NO TO WAR (from nobody to everybody)

Translated using Google Translate (Still editing. If you see any mistakes, please feel free to let me know:)

*this article has been edited several times.  Taking into account that I'm just a human with emotions, I shared the draft and talked with some guys from Russia in order to give the following as much objectivity as possible.

Beginning

There are generally many things that I am interested in, think about, do research and analyse. Once done, of course, I share the material with you by writing an article about my findings or personal experience. I certainly see the benefit of this, as I receive feedback in private messages. This benefit is absolutely two-sided, and with some readers we have even deeper and more interesting conversations in DMs.  Unfortunately, due to being busy with 2 jobs, being a parent, and being absolutely short of time, many of my articles have been put on hold and shelved (hopefully not for long).  At a certain point, I simply resigned myself to the fact that I could not do everything and that I had to sacrifice my passion for reading and writing in order to do my other job well and conscientiously. And this is first and foremost being a mom and a progressive parent (keep up with the progress and follow the scientific research related to parenting), as well as being successful at the job that get me paid. In addition, although not as much as I would like, I try to invest in health and sleep.  Realizing that I am just a person who succumbs to fatigue, tension, stress and other side effects of physical and moral exhaustion is sometimes not easy, but I m working hard in this direction.

Current situation in the world forced me to get out of my cocoon of a new routine, in which there was no place for writing yet, and to share, as I hope, useful information with one single goal and hope for enlightenment, albeit pinpoint.

I will not be talking about people’s cruelty, physical, verbal or moral, because this is just not news to me at all, and i think our history of mankind of all times and peoples proves this. And if technological progress does not stand still, humanism, if it evolves, then very slowly.

I want to talk about freedom, which, as the current situation in Modern Russia shows, some do not need at all. And I really want to believe that some are still a minority.

Since the beginning of the war on February 24, 2022, it has been quite difficult for me, like for many others who care. It is difficult to communicate and digest, and then let it go through your body & mind and realize what the hell is going on. When I read news from Ukraine, I look at photos and watch videos, I cry but sometimes I don't.  And now it becomes scary that some shots no longer even cause tears, but simple emptiness instead and this is worse than grief, anxiety or sadness.

However some videos and photos from Russia constantly and every time cause a non-metaphorical gag reflex and nausea.  My body is extremely fucked up from the stupidity and laziness of the actions and consciousness of some people, which causes a similar reaction.

• before I continue, I want to leave here an explanation about those who care: despite the fact that in such a terrible time, it seems to me, it is necessary to rally and speak out openly against the war, not everyone does this, BUT this does not necessarily mean that people do not survive this catastrophe  differently, does not mean that they do not care or they are for.  *Now the Russians are literally driven into a corner at the legislative level.  For a protest 🪧 with a poster in support of the WORLD or a piece of white paper in the square, you can remain crippled or sit down for 15 years.  Please be more supportive and kind to each other.  We are all different: some speak out on social networks, in the squares, among friends, while others are simply silent, and this may well be their way of experiencing, and this is normal.  I compare it to dissociation.  Dissociation is something that can happen when a person goes through a traumatic experience.  It makes severe distressing events seem less real, making the person feel numb or distant.  This may explain why the freeze response is more common in people who have previously experienced trauma.  Well, in the end, the actions of each person are his mirror, his conscience and his life.  * We have one and not always and not everyone should sacrifice it.

So, i am going to start with NEWS. I have wanted to raise this topic for a long time, since the beginning of pandemic. Apparently it was not a sharp enough topic as it is now, when I feel that I can no longer be quiet and I need to speak out in order to continue to coexist with myself, knowing that I at least tried.

Working at Bloomberg for almost 4 years, I learned and discovered a lot about creating, selling and broadcasting live and pre-recorded news. I'll tell you right off the bat that I was never employed by the newsroom, but in addition to my main job in the contracts department at Bloomberg, I volunteered at the London Newsroom for almost a month, and also attended seminars and went out with Bloomberg journalists and editors. It was an incredibly useful experience, which now helps me to understand for myself where real events are being broadcast, and where propaganda is, but of course I don’t consider myself as an expert either. The fact is that the average person does not need to have such experience or be considered an expert to recognize lies or at least to become suspicious. No matter how trite it may sound, but the most important thing in consuming news is to ask yourself questions and compare facts from various RELIABLE sources. And then, once you’ve learned how to do this, you can say "my opinion is based on this and that." If your opinion is based on information that you received by watching a state channel and reading news on the Internet or a newspaper controlled by government services, then ask yourself a question whether you can really have your own opinion on this or that situation or is it something that is being imposed and controlled by your government? This is exactly the current situation in Russia, when there is simply no independent media left. “The authorities protect you Russians”, as well as the “caring parent” who keeps you in a house with boarded up windows and tells creepy stories about how dangerous it is to go out, talk to others of your own kind, what a dirty and toxic air is there outside the doors and the windows of your home. However such story most often ends sadly: it’s not a loving parent that keeps you in the house, but a sociopath and a maniac who kidnapped you and mocked you, inflicting deep psychological wounds. And it seems that you were not physically hurt, but can you live with such a mental trauma after leaving this ill-fated house?  It’s probably better not to go out, but to live in an illusion invented by a sociopath.

For more than 10 years I have not watched television and news broadcast by companies that are under the government control of any country.

So, what is independent media and why it is worth referring to independent sources trying to understand at least some truth?

