‘The only thing worse than war is losing one’ Even some of Meduza’s readers support the invasion of Ukraine. We asked them to explain why.
I found this very insightful, letters from readers of the Latvia-based newspaper Meduza explain their support for the war.
For those who don’t have a chance to read it, these are primarily Russians in Russia or non-Russian Europe and it often boils down to not wanting to face the consequences of losing. None of the letter writers express any support for genocide, terrorism, etc., but also conspicuously ignore the suffering of Ukrainians during the war or an eventual Russian “victory.”
Meduza has a disclaimer that I agree with and will copy here:
Warning: The authors of these letters attempt to justify Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. They may be extremely unpleasant or disturbing to read. Proceed with caution.
meduza.io/…
And just so there’s no confusion, I wholeheartedly endorse Ukraine’s and the US’s official position on this war and hope that Ukraine completely and resoundingly evicts Russia from all of its pre-2014 territory. My question for those who say they disagree with this war but now say it must be won to avoid the consequences (for Russian and Russians) of losing: do you really think that if Russia “wins” that this will be the end of this war and other wars by Russia?
I’m copying only three letters to respect fair-use policy:
Andrey
35 year old, Volgograd
A war ends when one side wins. Russia’s defeat will mean national humiliation, which we cannot allow. Therefore, we must win — we no longer have a choice.
Ukraine isn’t looking for peace. They’re just asking for more weapons and shellingRussian cities. Too much blood has been spilled for us to just say, “Thanks everyone, time to go our separate ways.”
Alexey
24 years old, Yakutsk
[Meduza’s] question [about why some readers support the war] is actually wrongly put. I don’t support the war, but I also don’t want Russia to lose. If that happens, it will be worse for everybody, and there’s no doubt the world we’re used to will collapse — and an even greater darkness will come. The war was a mistake, but losing it is unacceptable.
Dmitry
35 years old, Moscow
At first, I consistently opposed the war. But over time, I got tired of what was happening, of the constant fear for myself and my friends, of the fact that I could be called up [to the front] if I opposed the war, and of the foreign media writing that Russians need to do something about the current regime and the war.
I also realized that if Russia doesn’t find a way to get out of this situation without losing face or losing on the global stage, life in Russia will get drastically worse. There are a number of examples in world history that indicate this (such as Germany).
Nevertheless, war is always bad, and it doesn’t bringing anything but blood, death, and crippled fates. The decision to wage it was a mistake, that’s a fact, but now the situation has reached a stage where losing isn’t an option.
