Russian deserter: we had to walk over corpses, our feet sank through rotting bodies

Katerina Gordeeva’s latest documentary "There's nothing human there" offers a stark and harrowing exploration of the Russian soldiers who deserted during the war in Ukraine.

In this three-hour film, Gordeeva interviews individuals who, for various reasons, abandoned the battlefield. The result is a sobering, often unsettling portrayal of the realities of war and the moral complexities of desertion.

The film is unflinchingly direct, making it both compelling and difficult to watch. Viewers are presented with accounts that expose the brutal realities of the conflict and the motivations behind the soldiers’ decisions. However, sympathy for the deserters is not easily evoked. As some participants admit, their choice to desert was not born out of compassion for Ukrainians but rather due to their own traumatic experiences and disillusionment.

One of the most striking stories in the film involves a minefield littered with decomposing bodies of Russian soldiers. A narrow, demilitarized strip provided the only safe passage, forcing soldiers to tread over the remains of their fallen comrades. The excruciating detail shared by a former soldier describes how their boots would sink into the decaying flesh, and the stench was so unbearable that footwear often had to be discarded after crossing. This grotesque image highlights not only the dehumanizing nature of war but also the Russian army’s indifference to recovering their dead.

In contrast, Ukrainian forces reportedly collect the bodies of both their own and their enemies, showcasing a stark difference in respect for the fallen.

The documentary delves into the propaganda-fueled mindset of many Russians, particularly those in older generations who grew up idealizing war through state-approved films. For them, sending sons to war is seen as a patriotic duty. Meanwhile, Russian state-controlled media paints a distorted picture of the war, presenting daily victories and liberation narratives that mask the grim reality of "meat-grinder" assaults where soldiers’ lives seem disposable.

This parallel reality makes it challenging for Russian audiences to confront the truths presented in Gordeeva’s film. The unrelenting depictions of suffering, neglect, and the moral void at the heart of the war stand in stark contrast to the triumphalist propaganda broadcast at home.

Gordeeva’s documentary forces us to grapple with difficult questions: What does patriotism mean when it leads to senseless death? And what is the cost of living in a society where human lives are treated as expendable? It is not an easy film to digest, but it is an essential one for those seeking to understand the personal and political devastations wrought by the war in Ukraine.