Every day my colleagues and library visitors (fortunately, not all) ask “how are you doing? How are your family and friends in Russia?” And I appreciate it.
But I really don’t know what and how to answer.
The fact is that my Russian friends and family (although not all of them) are much more calm than I am.
It was me who cried for two days after I received the news on Thursday.
It was me who thought that the end of the world had come, and here is the Iron Curtain around Russia again.
It was me who worried about the rising prices for EVERYTHING in Russia.
I just didn’t want to believe that my beloved country, my homeland, had started a war.
7 days have passed since the beginning of the war. I am in the second wave of shock.
I found out that some of my friends and relatives think that war is not good, but it was necessary for Russia to start it.
I understand that expressing your opinion or being silent is a protective reaction of the body.
I understand that people may have different opinions. I’m even glad when people have it. But how can you be sure that this was the opinion of the people, and not the one that was transmitted to them from the government?
For many Russians, this opinion is imposed by the state.
That’s what some of my friends and relatives think, justifying military actions in Ukraine:
-Nationalist marches in Ukraine (too painful for Russians after the 2nd World War)
-President Zelensky’s statement on the development of nuclear weapons (it’s too close and dangerous)
-All this is happening because of Russian gas and oil
-America wants to take over Russia in parts, starting with Donetsk and Lugansk
-The Russian army does not kill civilians, strikes only at military facilities.
-Only contract servicemen participate in the military operations of the Russian army, and not those 18-year-old boys who have to join the army.
-And the war will soon end when Putin establishes his government in Ukraine.
I have to tell the truth. I haven’t discussed these arguments, I don’t want to lose the relationships. I just shut up.
But here, on my blog, I can express myself.
If you do not agree with my opinion or do not want to read about it, calmly unsubscribe from my blog. I’ll understand and I won’t be offended.
Here we go,
Russians don’t understand that in a democracy people can express themselves. That’s why any kind of parade is possible if it’s peaceful. But not in Russia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Ukraine still has access to Soviet nuclear technology and can build nuclear weapons. He did not provide any evidence of his allegations.
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Frost, said that the UN agency had not observed activities related to the production of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
I don’t understand what Russian gas and oil have to do with the war in Ukraine.
I can’t imagine the United States trying to seize power in Russia. I just don’t understand why? America has its own problems.
In my opinion, it’s not normal to invade another country and create your own government there.
I think that all of the above points were invented in order to scare the population. To make citizens forget about their own problems, about dissatisfaction with the government.
I saw on the Internet that “Putin cured the planet of COVID”. It sounds about right.
Previously, people were divided into vaccinated and unvaccinated, into those who wore masks and refused to wear them.
Now we have a new reality and a new division – to support Ukrainians and to support Putin.
While I was writing this post, the Russian government blocked FB.
What will happen next?
