Xinhua News Agency, Moscow, June 26: On the second day after the Wagner incident, a reporter from Xinhua News Agency set off from the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the largest federal subject of Russia, on the 25th, via the Siberian city of Irkutsk, and arrived in Moscow, the capital. . During the journey of more than 6,000 kilometers, the reporter contacted people from many places in Russia to understand their feelings and evaluations of the current social security situation.
Click to watch the video
First stop: the Far East
The Xinhua News Agency reporter team was originally invited by the government of the Russian Far East Sakha (Yakutia) Republic to participate in the first Sakha (Yakutia) Republic and China Local Cooperation Forum, and was invited to visit the traditional Yakut New Year “Ensakh” The grand celebration of the festival. However, the sudden occurrence of the Wagner incident disrupted the original interview plan.
Local people generally expressed that they were “surprised” by the Wagner incident, especially when they heard about it during the “Ensach” festival on the 24th. The “Ensakh” festival is a very important local national festival. Yakuts in costumes celebrate the arrival of the New Year with blessings, songs and dances, and sports competitions.
On June 24, in Yakutsk, Russia, Yakuts danced together to celebrate the “Ensakh” festival.
During the three days of interviews in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the reporter saw that large-scale local economic, trade and cultural activities were held safely and smoothly without being affected by the Wagner incident, and everything was in order.
On the morning of the 25th, the reporter flew from Yakutsk, the capital of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic, to Irkutsk, and met a group of Russian soldiers on the same plane. A soldier named Portnov told reporters that although the distance is far away, they are also paying close attention to the progress of the Wagner incident, and are very happy to see that the tension has eased rapidly and the current situation is stable and controllable.
Second stop: Irkutsk
After more than three hours of flight, the reporter and his party arrived in Irkutsk. This is the largest industrial city, transportation and business hub in Siberia, Russia, and the closest city to Lake Baikal. The reporter saw that there were a lot of passengers in the airport, and the flight information showed that most flights were running on time; outside the airport, there was a constant flow of vehicles on the streets, and from time to time you could see a bus full of passengers.
This is the Irkutsk Airport taken on June 25.
Airport ground staff Pavel told reporters that Irkutsk Airport is very busy and undertakes the important task of connecting the Russian Far East and the Russian West. With the arrival of the summer tourist season, many tourists come here to visit Lake Baikal. Everything in the local area is normal, the society is operating in an orderly manner, and everyone’s life has not been affected by emergencies.
Yulia from the Voronezh region in southern Russia said that Irkutsk is stable and stable, but Voronezh residents were very nervous when they heard about the Wagner incident. “I was not in Voronezh on the 24th, but my 13-year-old son was there. He saw the fire at the local oil storage base with his own eyes. Fortunately, the situation has been brought under control and everything is fine now.”
According to Russian media reports on the 25th, Wagner Organization troops have withdrawn from Lipetsk and Voronezh regions in southern Russia.
Third stop: Moscow
After more than six hours of flight, the reporter’s plane landed at Domodedovo Airport, one of the most important airports in Moscow. Leaving the airport was extremely smooth without any interrogation. The entire airport does not have a large number of security personnel, and occasionally one or two police officers can be seen patrolling the airport.
This is a congested road in Moscow, Russia, taken on June 25.
The vehicles of the journalists drove into Volgograd Avenue, which is one of the main roads in the southeast direction of Moscow and one of the important passages connecting Moscow to Ryazan, Voronezh and Rostov-on-Don. On the 24th, police guards and vehicle inspections were strengthened on the section of the road entering Moscow through this highway. A day later, the reporter saw that although there were no roadblocks on the road, there were several police cars and police officers stopping the vehicle for inspection, and a policeman was carrying a submachine gun across his shoulders. However, the order on the road is normal, although there are many vehicles, it is still smooth.
The reporter then drove to the vicinity of Red Square to observe and found that the central area of Red Square was still closed and not open to tourists. Security personnel could be seen patrolling nearby from time to time, but the traffic control on the surrounding streets and subway stations had already been lifted.
On June 25, tourists played near the Red Square in Moscow, Russia.
In the evening, people came and went near the Red Square. Many people visited and took pictures in front of the statue of Marshal Zhukov and in the Alexander Garden, including many foreign tourist groups. The ice cream carts at the entrance of Red Square are in good business. In the coffee shops and fast food restaurants around Red Square, groups of young people are chatting cheerfully, and the sound of children playing around the fountain and on the lawn can be heard from time to time.
Oksana is a teacher from Vladivostok and traveled to Moscow during the summer vacation. In her opinion, what happened was indeed a bit disturbing, but fortunately it was over for the time being. She hopes that everything is under control and believes that the Russian government can handle the matter properly.
-END-
Curator: Ni Siyi and Fan Weiguo
Producer: Feng Junyang Xue Ying
Coordinator: Yan Junyan Liu Kai
Reporter: Liu Kai, Geng Pengyu, Chen Chang
Editors: Li Xuedi Zhang Dailei Wang Fengfeng Liang Shanggang
Video: Chen Qiang Danran
Photography: Cao Yang
Co-produced by the Asia-Europe Branch of the International Department of Xinhua News Agency
Original title: Across 6,000 kilometers, Xinhua News Agency reporters directly attacked the security situation in Russia
Editor in charge: Xu Hairuo