The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has entered its third day, and the situation has yet to show obvious signs of easing. In addition to artillery fire and sirens, we also want to hear the voice of the Russian people.
On February 25, Tomoyo interviewed several Russian college students, hoping to understand their views on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Below are the two responses we received:
1
Undergraduate student at Saint Petersburg University, Russia
(Russian, female, requested anonymity)
Tomoyo: What do you think of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine? Have you ever thought about a military conflict like this one?
There is no conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and there never has been. Conflicts occur among those in the government, and among those who blindly believe and obey the government. It never occurred to me that I would wake up to the news of the outbreak of war the way people did in June 1941.never thought[这会发生]In the 21st century. Invading a country and waging war—noMethods of resolving conflicts and growing contradictions.
Tomoyo: Many Russians took to the streets to protest against the war. Do you think this is the mainstream voice of Russians? Do the Russians support the military operation?
The dominant voice of the Russians…that’s a difficult question to answer definitively. Which Russians? If we’re talking about progressive young people and people who can think critically, they, including me, are definitely against war. All my friends and acquaintances, all the bloggers I follow on social media, sent out the #nowar cry yesterday. But there are also some (mainly the older generation over 40) who are supportive or neutral. It is painful for me to say that my mother is one of these people and she does not believe that the Russian army is harming the Ukrainian people.
I think the people who attended yesterday’s rallies in Moscow and St. Petersburg were of course great because they weren’t afraid to take a stand. But unfortunately, by rallying people will only increase the panic, and most importantly, nothing will change.
Tomoyo: What do you know and think about the relationship between Russia and Ukraine?
I have been interested in history since I was a child and have a good understanding of the relationship between Russia and Ukraine over the centuries. Russia and Ukraine are brother countries. We have very similar cultures, in fact we even have the same language. Russian is spoken in most of Ukraine. Also let’s not forget that Kiev was the capital of ancient Rus, and now Russian tanks are approaching there.
Tomoyo: What do you know and think about the relationship between Russians and Ukrainians?
My best friend is from Nikolayev, a small town in Ukraine, and she now lives in St. Petersburg, studying at St. Petersburg State University. When I started befriending her, I didn’t care what color her passport was. Even now I don’t care. I now call her hundreds of times a day to ask how her family is doing. After all, in times of war, being cut off from family is the worst thing you can do.
We are exactly the same. We all want a peaceful sky above our heads, and we all want our countries not to think about how to fight, but how to develop together. Of course, there are also plenty of people who are less forgiving, whether in Ukraine or Russia. They’ve invented a bunch of offensive nationalist nicknames for each other and are now throwing dirty water at each other on social media.
In recent years, Ukraine has aggressively pursued an anti-Russian nationalist policy, forcing Russian speakers to speak only Ukrainian (and even wanting to introduce a “language police”), banning Russian TV channels or any reference to Russian culture. But again, I reiterate that the actions of the government do not equal the opinions of the people.
Tomoyo: Has the sanctions imposed by Western countries on Russia affected the daily life of Russians?
Sanctions have sown panic in people’s daily lives and minds. Every minute there are reports of which social networks will be blocked and which bank cards we will no longer be able to use. Can’t use social media? Okay, then I’ll go read the book. Can’t pay by card? Then I go to withdraw cash. But I think the scariest thing is being cut off from the rest of the world. I am shocked by the news that some countries (Japan, US, etc.) have restricted visa issuance to Russian citizens. I want to see the world, I want to travel. I don’t want to lose credibility because of the color of my passport.
Tomoyo: Do you have any relatives or friends living in Ukraine? If so, how are they doing?
I have no family or relatives currently in Ukraine. But I am very worried about my friend’s family. She has an elderly mother, a disabled grandmother and a dog. Now her family is staying at home for now, but the bombing could start at any time. We are actively following this news and hope the bombing doesn’t happen. The army was so close to her home that if there was a bombing, her mother and her grandmother wouldn’t even be able to get to the shelter…
Finally, I just want to say one thing. I love Russia as a country, but I don’t like Russia as a country. (Я люблю Россию как страну. Но я ненавижу Россию как государство.)
People gather in the center of Petersburg with “No War” in their hands
2
Undergraduate student at Russian Far Eastern Federal University
(Russian, male, requested anonymity)
Tomoyo: What do you think of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine? Have you ever thought about a military conflict like this one?
My attitude is more negative than positive. But I understand, and I have said many times before, that the civil war in Ukraine will not end well without the implementation of the Minsk Agreement.[发生冲突的]The prerequisite is the failure to implement the Minsk Agreement. Even before February 24, Ukraine did not implement these provisions (not even planned to implement it, but wanted to revise it), during the ceasefire, the Ukrainian armed forces did not stop shelling the DNR[顿涅茨克人民共和国]and LNR[卢甘斯克人民共和国]. The situation has heated up in recent days, and Russia has to do just that.
