A viral podcast clip has ignited a political and social firestorm in Russia after an estate agent openly claimed that Russian women are securing financial stability by marrying men deployed to Ukraine, all with the hope to collect the RUB8mn ($95,000) compensation paid to families of soldiers killed in action.

Marina Orlova, an estate agent from Tomsk, made the comment in a casual conversation during a podcast hosted by a friend. When asked how a woman over 30 with limited income could afford to buy a flat, Orlova replied:

“That’s easy. You find a man serving in the SVO [special military operation]. He doesn’t come back, and you get RUB8bn.” 

She added that many widows had already taken this route, calling it a “scheme that works,” and implying that such cases were increasingly common.

The offhand suggestion triggered a wave of condemnation once the clip was shared across Russian social media. Critics accused Orlova of promoting death profiteering and trivialising the human cost of war. The backlash was swift and unforgiving, leading Orlova to issue a public apology. She described her remarks as “black humour between girlfriends” that was never intended to be broadcast. 

“We were speaking off the record,” she said, blaming the podcast’s host, identified only as Darya, for editing and posting the controversial segment.

“I woke up and couldn’t believe what she had uploaded,” Orlova told the online outlet Podyom. “It was a private chat. It wasn’t meant for the public. Yes, it was a dark joke, but I didn’t mean to insult anyone.” 

She added that after the clip went viral, she received a flood of threats online and was forced to close her social media accounts.

But the apology did little to stop the fallout. Russian politicians quickly entered the fray. Vitaly Milonov, a hardline MP known for his own spate of outrageous statements, called the remarks “monstrous” and demanded that the police investigate Orlova. 

“May God grant her the wisdom to understand the cruelty and idiocy of what she said,” he told Russia Today. 

The pro-war Z-activist group Zov Naroda echoed that demand, appealing directly to the head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, to open a criminal case.

The controversy has cast a harsh light on Russia’s wartime compensation policies and the economic desperation driving such morally fraught decisions. While Orlova insisted her statement was satirical, her story echoes real-world cases. In Udmurtia, a woman was convicted for entering a bigamous marriage to claim the combat death payout. In Moscow, two women allegedly defrauded a soldier of RUB17mn ($202,000) through a fake marriage scheme. These are not isolated incidents, with regional media outlets around the country documenting a surge in such arrangements, legal or otherwise, as the war enters its third year.

The Russian state offers generous compensation to families of deceased soldiers, often totalling over RUB8mn ($95,000), including federal and regional bonuses. For many women in poorer provinces, this sum represents not just tragedy, but life-changing money.

UPDATE: On April 3, a court in Tomsk sentenced Marina Orlova to 80 hours of mandatory labour for "inciting hatred." Orlova plead guilty and does not intend to appeal.