Fear and propaganda reshape everyday life in Russia

Fear and suspicion have intensified in Russia, damaging family and friendship ties, while war propaganda has become increasingly visible in everyday life, Yle reports. Finnish journalists Anna Jarovaja and Kerttu Matinpuro describe their observations in a newly published book about ordinary Russians.

Jarovaja, who was born and raised in Petrozavodsk, fled Russia and became a Finnish citizen. Her parents, who live in Petrozavodsk, support President Vladimir Putin’s administration. She has agreed with them not to discuss politics or the war in Ukraine, which she says is the only way to maintain contact with her close family members.

“We have reached the point where the war affects every Russian in one way or another,” Jarovaja says.

Jarovaja and Matinpuro travelled from Joensuu to Russia in spring 2025, taking a northern route through Kirkenes. They drove south from Murmansk to St Petersburg and interviewed acquaintances living in Russia about their everyday lives.

The journey resulted in the book Rajantakaiset: matkapäiväkirja nyky-Venäjältä, or Beyond the Border: A Travel Diary from Present-Day Russia. Both women are familiar with and fond of Russia. Matinpuro lived and studied there for eight years during the 2010s.

They said the atmosphere they encountered had changed sharply. Politics and the war are subjects that many people prefer to avoid at home, at work and in their neighbourhoods. Friends who oppose the war no longer want to meet in cafes because someone might overhear their conversations. People in small communities have to be particularly careful about what they say.

In Russian schools, a compulsory subject called “important conversations” was introduced after the war in Ukraine began. Its stated aim is to foster patriotism among children.

The journalists describe a teacher they know who struggles with the subject. In some schools, teachers can choose the content relatively freely, and this teacher has discussed subjects such as Russian history and nature. If required to teach war propaganda, the teacher said they would pretend to be ill, Matinpuro says.

Some parents also tell their children not to take part in discussions touching on politics at school or to reveal their opinions.

It is impossible to determine how many ordinary Russians support Putin or the war in Ukraine, the journalists say. Reliable opinion polling cannot be conducted because people are afraid to express their views.

Almost every Russian knows someone who has gone to war. Jarovaja says money is most often the motivation.

Those who have gone to fight are publicly treated as heroes. In small communities, roadside advertisements celebrate war heroes from local villages.

In Russian Karelia, the journalists met a car mechanic who had been seriously wounded in Ukraine. With support intended for veterans, he was having a new house and car repair shop built.

The war is also visible in cemeteries, which have been expanded to accommodate Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine. Russian army flags fly above many of the graves.