Tomoyo: Many Russians took to the streets to protest against the war. Do you think this is the mainstream voice of Russians? Do the Russians support the military operation?
I don’t think this is the mainstream voice of the Russians. Those who came out were mostly people who really opposed the war, but there were also opposition citizens, who generally disapproved of Russian foreign and domestic policy. If this is really the mainstream voice of the Russians, there will be massive rallies. However, that didn’t happen. So I don’t think it’s the mainstream voice of the Russians.
Tomoyo: What do you know and think about the relationship between Russia and Ukraine? What do you know and think about the relationship between Russians and Ukrainians?
Since medieval Rus, many fraternal Slavic peoples have lived on the territory of what is today Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. During the invasion of the Golden Horde in the 13th century, our people stood together against threats. However, the territory of Rus was divided (many independent principalities appeared), and from the 14th century, the Lithuanian authorities began to encroach on the territories of Polotsk, Galicia-Volgania, Kiev and other principalities, and the division between the brotherly peoples began. This division was strengthened after the formation of an alliance between Poland and Lithuania. The Union’s policy towards Orthodox Russian western populations led to the uprisings of Cossack peasants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Under the leadership of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, a war of liberation against the Poles began and ended in victory, and the Zaporozhye region (Ukrainian left bank) was reunited with the Russians who were also Orthodox. After various wars (especially after the two Russo-Turkish wars), the territories of “Little Russia” and “New Russia” developed over the centuries.
But unity was short-lived, and during the civil war (1917-1922) some Ukrainian leaders took advantage of the instability in Russia to seize power and declare independence. Lenin then assisted the pro-Bolshevik Ukrainian authorities. Eventually, the Soviet Union was formed in 1922. But from the 1920s, the Soviet Union began to implement the “Soviet Indigenization Policy” on the population. Russians living in eastern Ukraine became Ukrainians without a will. Today, many people speak of the decommunization of Ukraine, arguing that it is necessary to get rid of the Soviet legacy once and for all. But the legacy of the Soviet Union is exactly how modern Ukraine, the Ukraine we have known since 1991, came into being. But the Kiev authorities are reluctant to discuss these facts.
During World War II, the UPA (Ukrainian Resistance Army) led by Stepan Bandera colluded with Hitler to defeat the Soviet army, and its associates organized the ethnic cleansing of the Slavic, Jewish and other populations in Nazi-occupied Kiev, as well as the Polish Population carried the famous Valenia[与东加利西亚]massacre. Now the criminals have the support of Ukrainian authorities and right-wing nationalists.This is why Ukraine must be denazified to save it from a new ‘brown’ plague[译注：指纳粹主义], which could devour the whole of Europe in the future. This is not only a question of preserving historical memory, but also a question of universal human rights and freedoms and the preservation of European humanism. Of course, the long-suffering fraternal Ukrainian (Little Russia) people have nothing to do with this, we should only blame the criminals, the gangs that “protect” and in some ways terrorize Ukrainian civilians.
So this is not a war, but a rescue. I may disagree with the Russian government on a few things, but if we’re talking about restoring historical justice, we should do everything possible to make the Kiev authorities aware of what they’ve done. They will wake up, for eight years they let ordinary Ukrainian citizens spend their days in fear, they killed Russians in Donbass. We are fraternal countries, so without friendship with Russia Ukraine can do nothing, it cannot remove the “brown” toxins from its “body”.
And the armies of the DNR and LNR are sacrificing themselves to break down the walls of injustice that have kept people in fear all these years. There were other ways to get out of this situation before, but our words were not heard. So it’s not pleasant to have to do it, and I’m against war myself. But you have to be realistic, take off your “rose-colored” glasses, and realize that the world is cruel, but very beautiful, and that it makes sense to fight for it. Fight for our common, fraternal, Slavic future. The people of Donbas are fighting for peace because they were born in peace and for this they sacrificed themselves, left behind their personal dreams, and gave their lives for the freedom of their land.
Tomoyo: Has the sanctions imposed by Western countries on Russia affected the daily life of Russians?
Overall, Western sanctions have had an impact on the lives of Russians, but not as dramatically as they might seem at first glance. Under heavy pressure from the West, Russian authorities are now doing everything they can to make life better for ordinary citizens, especially by adjusting the ruble’s exchange rate. Still, 24 hours have passed since the announcement of military action, so it’s hard to say anything at this point. This will take some time. But I can say with certainty that there has been concern about Russia’s economy lately.
Tomoyo: Do you have any relatives or friends living in Ukraine? If so, how are they doing?
I have no relatives or friends living in Ukraine.
*The original interview was in Russian and translated by Tomoyo
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