大象传媒

The everyday repression of life in Russia, as experienced by an anonymous dissident playwright.

In this essay, she reflects on the war in Ukraine and asks what role she and her fellow Russians might have played in it, what they might have done to stop it - and what Ukrainians must think of them now.

In turn, she explains how the Russian state is actively controlling the narrative about the war - and reveals the harsh consequences for those who dare veer from the approved 'truth'.

"They arrest protestors for carrying blank sheets of paper. It doesn鈥檛 matter what鈥檚 written on it, only that you are carrying it. If you are suspected of opposing the government, then you must be guilty."

Reflecting on Russia's history, she weighs up how life today both mirrors and is profoundly different to the harshest days of Stalinist rule, while pointing out the numerous violations of the country's constitution.

The essay is translated and read by poet and translator Sasha Dugdale.

Producer: Sheila Cook
Sound: Peter Bosher
Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith