Why Russians Still Sign Up to Die

Summary

The video examines why Russian enlistment for the war in Ukraine continues despite enormous losses and limited territorial gains. It argues that the explanation lies in a combination of historical memory, unequal exposure to the war, financial incentives, and political repression—not simply Putin’s dictatorship.

• The scale of Russian losses is uncertain but immense. Russia stopped publishing military death figures in 2022. A Meduza researcher identified by the pseudonym Michal estimates roughly 400,000–470,000 Russian fatalities. The video stresses that “casualties” is a broader term that includes the wounded and missing, and should not be confused with deaths. It cites a CSIS estimate of 125,000–150,000 Ukrainian fatalities. Russian deaths are rising while advances remain slow—roughly 50–90 metres per day in 2026.

• Historical memory shapes public attitudes. The video links tolerance of wartime suffering to the Soviet Union’s exceptionally violent history, including famine, terror, and the Second World War. It says Putin has used the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany to frame the invasion as a continuation of that struggle. State-backed commemorations, films, and monuments reinforce the connection, making some Russians feel that soldiers are following in their ancestors’ footsteps.

• The burden of recruitment falls unevenly. Although Moscow and St Petersburg have large populations, the video says confirmed deaths are disproportionately high in regions farther from the political centre. When adjusted for population, Siberia and the Far East stand out; Tuva is cited as having around twenty times Moscow’s death rate. The video portrays poorer and more peripheral communities as bearing a heavier share of the human cost.

• Money is a central reason people sign contracts. The video contrasts a median monthly salary of about 65,000 rubles with military pay advertised at a minimum of 210,000 rubles per month, including combat pay, sign-up bonuses, and regional payments. Recruits may also receive tax advantages, pensions, medical care, insurance, and veteran benefits. For some disadvantaged families, the potential income—and compensation if a soldier is wounded or killed—can represent a rare chance to improve their circumstances. One economist’s term for the system is smertonomika, or “death economics.”

• Conditions at the front are brutally dangerous. An unnamed combat medic says the front has become a wide “grey zone” and characterizes Russian tactics as sending successive groups of soldiers into highly lethal situations, treating manpower as expendable.

• Public support coexists with detachment and fear. The video cites polling showing Putin’s approval rising after the 2014 annexation of Crimea and the 2022 invasion, and support for the troops increasing from 68% in February 2022 to 77% in January of the year discussed. At the same time, the share of people closely following the war has declined from a peak around the 2022 mobilization. The video argues that many ordinary Russians were able to feel insulated from the conflict while recruitment relied on volunteers and contractors.

• There is support for peace talks, but little visible protest. The video says the share favoring peace talks rose from 48% at the start of the war to 68% in January of the year discussed. It attributes the lack of street protests to the risks of demonstrating—including fines, job loss, and imprisonment—as well as a social climate in which people avoid discussing politics. By treating enlistment as an individual, paid choice, the state can also make soldiers’ deaths seem like a private matter rather than a collective political crisis.

The video concludes that the government has managed the war’s manpower needs by offering money and keeping much of the population at a distance. It notes that another mobilization could test this arrangement.

Presenters and Contributors

• Presenter: Jochem Boodt
• Interviewed or cited contributors: Michal (a pseudonym; Meduza), an unnamed combat medic, an unnamed Russian economist, and an unnamed researcher discussing public attitudes and social pressure
• Production credits in the video metadata: Story producer Denis Blinov; 2D and edit Trevor Lo
• Additional thanks listed in the metadata: Meduza, Scotty, Sofia, and the Levada Center