“We’re a product of what we were born into,” said Angeli Martinova, a Russian 21-year-old Foreign Exchange Student at San Francisco State University. 

“I am hoping that future generations of Ukrainians won’t tell others that Russians are bad people…Not all [Russian] civilians are at fault.” 

Martinova has lived in Moscow since she was eight, a city which has seen increasing authoritarian police and military presence as the invasion and subsequent war in Ukraine have escalated. She is against the war, and in contrast to her reality today, describes her childhood as something from a world of wonders. 

“All I would see was wonderful color,” said Martinova, describing Moscow as a beautiful place of abundant opportunity. “I just remember, like a mind-blowingly bright childhood.” 

But as she grew older, her perspective on the enthralling world she lived in began to change. “It was getting progressively worse at an economical state because we were becoming more and more poor and there was just less money,” she said. 

Martinova studied in the U.S. for two years while completing a foreign exchange program when COVID-19 struck the world. “When I came back to Moscow when this COVID thing happened, I was shocked. I was looking around and wondering, how did it get worse?” Martinova thought. “It’s so green, gloomy.” 

The unfortunate reality is that life in Russia has only become scarier since Martinova moved back. With Ukraine and Russia nearing the end of a three-week mass-casualty war, hundreds of innocent civilians have been killed and countless others severely injured. Families in Ukraine are being displaced and left without safety and shelter. The events that have unfolded were fueled by long-time tensions over Putin’s desire to expand the borders of Russia’s territories. 

“Everyone’s crying, everyone’s stressed,” Martinova said. “Everywhere you walk you see people with the same look on their faces, looks of sadness.” 

As news outlets across the globe continue to report on the latest developments of the war in Ukraine, Russia has continued to bomb major cities. One target included a maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, which left 17 people severely injured. 

As political and social tensions grow, Russian civilians have taken to the streets to protest against the country’s “military operations,” which is how the war is commonly referred to in Russian media, and not by choice. Russia enacted two major laws meant to monitor how the war is reported on and discussed. 

“I’m not allowed to spread ‘fake information’ about Russian military forces. But again, what is ‘fake information?’ ‘Fake information’ according to whom? The Russian government?” scoffed Martinova in an interview with El Tecolote. “Many major TV stations and independent ones have all closed, in the matter of a day. They decided to do it for themselves not because they were forced but for their own safety.” 

Recently an editor at Channel One burst out onto a live-broadcast with ‘anti-war’ poster to protest the current war. She was taken to court and has since then refused to retract her original statement. 

These current laws can imprison citizens for up to 15 years should they be guilty of making comments that aren’t aligned with the decisions of Russia’s military leaders. The lack of an independent media presence and access to global news—which is essential for citizens—is affecting accuracy, credibility, and perspective on current events. 

“I’m afraid to say anything about Russian forces, Ukrainian forces, and any other forces because [of] prison.” 

But aside from fear of speaking out, this atmosphere has also led to polarization. 

“When my dad starts with all his propaganda stuff, I just don’t listen. [My family] just talk and talk and we just get angry with each other,” said Martinova. “I am just frustrated and really tired…I don’t go into politics with them.” 

Despite these laws and polarizing views, Russian civilians continue to gather and protest in the major cities across the country. 

“You can’t just walk around Moscow,” said Martinova, who works at a Starbucks in Moscow, a city that is central to where several protests are being held. 

“One of my boyfriend’s coworkers was almost thrown in prison for just walking outside of the shop without proper documentation,” she said. “She took five steps outside of her work and was taken into custody because they assumed she was part of the protests when she was just going on break.” 

“Now we have to carry around slips of paper that state the times of our shifts and when we’re finished and can go home.” 

As media outlets continue to report Russia and Ukraine, something that is critical to that reporting is perspective. This is increasingly true as American companies continue to divest from Russia and as Russia-themed businesses in the U.S. are targeted. 

“My family and I were trying to find the safest area but information changes every day,” said Martinova. “So, I don’t know what’s safe for me anymore.” 

But with war still raging and with the number of casualties climbing, Martinova still has hope.

“I’m hoping for something peaceful,” she said. “I’m hoping Ukrainian people won’t forget, but will at least forgive.”