As the war in Ukraine rages on, in Russia, some women are marrying soldiers before they head to die – in hopes of getting a large payout.
But the practice is facing scrutiny in a country where the government has openly encouraged citizens to get married for ‘family values’.
When a Russian soldier is killed, the military offers a sum beginning at 5,000,000 rubles – or around £45,000.
The benefit – meant to support the soldier’s family – is now being weaponised by scammers, dubbed as ‘black widows’, who marry the soldiers only to secure money when they die.
One woman working at a military hospital was fired after marrying five soldiers before they died from their injuries to receive the money.
The Kremlin has even spoken out against the practice as they struggle to keep up the facade at home about the war going well in Ukraine.
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Chatham House Russia expert Keir Giles explained to Metro: ‘The financial incentives are life-changing, and so, of course, is what they call the “coffin money” if somebody doesn’t make it back.
‘Hence the booming industry in “Black Widows,” some of whom are on their third soldier already because they’ve made a habit of it. So it is very, very lucrative. This is something unsurprising for Russia.’
‘There seems to be greater acceptance in Russian society of sending people off to die for the Motherland than you might expect in a Western liberal democracy.
‘But people also don’t have a clear idea of the scale of the slaughter because Russia has worked very hard to conceal that information from its population.’
Dr Ian Garner, Assistant Professor at the Centre for Totalitarian Studies at the Pilecki Institute, told Metro that other factors are at play.
People see these death payments as the chance to make some money. This is the only opportunity that people may have to transform their lives.
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‘People often ask why the huge death toll in the war hasn’t switched people off war entirely in Russia or hasn’t brought out huge numbers of protesters,’ he said.
‘The answer is the state provides them through war the means to become not just richer, more powerful and successful, but also to become a better patriot, a hero at the same time.
‘People see these death payments as the chance to make some money. This is the only opportunity that people may have to transform their lives.
He added: ‘The Kremlin is quite explicit in advertising its war that the war is a chance to become a hero. But becoming a hero in Russia doesn’t just mean being patriotic, being imperialistic, being a kind of Orthodox Christian crusader.
‘Being a hero can mean simply transforming the self, becoming more powerful and wealthier.’
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