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Sad Update to ‘Notes from Russia’s Rear: Part II’

It only took a couple of weeks

B Kean
3 min readNov 28, 2022
Photo by Filip Urban on Unsplash

A month ago, I wrote about a woman, Anastasia (Nastya), a friend of my wife in St. Petersburg, who was so proudly preparing her husband for the front. Nastya is 37, and her husband is 38. Their two children are 3 and 5.

It only took a week or so and then three more for her to be informed. The letter was dropped into her mailbox on November 22nd. Her husband, the dad of two, will forever remain in Ukraine: He was killed.

It is hard to feel sorrow for him or any dying Russian troops. As we see how Putin and his monsters savagely destroy Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, each Russian death almost seems like a reason to celebrate.

My feelings are mixed for sure. But because my wife knew her and they are from St. Petersburg, a couple that, if not for Putin’s criminal war, might have celebrated Thanksgiving at my house with us the other day, this death becomes more personal.

In the article from last month, I shared a photo she sent my wife of a receipt. Nastya and her soon-to-be-mobilized husband bought hundreds of dollars’ worth of stuff that would make his journey to the front safer and warmer. Nastya purchased a lot of fleece and planned to winterize his things as best she could.

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B Kean
B Kean

Written by B Kean

The past holds the answers to today’s problems. “Be curious, not judgmental,” at least until you have all the facts. Think and stop watching cable news.

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