MOSCOW For most Russians, their country’s two-year war with Ukraine has long faded into the background of everyday life. “The average Russian is just waiting for this to end,” was how one Moscow resident described prevailing sentiments about the war. “The idea of 'let me live my life and leave me alone' resonates with many people who chose to stay in the country and are simply waiting things out,” he told The Moscow Times, requesting anonymity to speak candidly.
In the two years since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine, Russia has experienced a backsliding in several key areas connected to environmental protection and the fight against climate change.
On the evening of June 23, Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was preparing to give the order for his men to march to Moscow and demand the removal of Russia’s military leadership after months of rising tensions. Meanwhile, a seemingly unremarkable event was unfolding inside the State Duma’s imposing Stalinist headquarters a few hundred meters from the Kremlin one that nearly became an unprecedented political scandal.