Widows of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine are using AI to ‘resurrect’ their husbands
In Russia, a new digital form of mourning is gaining traction, according to BBC News Russian. Widows and family members of men killed in the war in Ukraine are turning to AI to “bring their photos to life.” Using old pictures, wedding footage, or selfies, generative tools create short videos in which the deceased move, smile, and sometimes even speak prewritten words.
The demand has quickly given rise to a market. A growing number of so-called “neuro-creators” now offer to “bring your loved one back, if only for a minute,” “create a final message from your husband,” or “animate a hero’s photo.” Prices range from a few hundred to several thousand rubles (a few dollars to tens of dollars), depending on the complexity, the quality of the source material, and the length of the video.
Clients typically send in a photo (or sometimes several) along with a voice recording. The creator feeds the materials into widely available generative tools, then manually refines the output: removing artifacts, adding music, captions, military symbols, or a scripted message.
The videos vary widely in style. Some aim for a near-documentary effect, with subtle head movements and faint smiles. Others lean into religious or quasi-religious imagery, or even fantasy: the fallen man thanks his wife, offers parting words to his children, promises to “always be there” — and then ascends a staircase into the sky, becoming an angel.
BBC News Russian profiled several people building businesses around this form of digital “resurrection.” One of them is 21-year-old Katya Jin (Ekaterina Kirpichnikova). Even before the full-scale war, she earned money producing content for social media and took part in a paid campaign targeting Alexey Navalny. Her husband — also an online entrepreneur — went to the front and is now missing. Left alone with their one-year-old child, Jin now creates AI content that often centers on the image of a devoted wife waiting for her husband’s return.
A project called “Video Farewell,” launched in 2023, offers AI-generated clips based on photos, videos, and voice messages of the deceased. The project offers to help complete “a goodbye that was never said.” According to its creators, most clients are families of servicemen killed in Ukraine. Prices range from 1,300 to 10,000 rubles ($17 to $133).
Another creator, who goes by Aliyana, said she began making “farewell videos” after her brother was killed in the war. At first, she worked for free; now she reportedly earns up to 55,000 rubles ($730) a day. Another, Ulyana Lebed, told BBC News Russian she processes between 40 and 50 photos daily.
Some clients return for additional videos — marking anniversaries or birthdays of the deceased.
Most of these “neuro-creators” are women. Many say they share similar experiences with their clients: they, too, have husbands, brothers, or other loved ones who are fighting, missing, wounded, or dead.
As interest in AI-generated videos and the war grows, some creators are expanding beyond custom clips — offering training courses and selling prompt templates to help others generate similar content themselves.
