Sarah A. Topol, a journalist who reported for The New York Times Magazine, dives deep into the harrowing story of Ivan, a captain who deserted the Russian army. She shares gripping accounts of soldiers escaping wartime service, revealing their cunning maneuvers and emotional struggles. The podcast explores personal testimonies of fear, the fight for asylum, and the moral dilemmas faced by these deserters. Each narrative highlights the chaos of military life and the profound toll the war takes on families and society.
Ivan employs a deceitful strategy, feigning a serious back injury to escape the horrors of the front lines and secure surgery.
The drastic shift from the chaos of combat to the normalcy of hospital life prompts Ivan to deeply reflect on his yearning for freedom.
Navigating military healthcare proves challenging, as Ivan encounters bureaucratic inefficiencies and faces obstacles in obtaining the legitimate diagnosis he desperately needs.
Deep dives
Ivan's Escape Plan
Faced with the prospect of being redeployed to battle, Ivan realizes he must devise a clever escape plan. He pretends to suffer from a debilitating back injury, giving him the opportunity to seek medical treatment rather than return to the front lines. This strategy involves mimicking an exaggerated limp and acting convincingly to medics about his condition. As he navigates the chaotic environment of the field hospital, his desperation for survival drives him to present himself as a man in need of urgent surgery.
Life in the Field Hospital
Inside the field hospital, Ivan experiences the surreal shift from the horrors of battle to a mundane environment where he is fed simple yet comforting food. The stark contrast between his earlier situation under fire and the relative calm of awaiting treatment captivates him. He marvels at the luxury of a hot shower and clean bedding after enduring a month of combat without such basic comforts. This moment of reflection becomes formative for Ivan as he realizes the depth of his desire to escape the war and return home safely.
Navigating the Military Healthcare System
As Ivan moves through the convoluted military healthcare bureaucracy, he increasingly feels the urgency to secure a legitimate diagnosis that would lead to surgery and ultimately allow him to escape. His encounters with overworked doctors and bureaucratic inefficiencies highlight the risks of misdiagnosis, illustrated by a deputy who suffers due to neglect. Ivan faces challenges when doctors dismiss his claims, demonstrating the limitations within the system. His resolve to get a competent neurosurgeon pushes him to seek assistance from his mother, who knows someone in the medical field.
The Manipulation of His Injury
Throughout his ordeal, Ivan adopts a strategy of representing his injury as more severe than it truly is, which he believes is the only way to garner the necessary medical attention for surgery. He learns from a fellow soldier's experience that claiming imminent pain will give more weight to his request for surgical intervention. With his old MRI scan in hand, he is prepared to advocate for himself, but the indifferent healthcare personnel prove to be another obstacle. Ivan continues to contemplate how to maximize his chance of escaping the front lines, including paying out-of-pocket for treatment if needed.
Plans for Escape Grow More Complex
As Ivan further contemplates his escape, he explores the potential of forging a new identity to safely slip away from military obligations. With the help of connections and the dark web, he considers obtaining a fake passport, an essential step toward his freedom. Devising a plan to create the necessary documentation becomes a meticulous process that reflects his determination to leave the war behind. This newfound resolve illustrates the lengths Ivan is willing to go to dismantle the life he's known and seek asylum away from the dangers of military service.
In “The Deserter,” Sarah A. Topol reports the story of Ivan, a captain in the Russian Army who fought in Ukraine and then ultimately fled the war and his country with his wife, Anna. Topol spoke to 18 deserters while reporting in eight countries across four continents over the last year and a half; their experiences helped paint a vivid picture of the Russian war operation and its corruption, chaos and brutality.
Narrated by Liev Schreiber.
“The Deserter” is a five-part special series in collaboration with The New York Times Magazine.
All five parts of this audio feature can be found here or by searching for “The Deserter” on the NYT Audio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
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