Jan 12: ‘I hope this won’t influence viewers’

As published in Meduza, December 19, 2022

In social networks, videos are being dispersed, where Russians are being called to war. We asked the actors why they act in them

Story by iStories. English-language version by Sam Breazeale.

In the public “Vkontakte” under the name “I am mobilized” , videos appear daily with a call to make contact or volunteer to go to war in Ukraine. Agitation characters cannot find a decent job in their city, they are mired in debt, so they go to earn money in the war.

Upon their return, they buy apartments on a mortgage, which causes the envy of friends and drinking companions and the repentance of ex-girlfriends. In one of the videos , a young man caught by collectors promises credit holidays to the participants in the war. In another , a father goes to war to buy his daughter an iPhone. 

"Important Stories" called the actors and asked why they starred in such videos and whether they realize that they are inviting people to kill and die.