The tragedy of the cat taken as a stowaway on a train and abandoned in the snow

While Ukraine is devastated by Russian bombs, Russians are engrossed in their own domestic controversies, often oblivious to the situation across the border. Just last month, a Moscow man made headlines for attending a private party in the capital wearing almost nothing. In January, the country mourned over a dead cat in the snow, caused by a conductor who kicked the feline off a train. While protesting against the war may be impossible, citizens are demanding that the president take action on the matter of the unfortunate Twix cat, much like the outcry over the nude party incident.

The Twix incident occurred during a stop in Kirov on January 11. Passengers approached the conductor on the Yekaterinburg-St. Petersburg train after noticing a cat wandering alone in the carriage. Despite several attempts by the conductor to locate the owner, no one claimed responsibility for the feline. Eventually, it was concluded that the cat had accidentally boarded the train and was released.

However, Twix was not a stowaway. The cat had escaped from its carrier while the owner’s relative, who was supposed to keep an eye on it, was asleep. The person responsible for the animal only contacted the train staff 10 hours after the train had left Kirov.

Twix was on its way to the Leningrad region to reunite with its owner after undergoing surgery. Following its abandonment in Kirov, hundreds of volunteers joined the search for the cat. Tragically, Twix was found dead on January 20, approximately one kilometer from the city’s station. It is believed that the cat was attacked by dogs.

The death of Twix prompted a petition on Change.org, calling for the dismissal of the conductor. Over 380,000 people have already signed the petition.

Edgar Gaifullin, the cat’s owner, expressed his willingness to pursue legal action for Twix’s death, even if it means taking the case to Vladimir Putin. Gaifullin told the official TASS agency, “I will do everything possible to ensure that they respond in accordance with the law. [We are willing to go] to the police, to the court, to the prosecutor’s office, we will even reach the president.”

Interestingly, while Russia has shown reluctance to investigate cases such as the poisoning of dissident Alexei Navalny or the downing of the plane carrying Wagner’s mercenary chief Evgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, ordered an investigation into Twix’s death as a case of animal cruelty. Within 24 hours, the conductor was suspended and is now facing felony charges.

The Russian media may not show images of injured Ukrainians, but they closely follow the developments of this Russian cat tragedy, with a focus on identifying culprits, clarifying unknowns, and seeking preventive measures to avoid similar incidents in the future.

In response to the Twix incident, Russian trains will implement new rules for pet transportation on long-distance journeys. Conductors will be prohibited from removing animals from the train, and any pets found in carriages will be taken by station employees to locate their owners or transfer them to a shelter.

Ironically, this happens at the same time as a significant citizen initiative to save the dogs in Buryatia, where new laws allow for the killing of stray animals. It appears that the only “dog’s life” that Russia is willing to acknowledge is the suffering inflicted upon Ukrainians.