Russian soldiers receive millions of rubles when signing contracts for the war. This injection of cash is transforming the social fabric of remote Russian cities, such as Ulan-Ude, in Russia’s Buryatia region. New apartments and cars purchased with war money come with a hefty price tag: as modern real estate is being built, graves are piling up, and a generation of men is disappearing.
WSJ spent months interviewing current and former residents of Ulan-Ude, and analyzing social media footage, to offer a rare look at how war money is transforming the remote Russian city.
Chapters:
0:00 Russia’s war boomtowns
1:48 Mobilization in Ulan-Ude
5:02 Where the money goes
5:54 The recruitment strategy
8:23 The societal costs
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