The Strange Rise and Fall of Russia’s Crowd Sourced Defense Industry

In the early days of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, much that could go wrong did for the Russian military. As one volunteer organization called KatyaValya recalled:We called all our military friends in (Russian-held) Donetsk, but no one could really explain or say anything. Three or four days later, Katya’s husband (who served with Donetsk militia) disappeared from communications. We searched for him every day through the commandant’s office to make sure everyth...