Summary

To the aural accompaniment of sloshing mud and gurgling water, Russians soak themselves in the curative mud baths of a historic spa. It is October 2022, and the full-scale invasion in Ukraine has been underway for seven months. This place, however, seems completely unaffected. Before visitors can enjoy the benefits of being packed in mud, they have to deal with a complex jumble of prohibitions, stamps, voucher systems, and other bureaucratic hoops and hurdles.