On day three of Russias invasion of Ukraine, Victoria Gogh realised her mother was slipping away from her.
I noticed on the phone that mum was starting to parrot the governments narrative about this war that this was all the fault of Nato, that Russia had no choice but to defend itself, said Gogh, 28, a fashion consultant originally from a small town in Siberia who moved to Moscow.
It became my mission to change her mind, to show her what was really going on, said Gogh, who has strongly opposed Russias invasion of Ukraine on her social media channels.
Vladimir Putins decision to start a war with Russias neighbour has seen many Ukrainian families torn apart, as their adult men are forced to stay behind and fight while other members of the family flee the violence.
But Russia has also been experiencing its own family rifts between those who back the war and those who oppose it. Often, that divide runs along generational lines.
In broad terms, younger Russians are less likely to have anti-Ukrainian sentiments. We have seen that the anti-war protests have also largely involved younger people, said Andrei Kolesnikov of the Carnegie Moscow Center. A lot of how you perceive the war depends on where you get your news, he said. If you watch television, you are simply more likely to toe the official line. And older people tend to watch more TV.
In the past, polling has found that television remains the biggest news source for Russians, with more than 60% of the population relying on it for information. Russians over 65 are 51% more likely to watch television than under-25s.
The full force of Russian state media has been mobilised to portray the war as a special military operation aimed at liberating Ukraine and protecting citizens in Donbas from Ukrainian genocide. Videos of Russian bombs hitting cities have been described as staged by the Ukrainian side.
We see that a majority of Russians appear to support the countrys actions, at least the way these actions are presented to them by the media, Kolesnikov said.
He said it was unsurprising, given the sensitivity of the topic, that the war had created tensions between families and friends: It is very hard for people to accept that their side are actually the bad guys.
Gogh, who decided to leave the country last week after being detained for joining an anti-war protest in Moscow, said she eventually managed to convince her mother, Svetlana, of her countrys devastating role in the war. But now I have to persuade my older cousins and uncles. I have got a whole list, she joked. Her mission is likely to become even harder.
On Friday, Russia announced a block on Instagram, days after doing the same to Facebook and Twitter. The crackdown on social media and Russias few remaining independent media outlets will further restrict access to outside information on the war and boost the influence of state media.
For others, like Dmitry, a tech consultant in Moscow, the war has already had disastrous consequences for his relationship with his family.
After the invasion, I wanted to move in with my parents to try to tell them what is really happening, Dmitry said.
During the first week of the war, he went through a daily ritual of showing his parents video clips of Russian shelling of Ukrainian cities and critical reports by independent bloggers and media outlets.
But none of it had any impact. It actually only made them more convinced that they were right. After a week, I moved back out of the house, and my mother has since texted that I am betraying my country.
The final straw came last Thursday, when his father sent him a news clip that claimed that Wednesdays bombing of a maternity hospital in Mariupol had been staged by the Ukrainian authorities, with actors posing as injured mothers. This conspiracy theory has also been promoted by Russian officials.
It made me so angry. I am not sure we will ever be able to sit at the same table again, Dmitry said, shrugging. I think they have been zombified by state propaganda, and they truly see me as an enemy of the state. I have given up.
For some, even their own experiences of being shelled have not been enough to convince their loved ones about Russias real activities.
The BBC and the New York Times have spoken to Ukrainians who said that their relatives in Russia simply would not believe that their cities were being bombarded.
My parents understand that some military action is happening here. But they say: Russians came to liberate you. They wont ruin anything. They wont touch you. Theyre only targeting military bases, said Oleksandra from Kyiv, describing to the BBC her attempts to explain to her parents that the Ukrainian capital was under Russian attack.
Ilya Krasilshchik, a popular Russian blogger and former tech executive, asked his 110,000 followers on Instagram to send him their own stories of family infighting.
Krasilshchik said he soon received hundreds of screenshots from young Russians, showing heated and emotional exchanges with their parents. He decided to post some of those conversations to show young Russians that they werent alone.
Clearly, this war has been a very traumatic experience for many families in this country.
