Disturbances: War pushes the Russians to the end

These videos have been looped for a long time: paralyzed airports, with crowded boarding rooms, travelers exasperated by the lack of information or asleep on the mattresses finally made available to them. It has been several months since Cheremetievo, Domodidovo, Vnoukovo and Joukovski, the four airports in Moscow, are regularly closed because of Ukrainian drones. Last May, there were only six “normal” days. The rest of the month, air traffic was interrupted daily, at least a few hours because of alerts.

The phenomenon culminated between July 19 and 22, when around 600 flights had to be canceled. A few days later, on July 28, a massive cyberraid struck the computer systems of the national company Aeroflot, there again, leading to major disturbances. A chaos that has pushed many Russians on the verge of the nervous nervous crisis.

“I lost three Istanbul-Venise tickets and now I will have to repay $ 980 for each. What’s going on? ”Compared a Russian passenger who missed his correspondence because of the collapse of Moscow airports. Scenes have aroused avalanches of comments on Telegram. A certain “Jivoz Z”, obviously an internet user of the “ultra -Patriotic” movement (unless it is a bot), is indignant that a privileged Russian – because traveling abroad – complains about the loss of his plane tickets while “somewhere a retiree with a pension close to the vital minimum puts aside 10 euros to send candies to a soldier on the front …”

Lost tickets and lack of information

Another video shows very upset passengers. Cris fuse. A man then intervenes by trying to calm the spirits. “Everything is fine with us, transport continues to work, hospitals continue to work,” he says. Innuendo: despite the attacks we undergo from the West where, on the contrary, the situation would be critical …

These reactions are significant: many Russians are angry but are careful not to take the step which would consist in pointing the finger at the real reasons and those responsible for the slump. We complain about the inconvenience of delays, lost tickets and the lack of information from airlines, but never of Vladimir Putin by pointing the consequences of his policy. According to the polls, the Russian president also benefits from the confidence of 78.4% of the Russians (VTSIOM Institute). They are also 86% to approve its action (Levada Institute).

Even denial of causation with regard to inflation, officially below 10%; In reality, more than 15 or 20% for many basic foodstuffs, prices and taxes. Medicines, especially those imported, could become 20% more expensive in the second half of 2025 compared to 2024, according to an expert interviewed by the Gazeta.ru site. Omnipresent in conversations, the waltz of labels is the number one priority of the Russians and a major cause of dissatisfaction. Government and guerre However, even if, even if, after three and a half years of conflict, weariness continues to gain ground.

In May 2024, half of the population was favorable to negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine, according to the Russian Field Institute. A year later, 64% of the Russians are on the line of dialogue. Finally, agree to discuss, of course, but according to the conditions set by the Kremlin. Indeed, 82% of those questioned declare that they would support the peace proposal adopted by their president, according to Russian Field, in June 2025. However, a quarter of the Russians (24%) consider difficult to appoint the conditions necessary for a peace agreement … “Most Russians have long wanted peace, but they leave the decisions about this question to the discretion of the authorities” The Levada Institute.

Social networks

Will the Russians persist in this atony in the face of a measure which, if it materializes, will not fail to affect them? Vladimir Putin ordered the implementation, the 1^is Next September, restrictions on the use of Western messaging. Clearly, Zoom or Whatsapp social networks (80 million users in Russia) could be declared outside the law. “They try to strangle, we have to give them the same,” the Russian president said on May 26. The future of Telegram in Russia (68 million users) would also be in the balance. Instead, the authorities are already promoting Max, purely domestic messaging, linked to Vkontakte (Russian Facebook), and more easily controlled by “competent services”. No one believes a short -term blocking of social networks. It would especially involve, with these announcements, to “test” the reactions of the public. But the concern is present.

Because the atmosphere remains the turn of the screw. On July 22, the Duma voted a law penalizing research on the web of “extremist materials”. Exactly 5476 items were thus listed and the list published by the Ministry of Justice. It includes documents, films and photos whose consultation will lead to fines. Unsurprisingly, “patriotic” is there, the book of opponent Alexei Navalny, who died in prison in February 2024.

The Russians are especially annoyed by the increasingly frequent cuts of the Internet, which seriously disturb their everyday life. In July, three thousand cuts were identified, a record, against seventy-nine in May and six hundred and sixty-two in June. In a country where most payments are made by means of a bank card or a smartphone, consumers are constantly unable to adjust their purchases in stores or a taxi. The incessant interruption of geolocation complicates displacements. According to the authorities, these cuts are intended to combat air attacks. However, we see that they also intervene in regions, kamthatka, for example, where the threat of drones is not present …

Social exasperation

Could these accumulated hassles lead the Russians to get out of their hinges and to carry their dissatisfaction at the political level? We can doubt it. Power scrupulously ensures to minimize the effects of war on the morale of the population. “Power thinks that society is stable because the war has been relegated to the outskirts of public conscience,” wrote journalist Vladislav Chourygin on Telegram. According to him, the “routinization” of war is a means for the authorities to prevent any demonstration of social exasperation.

The fragmentation of Russian society contributes to this apathy. In a recent study, the political scientist Evgueny Mchenno distinguishes four groups: “Russia at war” (almost 17 to 19% of the population); “Deep Russia” (37 to 41% of the population); “Russia of capitals” (25 to 29%) and “Russia which is gone” (17 to 19%). The first group is directly involved in the war, the second benefits (notably by its use in the “military-industrial complex”) and the third, that of major cities, does not want to hear about war or politics. Only the fourth group, made up of those who left Russia, opposes the “special military operation” and the regime. And again, it is a silent opposition for those who have chosen to stay in Russia while considering themselves “exiles from the inside”.

Each year, in summer, the streets of Moscow move in a huge project. We replace the sidewalks, a lot of sidewalks, even those that were changed last year and are obviously impeccable. Passers -by are overwhelmed by dust and noise. Everyone knows the scourge which is the real reason for these all -round works: allow some to put their pockets full. We groan. We still groan. And then we raise our shoulders and we say “tak i jiviom” (“that’s how we live”) …

This article on The consequences of the war in Ukraine was written by “Le Figaro”French member of the Lena information network.

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