Caught in Orwell’s pages Meduza’s readers describe their battle with hopelessness as year four of Russia’s Ukraine invasion approaches
Since day one of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Meduza has provided continuous, in-depth coverage of the war. In addition to our regular news reports and feature stories, we’ve maintained a Russian-language live blog. We’re now introducing another element to our war coverage: reader feedback.
We’ve begun asking readers to share their personal stories, including how the war has affected their lives and how they’re coping. We’d like to hear from you, too. If you feel inclined, please use the form at the end of this article to share your story, thoughts, or feedback.
Below, we’re sharing two recent responses to Meduza’s newsroom.
Elena
Moscow
[…] I think it’s only now, after almost three years, that I’ve started to see it all as life’s backdrop. We didn’t leave [Russia], and [now] we have to get on living and push ahead. My son is growing up, and he, of all people, isn’t to blame for any of this. I can’t change a damn thing. And this feeling of helplessness is probably the worst part.
At some point, I completely stopped believing in the reality of everything happening. It’s like we’re living in one of Orwell’s dystopias or the Soviet Union in the 1930s. Surrealism, absurdity, and sheer stupidity permeate everything. The verdict against Buyanova alone says it all. That was one of the latest gut punches.
You can’t explain it or fit it all into your head logically. For three years now, like hedgehogs in the fog, we’ve been searching and calling out for someone to show up and tell us the whole story. To explain it and try to justify all these horrors. But is that even possible?
Miro
Amsterdam
I am deeply worried about this war, and the slow response of allies of Ukraine. It’s perfectly clear that the aggressor takes any possibility to escalate and demolish civilian life in a peaceful country. I am afraid I will not live to see the end of this aggression, like the perpetual wars in Orwell's novel 1984. I also feel powerless. I sometimes participate in protests and support [Ukraine] financially as far as I can, but it all feels like a feeble effort.
The Belgium novelist Louis Paul Boon (1912-1979) once wrote “Schop de mensen tot ze een geweten krijgen” — “Kick people until they grow a conscience.” Make it so!