On the fallen – Christina Hebel in Der Spiegel:

‘The zinc coffin is standing in the entrance hall of the university. A flag in the Russian national colors – white, blue and red – along with an olive green cap lies on top on the lid of the coffin.
Yury Dushkin was a private in the Russian army. A notice in the hall states that he died in combat in Ukraine under artillery fire. Dushkin was 23.’

(…)

‘It is quiet in the vestibule of the University of Inza. Olga struggles to hold back her tears. At times, you can hear her sobs. Every now and then, the wooden entrance door bangs shut when relatives, friends and neighbors enter. For a few seconds, the sunlight from outside enters the anteroom. Mourners hug the parents and lay wreaths and flowers to say goodbye to "Yura," as they call Dushkin.
His father Mikhail puts his hands on the red cloth of the coffin and stands there for several minutes, as if he doesn’t want to let go of his son. The body had been brought during the night to Inza, Dushkin’s hometown, located about 740 kilometers southeast of Moscow. At the funeral service, it is said that Dushkin got hit in the head by shrapnel.’

(…)

‘In Samara, 1,000 kilometers southeast of Moscow on the Volga River, a school teacher writes: "Today, we are saying goodbye to Ivan Frolov. He died in the performance of his military and civic duties during the 'special mission’ in Ukraine." And further: "Vanya, the whole high school remembers you." In the Leningrad region near St. Petersburg in northwestern Russia, an internet portal reports: "Our compatriot Sergey Soloyev fell heroically in the performance of his duties as a solider. He was a Russian patriot and served bravely. His death is a tragedy for relatives and friends, for all the people of Podporozhye." Hundreds of these notices have already been published throughout the country, and every day there are more.
ANZEIGE No one knows exactly how many Russia soldiers have lost their lives. In Russia, it is a punishable offense to report casualty figures other than the official ones. The Defense Ministry has stated that 1,351 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine. Sergei Krivenko, head of the human rights group Citizen.Army.Law, says he and his team have arrived at "roughly the same figure" by relying on public sources. But he adds that this is the "lowest possible total."’

(…)

‘NATO, on the other hand, has said that at least 7,000 Russian soldiers have perished in Ukraine, with Kyiv claiming that far more army personnel have been killed. Valentina Melnikova, the well-known human rights activist and head of the Union of Committees of Soldiers’ Mothers of Russia, recently stated in an interview with a Russian journalist that she believes the Ukrainian numbers are correct. She declined an interview with DER SPIEGEL, however, saying "it is too dangerous to talk to foreign media." She cites to the stricter legal landscape.’

(…)

‘In Inza, people had the chance for two days to say goodbye to soldier Dushkin. The town, with a silver-painted Lenin monument and a wood-processing factory, now has around 17,000 residents. Like many other small Russian towns, Inza is losing inhabitants.

The municipal administration is taking care of Dushkin’s burial. Officials want people to have the opportunity to say goodbye and the soldier’s coffin is laid out for a day at the university. Even the governor stops by briefly and speaks of a "great loss" for the parents and the Ulyanovsk region, of which Inza is a part. He lays roses on the coffin.
The head of the municipal administration calls Dushkin a "hero of our town – we are proud of him." He says that Dushkin protected his fatherland, his homeland, "he defended us so that we could live a peaceful life, learn and work." A veterans’ representative says the private was "at the forefront of the fight against Ukrainian nationalism, the worst enemy of Russia and all Russians." He says the munition that cost Dushkin his life was intended for "all of us."’

(….)

‘On his VKontakte profile, the young man shared an emblem with the name of his town spelled slightly different: Instead of Inza, it says "InZa," with a capitalized "Z." It’s a show of "support" for the soldiers, says Dibrov.
The "Z" has become a symbol of Putin’s campaign against Ukraine. It is emblazoned on many of the Russian military vehicles and tanks in the neighboring country. At home, it signals loyalty to Putin and approval for his actions in Ukraine. In Inza, residents carrying Russian flags formed a "Z" in front of City Hall, with a video of the event being shared on social media. Even a railroad locomotive rolling through the city is marked with a "Z."
Inza is an important railroad junction in the region, connecting west and east and trains rush through the town, particularly at night. Yury Dushkin also took the train on this route westward toward the Ukrainian border, says his friend Oleg Dibrov, adding that Dushkin had told him over the phone that he was on his way to a maneuver with troops from Belarus.’ (…)

‘Younger people, on the other hand, tend to be more skeptical. In Inza, Stas leans against his car, with bass thundering from the speakers inside. "Nobody needs this war,” he says, "it’s a shame for the people." Stas is 18 years old and will have to do his military service this summer. Is he afraid? "What am I supposed to do?” he asks in return. "I don’t have a choice."
Artur, 26, says he is fundamentally opposed to war and bloodshed. "But we have no power here to do anything about it." He says he tries to ignore the "Z" signs in his city.’

(…)

‘Reporting on fallen soldiers in the Ulyanovsk region apparently isn’t welcome. Russian-speaking journalists are also feeling similar pressure. In some regions, media outlets have had to delete reports about deceased military personnel only shortly after publishing them. The authorities even threatened the Russian-language Wikipedia to block an article with data on Putin's military operation in Ukraine.
The newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which is critical of the Kremlin, suspended its work this week for the duration of the "military operation." It, too, had been warned by the authorities. The newspaper, one of the few remaining independent media outlets in the country, had been trying to continue operations despite the censorship. Novaya journalists had also continued to report from Ukraine, attended funerals of fallen Russian army members and even provided a voice to desperate relatives of soldiers, who didn’t know where their men had been sent.
When Yury Dushkin was buried in Inza at noon on March 24, the war had been going on for exactly one month. The line of cars following his coffin to the cemetery also included several with "Z" stickers. Below that, some also bore the words "своих не бросаем": "We won’t leave our comrades behind."’

Read the article here.

This is a rare report from Russia, and it confirms what an independent pollster, Douthat quoted him this weekend in NYT, said, that support for Putin remains high. Which was to be expected, sanctions and war tend to seduce the population to rally around the flag, or around the dictator.

Russia appears to be careless, to state it euphemistically, not only with the population in Ukraine and with dissidents, but also with its own soldiers.

During the war in Afghanistan (1979-1989) approximately fifteen thousand soldiers from the Soviet-Union died, it’s telling that now in a month or so already seven thousand soldiers died.

The intelligentsia left Russia, the brain drain continues, what remains of the empire could very well be a failed state with nukes, a Pakistan sort of.