An estimated 1.3million Russian soldiers have died in Putin’s war in Ukraine. As the nation mourns, a debate about taking food left as an Easter offering to the dead has emerged
Russian kids were filmed taking food and sweet treats left by grieving families on the graves of their dearly departed, sparking an online debate. The footage, which was shared by the mother of one of the boys, sparked an emotional debate with some asking if they were “starving”.
Putin’s war on Ukraine has left many ordinary Russians hungry with egg rationing in place in some regions while staples like chicken and potatoes soaring in price by as much as 92%. On top of this, the war has also left countless young men dead with estimates putting military losses at 1.3million.
This horrific situation means recently dug graves occupied by the son’s of ordinary Russians were busy with loved-ones dropping off gifts over the Easter celebrations. However, a debate was sparked online when kids were filmed taking the offerings to the dead.
The mother of a boy filmed taking the offerings argued taking the food was traditional while critics declared “blasphemy”. The boy was seen going through a box of cookies, candy, Easter cakes, eggs, and fruit.
A woman is heard saying “There’s everything: cookies, colored eggs, candy, tangerines, a bag of gingerbread. Entire boxes of everything. Even the chocolate bars are intact!”
The post received a huge wave of hate before the mother defended her son’s actions. She said: “I shared our traditions, which is customary here. I didn’t expect so many to react so negatively, that it would be unpleasant for you, and that you would start unfollowing me.
“We’re from the Rostov region. We always went to the cemetery. The kids collected candy, but not as much as in the video.
“It’s the same in the Voronezh region: adults put them there themselves, knowing the children will come and pick them up. Our grandmothers, our parents, us, and now our son collected the candies.
“I’m from the Krasnodar region. We leave treats specifically for people to remember.”
She added: “We spent our entire childhood going to the cemetery in groups, stuffing ourselves with sweets. No one thought it was anything bad.”
Meanwhile, others were highly critical of the practice. One person wrote: “This isn’t a tradition, it’s blasphemy! Are you starving?
“Everything left on a grave should stay there. It’s not for the living, but for the dead! And you just took it away!
“You can’t take anything from the cemetery, much less bring it home. It’s bizarre and eerie to find anything that’s been left on other people’s graves.”
They added: “We don’t even think about it in Bryansk; it’s a very bad omen. There’s Radonitsa for that, and Easter is the feast of the living. This is ignorance of the canons of the Orthodox faith. It smacks of theft.”
The mother responded: “How much hatred and evil you have! You write to me: ‘moral monsters’, ‘don’t you have any money?’ Are the poor not people to you?
“I just wanted to show you what we did for Easter. We have a big cemetery, all the children collected things, and my son collected this.
“We left bags ourselves for other children to come and pick up. There are so many different traditions in the world! It’s strange to react like that.”