Behind patriotic Z-shows in Arkhangelsk jingles alarming death song

Concerts and shows are held across Russia to raise morale and support for the war. In the region of Arkhangelsk, local authorities recently organised one of several events under the slogan “Za Rossiyu” (For Russia).

The concert was held in the premises of the local Patriot Center and the hall was decorated with flags and images of the “Z,” the symbol of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Among the groups performing were musicians from the Northern Fleet and Yunarmiya, the military youth organization established by the Ministry of Defense.

“The purpose of the concert is to express solidarity with the servicemen that courageously fulfill their duties in Ukraine,” the organizers said.

The hall was packed with people, many of them wives, mothers and grandmothers of men fighting on the battlefields in the neighboring country.

The performers at the Z-concert in Arkhangelsk praised war and warriors. But there was no mention of the great losses currently inflicted on the forces from the region.

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Information compiled by the Barents Observer shows that at least 30 men from the region have been killed in Ukraine over the past few weeks.

Based on information posted in local social media, a total of 32 soldiers have been identified. In many cases, public VK pages  from the mens’ home towns report about the losses.

Also local organizations for war veterans, among them the Arkhangelsk Union of Afghanistan Veterans, are sharing information about the soldiers killed.

The 32 names are added to the Barents Observer’s lists of north Russian soldiers killed. The men are presented in two slideshows, one covering primarily the first part of the war, and the second covering losses since October 2022.

The actual total number of local men killed might be significantly higher.

Until November, many of the soldiers were presented in social media posts by regional Governor Aleksandr Tsybulsky. However, since 1st of November, the governor has reported about only one case on his VK page.

Of the 32 men added to the list, a major number comes from villages and settlements far from the regional capital. Most of them were in their 20s and 30s, but there are also case like Daniil Popov from Udinsky village who was only 19 years old.

Several of men were fighting for the Wagner Group. They might have been prisoners that agreed to fight in return for the amnesty promised by Yevgeny Prigozhin. Among them were Yevgeny Kalinin and Vladimir Chistyakov from the village of Nyandoma. Both were killed in battles for the town of Bakhmut.

Some had fighting experience from Chechnya, like Dmitry Ozhigin from the Ustyansky municipality. The 41-year old soldier was killed near the village of Tokarevka, Kharkiv region, on the 14th of December. Before his deployment in Ukraine, he worked in a shipyard in St.Petersburg, VK page Poisk_29 informs.

Vasily Sheryagin was born in the village of Ulyukha, Arkhangelsk region in 1988. He had served in counter-terrorism operations in Chechnya and signed a new contract with the Army in 2014. He was fighting in Ukraine since August 2022 and was killed on the 31st of December.

Several of the men had undergone training in Pechenga, the Northern Fleet’s base in the Kola Peninsula near the border to Norway and Finland. Among them was 28-year old Kirill Shvadovich who was drafted on 8th of October. Following the training in Pechenga, he served on contract for the 61st Naval Infantry Brigade in Sputnik. He went to Ukraine on 17th of November and was killed shortly later.

Arkhangelsk Governor Tsybulsky is himself a man with military background. Reportedly, he served in the Russian Armed Forces for more than ten years before he ultimately ended up in civil service.

During a visit to training center in Pechenga, Murmansk region, the Governor was told by Northern Fleet Head Commander Aleksandr Moiseev that soldiers from the Arkhangelsk region are fighting with excellence in Ukraine.

“I can openly and confidently say that the Arkhangelsk Battalion fighting as part of the 200th Motorised Rifle Brigade of the Northern Fleet is successfully executing its tasks. The boys have not surrendered a single battle position and this serves as evidence that the training program that they are going through allow them to get efficiently prepared for service,” Moiseev underlined to the regional leader.

See below the slideshow of north Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine. The mentioned 32 men from Arkhangelsk are presented in the latter part of the slideshow