State of the World from NPR What four years of war in Ukraine looks like from Russia
Mar 10, 2026
A correspondent in Moscow describes Kremlin parades and victory rhetoric tied to World War II memory. Reporting covers weaponized polling, propaganda and shifting measures of public support. Stories explore life in small towns under social pressure, enlistment incentives and arrests for dissent. The piece also looks at rising censorship, exiled critics and claims officials still predict eventual victory.
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Red Square Parade Reflects War Confidence
- Charles Baines describes Moscow's Red Square Victory Day parade where soldiers, missiles, and tanks marched amid talk of a future victory in Ukraine.
- He quotes lieutenant colonel Yevgeny Wiltson, Yulia Belikova, and Alexander Boroday expressing pride, family service, and certainty that victory will come despite setbacks.
History Used As Political Weapon
- The Kremlin uses historical parallels to create an illusion of unanimous support and moral inevitability for the invasion by equating it with the WWII fight against Nazism.
- Alexei Mignailo and polling projects show manipulative questions and criminalized dissent produce inflated pro-war responses, revealing fragile consensus.
Mother's Story Of Her Son Labeled A Terrorist
- Turbina tells the personal story of her son Arseny, arrested at 15 and later convicted on terrorism charges he denies for aiding Ukraine.
- She describes the social isolation that followed, with neighbors avoiding contact and public displays of pro-war support around her family.