“We have to go defend the homeland…” For Alexandre and Piotr, the rest of the“special military operation” There is talk of the Kremlin in Ukraine… at the top of an escalator, in the subway. It is in one of the most unexpected places in Moscow where these two young people, who wish to remain anonymous, quickly exchange information about the new wave of mobilization launched this fall to attract, with great force, publicity on the streets of the capital. volunteers for the front.
Recruitment information centers are now small stands set up at the entrance to major metro stations, such as in… Kievskaya, the station named after the Ukrainian capital. It is there, between escalators and turnstiles, that Alexandre, sitting behind a table covered with brochures on bright green and blue military paper, answers Piotr’s questions, standing, a passenger in transit, a solid guy, with a determined look. , but not very talkative. The exchange between the two elegant-looking thirtysomethings lasts barely a minute. The first fulfilled its informative mission. The second leaves with the promise of an incredible income: he will be able to earn 5.2 million rubles in a year, or more than 50,000 euros.
“They are in it for patriotism as much as money! »Alexandre acknowledges with a wide ironic smile. He and dozens of other subway employees take turns all day in teams of two behind these hiring tables. “The metro is the city. And the city is the State. “We are all mobilized for victory.”assures between two comments on the “Kyiv fascist regime” hiring “French mercenaries” to help NATO against Russia. In short, in the middle of the crowd, the elements of the narrative repeated for two and a half years by the Kremlin and its different propaganda media (television, school, theater and now… subway) are intertwined.
The brochure, like the posters posted throughout the city, on benches at the exit of stations, but also at store entrances and on the ground floor of buildings, details the promised salaries and bonuses, co-financed by the Treasury. Defense and Moscow City Council – 2.3 million rubles at the time of signing, then a monthly salary of at least 260,000 rubles. According to the Bloomberg agency, annual military spending will increase by 25% in 2025 to represent 40% of total state spending, or 6.2% of gross domestic product, a record since the post-Soviet period.
You have 64.02% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
