February 22, 2026

War is Hell


War is Hell

Statistics from the four years of Russia's horrific War on Ukraine that deserve to be better known.

 

Estimated total military expenditures by Russia over four years of war:

$360,000,000,000

(SIPRI and Defence24)

By Ukraine (including foreign aid): $170,000,000,000
(SIPRI and The World Bank)

Minimum number of Russian military deaths discovered through a name-by-name project: 177,433
(Mediazona)

Ukraine’s officially reported number of soldiers killed since February 2022: 55,000.
(BBC)

Minimum number of Ukrainian civilians killed in the war: 15,000.
(OHCHR Ukraine)

Minimum number of civilians injured: 41,000.
(OHCHR Ukraine)

Minimum number of persons displaced inside Ukraine: 3,700,000.
(UNHCR via AP News)

Minimum number of Ukrainian refugees abroad: 6,000,000.
(UNHCR via AP News)

Estimated total direct physical damage Russia has inflicted on Ukraine: $176,000,000,000.
(World Bank)

Estimated costs of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine over the next decade: $524,000,000,000.
(World Bank)

Minimum percentage of Ukraine’s housing stock that has been damaged or destroyed: 13.
(World Bank)

Number of households this represents: 2,500,000.
(World Bank)

Estimated square km of land contaminated by mines and explosive remnants of war: 130,000.
(UNDP)

Mimimum number of Ukrainian cultural sites that have been damaged: 519.
(UNESCO)

Minimum percentage of Ukraine’s power generation capacity damaged: 60.
(UNDP)

One estimate of the minimum number of children “illegally taken” from Ukraine: 35,000.
(Yale Project, via Reuters)

Children in Ukraine’s official “Children of War” registry, citing the number of children “deported and/or forcibly displaced”: 20,000.
(Children of War portal)

 

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

Russian Rules
November 16, 2011

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.

At the Circus
January 01, 2013

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955