Get you up to speed: Russia’s ‘black widows’ are marrying soldiers to get their death payouts | News World
In Russia, some women are marrying soldiers to secure financial benefits, with one case involving a woman who married five soldiers before their deaths to collect payouts. The Kremlin has publicly condemned this practice amid ongoing scrutiny of military-related financial incentives.
The Russian military offers a death benefit starting at 5,000,000 rubles, approximately £45,000, to support families of fallen soldiers. The Kremlin has condemned the exploitative practice of ‘black widows’, as it challenges the official narrative of the war’s progress.
The Kremlin has condemned the practice of ‘black widows’, women marrying soldiers for financial gain, amid concerns over public perception of the war in Ukraine. Experts suggest that despite high casualties, societal acceptance of war-related death payments is driving some to exploit these incentives, with individuals increasingly viewing them as opportunities for financial transformation.
What remains unclear — The extent of the government’s measures to combat the practice of families marrying soldiers solely for financial gain is not specified.
Women marry Russian soldiers to secure death payouts as war continues
When a Russian soldier is killed, his family is given a lump sum (Picture: AFP)
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 WTX: ‘The financial incentives are life-changing, and so, of course, is what they call the “coffin money” if somebody doesn’t make it back.
The so-called ‘black widows’ have been slammed (Picture: AP)
‘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 WTX 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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