Russians for the invasion of Ukraine, three years onwards

Driving in Tver, the first thing I notice is the soldiers.

They are everywhere. Billboards, the sides of the buildings, the bus stops. Portraits with the words “Hero of Russia”. Posters of troops with Kalashnikov rifles encouraging the public to “love, to be proud and to defend” Russia.

In other words, to register and go and fight in Ukraine. Three years after its full invasion of its neighbor, Russia is looking for new recruits.

Despite all the military images around the city, if you live in Tver, it is possible to make sure that life is normal. The front line is hundreds of kilometers away.

“Just look around,” Michael, a local teacher, tells me. “The cars pass by it and all the shops are open. No shells fall from anywhere. We don't panic. We can't hear sirens cry. We don't run to any evacuation points.”

For many Russians, their invasion of Ukraine – what the Kremlin still calls a “special military operation” – is something they meet only on their television screens.

But for people like Anna, it's much more real.

“I know a lot of people who went to fight,” Anna says when we talk on the street.

“Some of them never go home. I hope (the war) ends as soon as possible.”

Donald Trump claims it's what he wants. Without inviting Ukraine to the negotiation table, the Trump administration has already entered direct conversations with the Russian leadership.

What do the Russians of the US president and his overtures do to Moscow?

“Trump is a dark horse,” Anna believes. “I'm not sure what to expect from him.”

Some of the people I talk to in Tver have repeated the official story they have heard over the last three years on state television: that their country is not the aggressor, that Russia defends Russians and Russian speakers in Ukraine and liberating, does not occupy, territory.

This does not mean that Russian society as a whole buys in this alternative reality.

“In society, people always prefer to be in the main stream,” believes that Andrei Kolesnikov, a colonist for Newtimes.ru and Novaya Gazeta. “If the mainstream is provoked and the TV says that we are at war with the West, the average citizen will think so. It is easier not to think about the details. You want to live peacefully so why not join the majority?

“Some researchers call this the position of the fetus. When you defend yourself from this inexplicable world, you look like a baby. You say,” I can't explain what is happening. I believe you. You can feed me in words. I “will accept it.” This is typical of all societies of this kind: a little authoritarian, a little totalitarian. “

Larissa and her husband Valerie willingly accept the official line.

“We are all about the special military operation,” Larissa tells me. “We are ready to participate voluntarily and go there alone!”

They are not yet, clearly.

“We hope (Russia) will win. We want Ukraine's general capitulation.”

Police appear. They have received a call, informing them that “suspiciously looking people with a camera” tour Tver. Which means to us.

They are polite, but they want to know why we are here. They take a statement from our driver. They check our vehicle. They ask me for an official explanation for our visit. I tell them that we judge the mood away from Moscow. We show our documents that are in order.

As we talked to the officers, a crew of cameras from Russian state television threw himself and began to shoot us.

“We just passed,” the reporter says, “and we noticed the police and we recognized you. Can you tell me what's going on?”

“I don't know,” I reply. “Maybe you can tell us?”

“What did you shoot?”

“We talked to people on the street,” I say. “I believe we are allowed to do this.”

“Yes, we have freedom of speech here,” the reporter replies. “Maybe the police just wants to help you? It is unpleasant to hear Western TV spreading fake news that there is no free speech in Russia. You talk freely with people and no one is stopping you.”

“Besides you,” I point out. “And the cops standing next to our car.”

The incident that lasted about an hour is not a real surprise. Three years of war, they have a suspicion of the West in Russia. The early signs of thawing in American-Russian relations have not yet changed this.

Talking with the people at Tver it is clear that the Russians hope that cessation of fighting will lead to economic relief.

“Prices are so high now for the things I need the most,” Julia says as he shakes her baby to sleep in a stroller. “Like the price of potatoes and onions. I really feel it.”

But Master Michael does not think that Donald Trump has some strategy to secure peace.

“Unfortunately, Trump has no plan,” Michael said. “He is an improviser. He doesn't know what he will do. My sympathies are with him. I'm glad he won. But when we talk about this episode, we're all in the dark. And Trump is in the dark.”