JRL NEWSWATCH: “Why Do Russians Still Want to Fight?” – New York Times/ Marlene Laruelle, Ivan Grek

“… [N]early 200,000 Russian troops … [reportedly have been] killed or wounded … in a military operation … incompetent and ill equipped. Morale is reportedly low and complaints common. … [Y]et a significant number of Russian men are still keen to fight …. One obvious reason is fear. Men called up to the army have no choice but to obey, because opposition to the war has effectively been outlawed[] [i]n … a stifling atmosphere, fed by wall-to-wall propaganda …. Yet … that doesn’t explain …. [all the reasons that] [a]bout 36 percent of Russian men are content to be conscripted … the most supportive … being men age 45 or older. … [T]hose men have faced industrial collapse, the disappearance of millions of jobs and declining life expectancy. The war promises to change that downward trajectory, transforming the losers of the past three decades into new heroes — even if dead or wounded. … [T]he war may be a horror[,] [b]ut it’s also the last opportunity to fix their lives. First, there’s the money. The federal base salary for a soldier is about $2,500 a month, … [plus] $39,000 for wounding and up to $65,000 in the case of death[,] [c]ompared with a median monthly salary of $545, … a handsome reward — even more so for … 15.3 million Russians living below the poverty line. …”

Click here for: “Why Do Russians Still Want to Fight?” – New York Times/ Marlene Laruelle, Ivan Grek