June 13, 2024

Where Did The Blankets Go?


Where Did The Blankets Go?
A mailbox that reads "Postal Service of Russia." User:Gone Postal, Wikimedia Commons.

On June 6, Mediazona revealed that almost 200 tons of old blankets were sent via mail to only one man fighting in the war in Ukraine, representing 20 percent of all packages mailed to the front.

The story gets even more mysterious.

In December 2022, the Ministry of Defense announced that the Russian Post would expand its service to the front. Bundles are first sent to a Russian Post distribution center and then transferred to the Ministry of Defense for delivery. All packages under 10 kilograms (22 lbs) are transferred for free. Mediazona found through the postal service website's tracking services that over 188,000 items had been sent to the frontline between 2023 and early 2024.

In October 2023, messages circulated on social media asking people to send old blankets to one man, a medical lieutenant named Kyrill Gontarenko. One of these posts read: "a hospital near Artemovsky needs used blankets. It's getting cold and the wounded must be wrapped up during the evacuation to Lugansk and Rostov... We ask caring people to post an appeal in their groups. You can send it for free."

Mediazona found that the blanket senders were not just private individuals. Schools, kindergartens, veterans' councils, rehabilitation centers, post offices, social services centers, and the Seventh-Day Adventist Church all sent blankets to Gontarenko. Most packages originated in Moscow, Moscow Oblast, and St. Petersburg. One of every two parcels in Bashkorostan and every third from Kuban were addressed to Gontarenko. Chechnya, Ingushetia, and the Jewish Autonomous Oblast were the only regions that did not send blankets.

However, not all packages arrived at their destination. According to Mediazona, the location of many of the sent blankets is still unknown: could they have been lost en route, or did they end up with the mysterious Gontarenko? The independent publication was not able to contact Lieutenant Gontarenko. They tried to interview him via his social media accounts, which feature panda avatars or are named after the bear. Gontarenko has changed his hometown from Astrakhan to St. Petersburg on his profile. Mediazona could not reach him either through his friends or his wife.

With suspicion mounting, in November 2023, requests spread across social media asking people to stop sending blankets to Gontarenko.

The investigation is ongoing.

You Might Also Like

Make Fairy Tales, not War
  • June 05, 2024

Make Fairy Tales, not War

Russian authorities are spending more on the production of fantasy films than on war films, according to a recent study.
Snowing on Your Parade
  • May 12, 2024

Snowing on Your Parade

A few things were notably absent (and present) from this year's Victory Day parade.
Small Things Can Fix Everything
  • May 06, 2024

Small Things Can Fix Everything

From looking for a lost cat to gathering signatures for Boris Nadezhdin, Russians find hope in their communities. 
Returning Home to Kill
  • April 29, 2024

Returning Home to Kill

More than 100 persons have been killed by returning Russian soldiers since the beginning of Russia's War on Ukraine.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
A Taste of Russia

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.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, 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