Posted on Nov 19, 2023
Ukraine war: The Russians snitching on colleagues and strangers
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Snitching, or reporting neighbours, colleagues and even strangers to the authorities, was common in Russia's Soviet era. Now, as the government cracks down on critics of the Ukraine war, people with personal grudges and political ideals are denouncing others once again.
"I was taught how to snitch by my grandfather who was a snitch himself," claims a woman who goes by the name of Anna Korobkova. She says she lives in a large Russian city but refuses to say which one.
But she does say her grandfather was an anonymous informant for the Soviet secret police during Stalin's reign, when denunciations were part of everyday life, and she's following in his footsteps. Now, she is reporting anyone she thinks is a critic of the war in Ukraine.
"I was taught how to snitch by my grandfather who was a snitch himself," claims a woman who goes by the name of Anna Korobkova. She says she lives in a large Russian city but refuses to say which one.
But she does say her grandfather was an anonymous informant for the Soviet secret police during Stalin's reign, when denunciations were part of everyday life, and she's following in his footsteps. Now, she is reporting anyone she thinks is a critic of the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine war: The Russians snitching on colleagues and strangers
Posted from bbc.com
Russia
Ukraine
Posted 6 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."'Endless charges'
Russian police have acknowledged they have been inundated with denunciations since the war began. Officials have told the BBC anonymously they are spending large amounts of time investigating and revising "endless charges on the discretisation of the army".
"People are always looking for an excuse to denounce someone over the 'special military operation'," a recently retired police officer told the BBC, adding: "Whenever something real comes up, there's nobody to investigate. Everyone's gone to check on some grandma who saw a curtain that looked like the Ukrainian flag."
With President Putin's repeated calls to "punish betrayers" and the end of the war in Ukraine nowhere in sight, serial snitches like Korobkova show no sign of wanting to stop reporting on their fellow citizens.
"I'm going to keep writing denunciations," she writes in an email to the BBC, adding: "I have a lot of work to do."
..."'Endless charges'
Russian police have acknowledged they have been inundated with denunciations since the war began. Officials have told the BBC anonymously they are spending large amounts of time investigating and revising "endless charges on the discretisation of the army".
"People are always looking for an excuse to denounce someone over the 'special military operation'," a recently retired police officer told the BBC, adding: "Whenever something real comes up, there's nobody to investigate. Everyone's gone to check on some grandma who saw a curtain that looked like the Ukrainian flag."
With President Putin's repeated calls to "punish betrayers" and the end of the war in Ukraine nowhere in sight, serial snitches like Korobkova show no sign of wanting to stop reporting on their fellow citizens.
"I'm going to keep writing denunciations," she writes in an email to the BBC, adding: "I have a lot of work to do."
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