media took over with a substantial increase in funding. Commercial relationships based on trust built up over decades have been shattered. Hundreds of foreign companies have suspended their business activity or simply left the Russian market. Further sanctions have been imposed, affecting key industries, including oil and gas, that rely on imports for high-tech goods and components. Patriarch Kirill I of the Russian Orthodox Church has publicly expressed support for the war, providing the church’s blessing for the invasion. Anyone displaying a sign saying “Do not kill” can be arrested and jailed. Anti-war sermons in churches are not tolerated. Since 2014, Russian society has become increasingly militarized. Military training of cadets has been introduced in schools. Yunarmiya, the Young Army Cadets National Movement established in 2015, now has more than one million children across Russia, and “patriotic” military clubs are operating in many cities.
In poor regions, the army is the only social elevator, and voluntary recruits, instead of doing compulsory military service, are immediately given a contract and paid. Some of the soldiers under contract sent to Ukraine are teenagers with only three months training. Statements have been issued by the Ministry of Defense reporting Russian losses, but there have been only two statements, the last one on March 25. Russia’s victory in the “Great Patriotic War” recalling troops defeating fascism has been used to rally support for the hostilities in Ukraine, justified as “denazification” for propaganda purposes. The letters Z and V, as seen painted on Russian military vehicles, have become symbols of support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In Moscow, museums now feature exhibitions with a difference: “Ordinary Nazism” (i.e. in Ukraine) and “NATO: a chronicle of cruelty.” At the same time, the Supreme Court upheld the decision to shut down the Memorial Human Rights Center commemorating victims of Stalin’s regime and of political repression.
Since February 24, thousands of protestors have been arrested and detained. In March, the Duma passed legislation criminalizing the spreading of false information and any declarations discrediting the Russian Armed Forces, effectively silencing any opposition or independent reporting, and putting an end to cooperation with foreign organizations.
Faced with repression and the prospect of mobilization for the war effort, many Russians have reluctantly chosen to leave the country.
Elena Chernyshova
