State television celebrates ruined villages, strangers avoid political conversations and young recruits fill the streets.
For years he had been reading about life in Russia after four years of war against Ukraine, but decided he wanted to see it with his own eyes. Traveller Martin Navrátil headed to Kaliningrad with two friends. What he found, he says, was even worse than he had expected.
Russian border officers tried to pressure him into publicly declaring his love for Vladimir Putin and Robert Fico, while military propaganda seemed to follow him at every turn. On state television, even the smallest movement on the front line was presented as a major victory, and nobody wanted to discuss politics with foreigners.
When you started posting from Kaliningrad, you were immediately criticised for travelling to Russia. Many people questioned whether it is morally acceptable to visit the country these days. What do you say to that?
Most of the reactions were negative. The people around me support Ukraine, so they naturally see Russia in a very negative light. I've also travelled to Afghanistan and North Korea, so I'm fully aware where the money tourists spend eventually ends up. I'm not trying to justify it, but I travel because I want to experience places for myself. How can I talk about something I've never seen? I first visited Russia in 1997, and this was my 30th trip. I was tired of simply reading what it's supposedly like these days. I wanted to see for myself whether the propaganda really is as overwhelming as people say.
