The Deathonomics of Putin’s War

“Black widows” marrying soldiers to collect death benefits are symptomatic of society-wide rot.

A pile of mostly red flowers rests at the feet of a statue of a soldier. Behind it are the large letters Z and V and graves. November 17, 2025, 11:24 AM Comment icon View Comments ( )

Russia’s War in Ukraine

Understanding the conflict three years on.

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In October 2023, Sergey Khandozhko, a 40-year-old Russian man from a small village in Bryansk oblast, married Elena Sokolova, an employee at a military enlistment office in a neighboring village. The very next day, Khandozhko signed up to fight in Ukraine, despite having zero military experience, and was killed at the front four months later. A few days after his funeral, Sokolova c

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