Meduza readers describe coping with wartime loneliness in Russia
Russian outlet Meduza has published reader responses describing how the war in Ukraine has broken friendships and family ties across Russia, pushing many toward isolation. Readers describe cutting off relatives, turning to therapy, and even talking to AI to cope.
In August, independent Russian outlet Meduza published an article on how the war in Ukraine has fueled an epidemic of loneliness in Russia, as the invasion severed many people's ties with relatives and friends. Afterward, the outlet invited readers to share their own experiences of isolation, and it has now published a selection of their responses.
Several readers describe cutting contact with people who supported the war after it began in 2022, including parents and other relatives. Some note that even among war supporters, exhaustion has set in over time, with people privately wanting the war to end — though openly discussing it remains difficult or dangerous.
Readers describe various coping strategies, from avoiding Russian-language media and online spaces to communicating with foreigners in English on international platforms. Several say they have turned to AI chatbots as conversation partners or even as substitutes for therapy, citing a lack of trust and openness in interactions with other people.
One reader who moved to a region with widespread support for the war said her family has withdrawn almost entirely from the surrounding community, since expressing antiwar views there is effectively impossible. Other readers mention financial difficulties limiting access to psychological therapy, as well as losing friends — some to emigration, others to addiction-related deaths.
Several respondents say they still seek out like-minded people, both online and through everyday encounters with strangers, hoping for genuine human contact rather than only virtual connection.
