The occupiers’ attacks seem to have no end, and the losses will clearly increase. Ukrainian-German Vyacheslav Bodrov says that in the current situation, the Russian authorities are using ethnic minorities for their own interests, giving them “a chance to prove their loyalty to the country” and sending them to war. In the event of resistance, they are accused of “high treason” and then used to exchange Russian citizens in prisons in Europe.
– The longer the war goes on, the sadder the stories there are. Especially if the war is with Russia, which oppresses its citizens both domestically and at the front, those who refuse to participate in the war are arrested and labelled “state traitors” and then killed. The masses truly believe that these people are being punished for anti-state actions.
Putin’s main target now is ethnic minorities, whose voices are almost inaudible. They are easy to use as agents of a foreign state, and most of them are sent to war. Among them are Buryats, Tatars, Bashkirs, Chuvashes, Germans and others. The latest figures show that more than 200,000 Germans live in Russia, more than 800 of whom have already died in this terrible war. No one knows how many of them are fighting since Russia hides both the number of victims and the number of ethnic minorities among those drafted.
These people were resettled to Russia at different times, and some went to war as “volunteers” for payment. Of course, there are those who believe that this is not their war, and they try to avoid service by receiving the status of unfit for military service or by leaving the country. However, they are constantly monitored, and as soon as a pretext is found, they are immediately accused of treason. I have heard more than once from ethnic Russians: “If they are part of our country, they must prove it when they are given a chance to defend it.” Many succumb to this propaganda and go to war.
– This doesn’t only apply to ethnic Germans, right? Sometimes it’s connected to pay.
– Yes, it concerns everyone, and many are genuinely interested in payment. The British press recently wrote about the heavy losses among the German diaspora in Russia participating in the war in Ukraine. Local authorities continue to pass catastrophic laws against ethnic minorities. A new wave of mobilization is beginning, and those who try to avoid participation will be slandered in state media and among Kremlin activists. Many, including Germans, believe that Crimea is part of Russia, that Ukraine annexed it, and now it has been “liberated”. The war propaganda machine is working effectively.
The propaganda of anti-Western sentiments and the FSB is very strong. People are intimidated, their relatives are arrested, and they are threatened.
They keep them in detention for weeks, and if necessary, they immediately fabricate a case of “high treason” and destroy their families. The young children of these people are sent to orphanages, where the conditions are well known. The state propaganda presents it as if a huge conspiracy has been uncovered and that these people are supposedly Western agents, when in fact they were detained in decent conditions. Their children, they claim, will be raised in a “healthy environment” and will grow up to be “worthy citizens.” The scenario is so absurd that it often surpasses the propaganda of Stalin’s time, but it still works.
People who want to escape prefer to do it quietly, helping each other organize their escape, develop a plan, to find shelter. When they are safe, they start talking about the Russian regime. Once they reach Europe, they want to act together and work together.
In Russia, many are nostalgic for the times when the Soviet countries lived behind the “Iron Curtain.” They could not build anything new, there was no democracy, and many liked it. They remember those times as years of carefree life when no one criticized anything, and everything seemed safe and calm. This is also part of the propaganda – they do not see the difference between slavery and freedom.
There is one story of Kevin Lik, a young German man who ended up in prison simply for trying to leave Russia with his mother. He was a minor at the time of his arrest. They had dual citizenship, and his mother was trying to return to Germany so that her son could get an education there. In December 2023, when Kevin was 18, he was sentenced to four years of prison for “high treason.” He was tried behind closed doors, accused of spying and passing photographs of a military base to a foreign government.
In the summer of 2024, he disappeared from a prison colony in the Arkhangelsk region, but after an uproar from his mother and supporters, he was returned. Kevin was later exchanged for Russian prisoners of war and returned to Germany. This is one example of how ethnic minorities can be accused of espionage and treason at any time, especially if they are connected to their historical homelands.
– How are things with your relatives in Ukraine?
– They live under constant blows from massive Russian attacks. They recently experienced shelling at the Danube port hub of Izmail, which resulted in casualties. Russia continues to strike strategic economic facilities. In the Zaporizhzhia region, houses where my relatives lived were bombed. Every day they have to live under the threat of drones and missile strikes. It is difficult to call this life.
For us who left, it is a double existence – we are fighting with the local bureaucracy here in Germany, while constantly thinking about Ukraine and our relatives there. Russian attacks do not seem to be ending anytime soon, and the West continues to haggle over where to use the supplied weapons. This is not just a Ukrainian war. If Russia wins, it will not stop there. I hope that Western leaders will understand this and take decisive action.
kvirispalitra
