"It feels like 93. Only scarier." How that night went outside of Moscow
NeMoskva readers, who couldn't sleep that night and followed the news, shared their thoughts and experiences. They also shared what was happening in their cities and how their families, friends, and colleagues were reacting.
Penza
I've been monitoring the news since about nine o'clock. I was sitting with a group of people, listening to them. Everyone, to put it mildly, was in shock. I'm honestly in shock myself. I thought nothing could surprise me anymore. No, they've outdone me. They're awesome.
A feeling of unpredictability in existence. It seemed like everything was more or less clear, and then suddenly—such twists and turns. It's difficult to talk about feelings and thoughts. Rather, it's anxiety. At the same time, I wouldn't say I'm afraid of anything. We are quite far from the venue of these events.
The street is quiet. The few passersby are stunned by the rain, not by the news, which not everyone reads.
Far East
The news caught me in the morning.
I'm anxious.
Thousands of destinies and lives continue to be broken mercilessly.
And I don't know how I can help stop all this.
City unknown
The night passes nervously. It reminds me of the first days of the war, when you wanted to sleep, but you just couldn't stop following the news and collecting every bit of information. Except that so much time has passed, and as usual, nothing is clear…
Tomsk
Late last night, I was talking to a friend about the new law exempting criminals from prosecution. He said, "We're moving." I replied that we were moving toward something terrible, because this law is incredibly dangerous. It was around midnight.
On Saturday morning, I planned to meet a friend for coffee and then start packing for vacation. I woke up in the middle of the night, opened Telegram, and was horrified.
I understand that my plans need to be adjusted, but I don't know how. I wrote to my friend, but she didn't know anything and hadn't read it. The city is calm. But I personally am very scared.
City unknown
I stayed up all night, watching the news. I had a strong urge to go downtown, as if something depended on it.
There's a lot of anxiety; after all, it's not every day that something like this happens in Russia. It's scary to think that a fanatic like Prigozhin will come to power. But on the other hand, it's scary to imagine Putin's reaction if he fails... And the reaction will be widespread, not just directed at Prigozhin and his private military company.
Many friends who don't follow the news very closely have written to me asking, "What's going on?" But I don't know anything about it myself, except from the news.
It feels like 93. Only scarier.
Voronezh
In Voronezh, the governor asked people not to use federal highways or personal mobility devices.
I'm surrounded by a diverse group of people. Most are against the war, but there are also those who are "neutral." After talking with them, I noticed that everyone I know is happy about this PMC thing. Whether they're against the war or support it, everyone seems happy for some reason.
For example, my liberal-minded friend sent me this news and accompanied it with the following words: “Of course we’ll be screwed, but for some reason I’m so happy.”
A friend of mine from Donetsk, who supports the actions of the Russian military, added: “Finally, these f*cks will get what they deserve.”
And while they're all rejoicing, I realize this joy isn't real, but merely the result of powerlessness. The culmination of a year and a half of horror, fear, and pain. It's a dance on the bones.
As for me, it's simply painful to realize that the people of this country were united by hatred in the space of a couple of hours. Not a desire to end the war, not love, but something dark and frightening. A total hatred of the state and those in power, born out of fear of these loud words. After all, in our country, these concepts have long since taken a dark and rotten turn.
It turns out that we no longer see any possibility of a bright future. We have no hope of trying to correct what the dictatorship created. We want to sit on the ruins of a shattered empire and laugh madly, feeling free from the shackles erected by Putin's regime.
City unknown
I think this is all a cheap show (in fact, it’s expensive, considering how much money is needed to transport equipment, pay extra to units that are put on alert, leak information to the media, and so on).
I don't believe that this wasn't planned, since Prigozhin has never criticized Putin in all this time, but now he's decided to rebel.
I have many versions: from an attempt to identify rats in the Ministry of Defense in such a radical way to luring the RDC into a trap.
I'm not an expert, but it seems to me that there will be reshuffles, purges, and a transition to an even greater dictatorship.
Tomsk
Tomsk is in a state of turmoil right now. No one's sleeping.
Kurgan region
In Shadrinsk, Kurgan region, everything is calm for now, but there is a bad feeling.
