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The article attempts to analyze the unique testimony "Ant in a glass jar. Chechen diaries of 1994-2004" by Polina Zherebtsova from the point of view of the category of free time. The diary, which is an important supplement of mainly novel and reportage narrations about the war in Chechnya, is at the same time a testimony inscribed in the international circle of war diaries, especially children's ones. From this point of view, the analysis of leisure time conducted from the point of view of everyday practice of recording what is around allows us to confirm the recurrence of certain mechanisms and behaviors in limit situations. In turn, the protractedness of the Russian-Chechen conflict influences the fact that between the periods of intense warfare there are also those when there is relative peace and normality, which translates into limited, but definitely individualized practices of spending leisure time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]