Two weeks since the last official death toll, funerals of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine continue.
In Kostroma, friends, family, and an armed guard of honour gathered for the funeral of Mikhail Orchikov
An Orthodox priest walks around the casket reciting prayers and swinging an ornate metal vessel emitting burning incense. The pungent scent fills the chapel, mixing with the sweet cadences of the church choir. The dead soldier's widow, head covered in a black scarf, is being comforted by relatives. "The situation in our country isn't simple," the priest tells the congregation. "Everyone understands that."
That's partly due to the power of television in shaping public opinion. But also, at moments of crisis, many Russians instinctively rally around its leader - as if they don't want to believe that their president may have made the wrong decision. At a cemetery in Kostroma, eight soldiers bear Mikhail's coffin to the grave. A military band plays solemn music. Then a gun salute and, to the Russian national anthem, the casket is lowered into the ground.
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