Wives of Russian Veterans of Putin’s War in Ukraine Told to Always Speak Quietly to Their Husbands and Never Approach Them from Behind

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Aug. 19 – Many psychologists have already suggested that Russian veterans of Putin’s war in Ukraine suffer from PTSD and other difficulties in re-adjusting to civilian life. Now, two pro-Putin groups and a mental health help center have issued an 18-page pamphlet telling the wives of such veterans what they should expect and how they should act.

              The We Value Life and Fellow Fighter groups, along with the Gagara anti-crisis center say that wives should always speak calmly and quietly to the returning veterans, that they should on no account approach them from behind, and that they should expect the vets to drink heavily and often for a long time to come (takiedela.ru/notes/ne-podkhodite-so-spiny/).

            “Dear wives of heroes!” the pamphlet begins. “War is a difficult test for anyone and especially for the warriors. Your men needed time to adapt to military conditions and their adaptation to peaceful life on their return also will not be quick;” but wives can help them if they follow some simple rules.

            Among the habits the wives of veterans should adopt, the pamphlet continues, are to speak quietly with their husbands, listen to their stories, attend their sports events, and expect increased use of alcohol and changed sexual habits including demands for rough and aggressive forms of sex – or reluctance to have sexual relations at all.

            Tatyana Sinitsyna, the had of the Gagara Center says that these recommendations have received positive evaluations by military personnel, but some women’s rights groups are concerned that the recommendations fail to recognize the threats that veterans may present and clearly don’t make demands on the government to help them recover from the war.

            Sofia Rusova of the Consortium of Women’s NGOs, for example, says that the pamphlet is based on the proposition that women are the only ones who are responsible for helping their husbands. And Vlada Ignatora, a psychology with an anti-rape group, says that if the returning veterans become violent, women should worry first about their own safety and flee the home.