{"id":53750,"date":"2025-07-21T17:29:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T22:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/?p=53750"},"modified":"2025-07-21T17:29:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T22:29:00","slug":"their-fates-are-terrifying-in-their-ordinariness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/?p=53750","title":{"rendered":"“Their Fates are Terrifying in their Ordinariness”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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It is so easy to trash Russia, their stulted banality of evil, the almost comical incompetence of its government and military, the vulgar venality of its leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But at its heart are the people, like people everywhere, with lives no less sacred due to circumstance or lack of privilege.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I came across this documentary<\/a> about rural poverty in Russia, and was touched by acts of loving humanity that appear in the most desperate surroundings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Their fates are terrifying in their ordinariness,”<\/em> the filmmaker observes – and it\u2019s true. These are not the villains of some grand narrative, nor heroes either. They are members of the human family, caught in the slow erosion of rural poverty. Their lives matter not because they are exceptional, but because they are not.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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In this video, I will show you what real poverty looks like. I traveled through small towns and villages in Russia to see how people live below the poverty line. Together with volunteers and social workers, I visited people who lost everything because of stroke, scams, disabilities, or just old age. Forgotten by society, these invisible people barely get by, and only the care from volunteers and acts of kindness help them keep their dignity.<\/p>\nIlya Varlamov \/ YouTube<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Part 1: A visit with Alexei, in the town of Marx<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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A small town with a population of 29,000, of which around 1,000 are elderly, disabled, bedridden, or in need of other assistance. The film crew, along with Tatiana Zernova, the director of the local Caritas Charity, Sergei, and her assistant Olga, visit Alexei, a 41 year old young man left paralyzed after getting drunk, robbed, and beaten. He’s incredibly poor, and lives in squalor.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

[8:09]<\/strong> Part 2: A visit with Lovtsov<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Lovtsov is an elderly man who has been bedridden for two years following a stroke.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

[10:55]<\/strong> Part 3: A visit with Sergei<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Sergei, an older man, has fully recovered from a stroke. The folks from Caritas pay him a visit<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n


[13:07]<\/strong> Part 4: A visit with an elderly blind woman, Valentina<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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[18:18]<\/strong> Part 5: Distributing food packages in the village of Pechki.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Victor, an impoverished 74 year old shut-in, finally opens his door to the volunteers. Sergei: “He doesn\u2019t believe in himself, or that something good is possible. He\u2019s already been robbed once. He\u2019s lost faith in people. And that, to me, is the truly frightening and widespread part of this story, this deep and growing mistrust.”<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Victor is going blind because he can not afford cataract surgery – $300. His pension is almost $120 a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


[28:47] <\/strong>Part 5: Rose – an 80 Year Old Pensioner with a Youthful Spark<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Rose lives on a pension of $115 a month.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n


[32:32]<\/strong> Klavdia, a 93 year old veteran of the Great Patriotic War<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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She’s a wonderful, friendly woman, who insists her visitors take some of her chickens’ eggs with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“But her story – It\u2019s not about money at all. She\u2019s a veteran. She\u2019s the wealthiest pensioner here. Maybe the wealthiest person in this whole forgotten village. People come to her – only when the pension arrives.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her pension is $225 a month.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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This video is about those we don\u2019t notice and why helping them can make life better for everyone.<\/p>\nIlya Varlamov \/ YouTube<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n