Originally posted here:
My mother says I am betraying Russia: Putins invasion divides the generations - The Guardian
- Russia urges all sides to 'show restraint' after Iranian drone, missile attack on Israel - The Times of Israel - April 14th, 2024 [April 14th, 2024]
- China, Russia and Iran Are Rebuilding Empires to Defeat US, Europe - Bloomberg - April 14th, 2024 [April 14th, 2024]
- Ukraine appears to strike weapons system that's 'backbone' of Russia's EW - Business Insider - April 14th, 2024 [April 14th, 2024]
- Biden's Call: Survivors Say Russians Tortured Them With Twisted Sexual Abuse Named After Biden - The Daily Beast - April 14th, 2024 [April 14th, 2024]
- Drones saturate the skies over Ukraine, largely paralyzing battlefield - The Washington Post - April 14th, 2024 [April 14th, 2024]
- Ukrainians confront the once unthinkable: Losing war to Russia - Los Angeles Times - April 14th, 2024 [April 14th, 2024]
- US intelligence finding shows China surging equipment sales to Russia to help war effort in Ukraine - The Associated Press - April 14th, 2024 [April 14th, 2024]
- Reporter's notebook: Finland, happiness, saunas, NATO and the threat from Russia - USA TODAY - April 14th, 2024 [April 14th, 2024]
- Russian troops advance in Ukraine as Kyiv runs low on air defenses - The Washington Post - April 14th, 2024 [April 14th, 2024]
- Situation in east Ukraine has 'deteriorated significantly,' Kyiv commander says - POLITICO Europe - April 14th, 2024 [April 14th, 2024]
- Water levels rise and homes flood in Russia after a dam bursts near the Kazakhstan border - The Associated Press - April 14th, 2024 [April 14th, 2024]
- Trump thought Ukraine must be part of Russia during presidency, book says - The Guardian US - April 14th, 2024 [April 14th, 2024]
- Former Trump Adviser Fiona Hill Says Trump Believed Ukraine Was 'Part Of Russia' - Forbes - April 14th, 2024 [April 14th, 2024]
- US Imposes Sanctions on Use of Russian Metals on Exchanges - Bloomberg - April 14th, 2024 [April 14th, 2024]
- Russia Is Buying Politicians in Europe. Is It Happening Here Too? - The New Republic - April 14th, 2024 [April 14th, 2024]
- Western weakness in Ukraine could provoke a far bigger war with Russia - Atlantic Council - April 14th, 2024 [April 14th, 2024]
- NATO Countries Struggle to Recruit Troops to Counter Russia Threat - Foreign Policy - April 14th, 2024 [April 14th, 2024]
- Russia-Ukraine war live: US House speaker negotiates with White House over wartime funding for Ukraine - The Guardian - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- FBI chief to share concerns of organized attack in US after Russia massacre - The Hill - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- After Russia, FBI concerned about coordinated attack in US - NewsNation Now - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- How Russia's disinformation campaign seeps into US views - Voice of America - VOA News - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- Russia-Ukraine war: Ukraine parliament passes law to boost conscripts and fill army ranks - The Associated Press - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- U.S. Commander in Europe Says Russia Is a 'Chronic Threat' to World - Department of Defense - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- WATCH: Pentagon holds news briefing as general warns Ukraine will soon be outgunned by Russia - PBS NewsHour - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- Ukraine war: How to check Russia's momentum - The Interpreter - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- What Washington got wrong about Niger and Russia - Responsible Statecraft - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- Ukraine war: battlefield tipping in Russia's favour as Kyiv begs allies for more arms - The Conversation - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- Ukrainian parliament adopts law to expand military draft - The Washington Post - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- Russian Orthodox Church declares Holy War against Ukraine and West - Atlantic Council - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- In Russia's Far East, a new heavy-lift rocket blasts off into space after two aborted launches - The Associated Press - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- Why are floods in Russia and Kazakhstan so bad this year? - Reuters - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- Russian Air Force Has Lost 10 Percent of Fleet in Ukraine - Air & Space Forces Magazine - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- Russia and the Far-Right: Insights From Ten European Countries - International Centre for Counter-Terrorism - The Hague - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- Russia's migrants and ethnic minorities shiver at new Putin terror crackdown - POLITICO Europe - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- France talks tough on Ukraine while gobbling up more Russian gas - POLITICO Europe - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- Opinion | Everyone Wants to Seize Russia's Money. It's a Terrible Idea. - The New York Times - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- Russia Seizes Over 650,000 Acres Of Farmland And Other Assets From Company With Ties To 'Unfriendly' Country - Yahoo Finance - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- New Plot Striking the Heart of Russia Is Nightmare for Putin - The Daily Beast - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- Russia's army is 15% larger than when it attacked Ukraine: US general - Business Insider - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- 'His life is at risk': Lawmaker calls for release of jailed Russia critic - MSNBC - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- Tommy Tubervilles line on Ukraine, Russia goes from bad to worse - MSNBC - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- Russia Doing Everything to Stop Ukraines Counteroffensive, Zelensky Says - The New York Times - July 17th, 2023 [July 17th, 2023]
