Russian television has aired an interview with a grieving mother and father who proudly bought a new Lada car with “coffin money” given to them after their son was murdered in Ukraine.
The interview aired on Russia-1 as part of a propaganda package about how the Kremlin is helping families of dead soldiers, though it also made notable references to the war’s heavy toll.
The segment was apparently broadcast all over Russia except Moscow.
In the video, the parents of 33-year-old senior sergeant Alexei Malov sit in the drab sitting room of their home in a village near Saratov, a city of 800,000 people in central Russia.
Alexander, the father, says he is proud that his son, like his grandfathers and great-grandfathers, fought against Nazis, a line the Kremlin is eager to promote.
“In memory of our son, we bought a beautiful new car,” says Alexander, with an obvious nod to the Kremlin’s apparent generosity. So-called “coffin money” is said to be worth up to eight million rubles, about £120,000.
The video then switches to the garage where Alexander shows off his new Lada car. The reporter says that “Alexei dreamed of having a white car” like the one his parents had just bought.
The car then drives down the road, past a row of tombstones. “The first trip is to the cemetery,” the reporter says.
The Kremlin has has put his huge propaganda machine into operation to dampen the impact of his war and this is the kind of news that viewers want to hear and see.
But parts of the video package will shock Russians, shielded from the reality of the war that has killed tens of thousands of Russian soldiers.