- An Arctic 'Great Game' as NATO allies and Russia face off in far north - The Washington Post - July 17th, 2023 [July 17th, 2023]
- Trouble in Paradise? New Disputes Cloud Russia-Turkey Relations - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - July 17th, 2023 [July 17th, 2023]
- What We Know About the Crimea Bridge Attack - The New York Times - July 17th, 2023 [July 17th, 2023]
- Russia Looks to Economic Redistribution to Shore Up the Regime - The Moscow Times - July 17th, 2023 [July 17th, 2023]
- Biden and emissary for Pope Francis to meet on Russia's deportations of Ukrainian children - POLITICO - July 17th, 2023 [July 17th, 2023]
- Russia: Ukraine to blame for fatal attack on key bridge in Crimea - The Hill - July 17th, 2023 [July 17th, 2023]
- Opinion | How Putin Broke Russia - The New York Times - July 17th, 2023 [July 17th, 2023]
- Explosions on Crimean Bridge Disrupt Key Link to Russia - The New York Times - July 17th, 2023 [July 17th, 2023]
- Moscow halts grain deal in what UN calls a global blow to people in need - Yahoo News - July 17th, 2023 [July 17th, 2023]
- Explosions disrupt traffic on a key bridge from Crimea to Russia's mainland - NPR - July 17th, 2023 [July 17th, 2023]
- Ukrainian helicopter crew say women flash them as they fly overhead to boost their morale fighting Russia - Yahoo News - July 17th, 2023 [July 17th, 2023]
- Russia halts traffic over Crimea bridge after Ukrainian attack - Financial Times - July 17th, 2023 [July 17th, 2023]
- Key Russian bridge to Crimea is struck again, with Moscow blaming Kyiv for attack that killed 2 - Yahoo News - July 17th, 2023 [July 17th, 2023]
- The bridge to Crimea is crucial to Russia's war effort in Ukraine and to asserting Moscow's control - Yahoo News - July 17th, 2023 [July 17th, 2023]
- Russia's Embassy in Washington is enmeshed in a different kind of war. - The New York Times - July 17th, 2023 [July 17th, 2023]
- A deal that lets Ukraine export grain during its war with Russia is about to expire - NPR - July 17th, 2023 [July 17th, 2023]
- China and Russia to Hold Joint Naval Drills - The Moscow Times - July 17th, 2023 [July 17th, 2023]
- UK announces new sanctions in response to Russia's forced ... - GOV.UK - July 17th, 2023 [July 17th, 2023]
- Russia Looks to Economic Redistribution to Shore Up the Regime - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - July 17th, 2023 [July 17th, 2023]
- Raiffeisen Bank Hopes War Ends 'Soon' to Avoid Costly Russia Exit Reuters - The Moscow Times - July 6th, 2023 [July 6th, 2023]
- Ex-Wagner Group soldier on the failed rebellion in Russia, Prigozhin fallout - Yahoo News - July 6th, 2023 [July 6th, 2023]
- Who Is Aleksandr Lukashenko? - The New York Times - July 6th, 2023 [July 6th, 2023]
- Photos Leak of Russias Mercenary Boss in Ridiculous Disguises - Yahoo! Voices - July 6th, 2023 [July 6th, 2023]
- U.S. is expected to announce it will send cluster munitions to Ukraine - NPR - July 6th, 2023 [July 6th, 2023]
- The Russia-Ukraine War Changed This Finland Company Forever - The New York Times - July 6th, 2023 [July 6th, 2023]
- Russia is split, chain of command crumbles Zelenskyy - Yahoo News - July 6th, 2023 [July 6th, 2023]
- Russia Now Using Parachute Flares In Attempts To Down U.S. MQ-9 Reapers - The War Zone - July 6th, 2023 [July 6th, 2023]
- Explosions in Lviv in Western Ukraine Injure at Least 4 - The New York Times - July 6th, 2023 [July 6th, 2023]
- Pentagon Aims to Stop China and Russia from Spying on Academia | Air & Space Forces Magazine - Air & Space Forces Magazine - July 6th, 2023 [July 6th, 2023]
- Putin says Russia positions nuclear bombs in Belarus as warning to West - Reuters - June 16th, 2023 [June 16th, 2023]
- Russia says it destroyed Leopard tanks, it turned out to be tractors - Euronews - June 16th, 2023 [June 16th, 2023]
- The Straits Times - Peace is not 'no war' and derisking has risks: Josep Borrell | EEAS - EEAS - June 16th, 2023 [June 16th, 2023]
- Russia's latest space agency mission: raising a militia for the war in Ukraine - Financial Times - June 16th, 2023 [June 16th, 2023]
- Blinken: US has no reason to adjust nuclear posture over Russias weapons transfer to Belarus - The Hill - June 16th, 2023 [June 16th, 2023]
- Orbn still vetoing EU's Russia sanctions over bank insult - EUobserver - June 16th, 2023 [June 16th, 2023]
- Putin's Silence Heralds the Return of Russia's Governors as a Political Force - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - June 16th, 2023 [June 16th, 2023]
- How Russia Went from Ally to Adversary - The New Yorker - June 16th, 2023 [June 16th, 2023]
- Opinion | Joining NATO Wont Keep the Peace in Ukraine - The New York Times - June 16th, 2023 [June 16th, 2023]