The most important difference is that independent media are free from the influence of government or corporate interests. The most important thing for independent news agencies like Bloomberg and Reuters, for example (and this is smth I know for a fact) is reputation. It costs more than money! Or rather, it is thanks to their reputation that they actually earn money. These agencies not only broadcast but also sell news. What does it mean?  Any person or company (without their huge staff of journalists like BBC, for example) can get a subscription to broadcast / publish news, photo and video material.  Corporations such as Bloomberg or Reuters can have both huge companies and private individuals as clients. In some TV shows you probably heard anchors or presenters often say: “reports Bloomberg / Reuters”. Subscription prices and distribution rights differ, BUT the quality of the material cannot be fake. This is simply unacceptable! If you sell or broadcast a lie, you will lose trust and credibility, tarnish your reputation so that all customers go to a competitor, and this is a loss of HUGE amounts of money and an entry to a black list of course. That is why, information is checked and its authenticity is double-checked before it is released on air or put for sale. What am trying to say here? Something that is clear and understandable to the whole world, but some Russians, that there cannot be so many fake news! There is a war in Ukraine, innocent people are dying: children, mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers. Soldiers are dying on both sides! And you still do not believe it! Sit in warm apartments on bags of sugar and salt, watch your favorite TV and hand out your expert opinions to news from independent sources that you still have access to: “Yes, this is a fake, everything is edited.” Although most of you have no idea what editing is, how it works and how much resource this or that picture would require to stage. Who are you zRussians and why do you believe that the whole western world would come together to stage a Hollywood like live show lasting for over a month just for you?

The thing is that mentality of Russian people and Western people is very different. I can say this for sure from personal experience. If in Russia you can often hear “you can’t trust anyone, all the news is a lie” (no matter how paradoxical it may sound nowadays), here in Britain people are ready to fight for the truth and seek justice and punishment. Suspecting lies, there would always be a group of enthusiasts who would conduct their own investigation and sue liars, and most likely win the case and become heroes. In Russia, such people are now called traitors and foreign agents, and some are serving sentences in maximum security prisons.

I don't feel like writing about how the whole Western world has become united to put Russia and it’s people on their knees hence broadcasting fake news about war in Ukraine, because this nonsense is not worth any reviewing or analysis after what i’ve explained above. (Believe it or not but a lot of people in Russia trust that there is no war, all photos & videos are photoshopped/edited & all dead bodies are well alive actors.) Again, who are you people to sacrifice resources of such range, money, own people and the world reputation acquired over the years?!

 Government and trust.

I don't know a single person in Britain who would trust Boris Johnson and that's okay.  He does his job - well done, gets well paid & gets his respect for this, doesn’t do his job - we have a right to speak out both online and offline, organise marches, create a petition to our parliament to request his dismissal. It is far from certain that he would be removed from the office, but we have this right to vote for disagreement. Right now, for example, I'm working on a design for a T-shirt that directly says "Priti Patel is a racist."  People will wear it and no one will tell or do anything to them, especially since it seems to me that the whole Britain thinks she is. In Russia, for a sign “no war” or a white piece of paper, people are twisted by the security forces. Laws plugging people's mouths, eyes and ears are signed by Putin faster than we blink our eyes. I've already lost count. How can one trust such a ruler and support him? Why do you zRussians believe him?  Doubt is the best friend of any citizen in relation to politics in any country, and this is normal. Blindly believing is not fucking patriotism that you hide behind, it is stupidity and laziness to think. Of course, not all, but unfortunately there are many people like that. (I refer to video materials from different cities of Russia, from what relatives of my friends say, comments on social media from open real-looking accounts).

Why people in Russia are not allowed to speak out publicly against the killings and violence in a neighboring country? What kind of discrediting of the army are you talking about? Why is a person a traitor if he does not support the war, but writes "PEACE"?  There is an explanation for all this. Close your eyes & just imagine: you still see protesters on the streets, “no war” will be imprinted in your head one way or another, you still have open access to independent media and various information sources that do not contain the word “fake”, and not included in that absolutely ridiculous list of extremists. Would you question the president's actions at all?  Whether you like it or not, sooner or later your brain would be questioned, which would be great (in terms of development and self-education)!  And this is called freedom, my dears.  A free person is not limited in his choice of watching the news or reading the press. A variety of information does not clog the brain, as they try to convince you, but makes it work and think.  (note: I'm talking about information from reliable sources with a reputation, not some rubbish Facebook posts). So a person begins to make his own decisions and draw his own conclusions. They are all based on this or that information you received, only you choose the information and the source yourself. You have been deprived of it. And some of you are glad. Finally, you don’t need to think anymore, the ruler decides everything for you: what to watch, what to listen, where is fake, and where is the truth.  Whatever they said must be truth, and the wording seems to be smart. “I believe him!  I support him!  I'm going to go buy something with the Z symbol“. Although this shit is probably handed out to you for free.

Z symbol, nationalism, chauvinism, fascism and neo-Nazism

I write this part of the article & need to vomit every now and then, so I don’t go far from the toilet.

I don’t know how to put my brain together about this Z symbol & make it come into intelligible sentences. This was a disgusting discovery about Russian people (the ones that support Z spread). I know that many Russians hold the same point of view, but unfortunately they cannot do anything about it.

 Why the hell did you decide that you need a logo?  Why is the last letter of the LATIN ALPHABET?  "Patriots" please respond! Why Z, which looks so much like a swastika? I try my best to write objectively and less emotionally, but seeing this symbol is literally breaking my sole. I'm sorry, but only the devoid of mind must not see any similarity. This is the bottom guys!

Let's go through the terms that can now be heard said by many Russians who are involved in propaganda. Just read it here, find it in books, google it in the end. JUST read and think.

 (Source: chto-eto-takoe.ru & wikipedia)

 * Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, especially with the aim of gaining and maintaining the nation's sovereignty over its homeland to create a nation state.

The historical division of mankind into nationalities has given rise to a series of aggressive ideologies, the essence of which is the unsupported and undeserved desire of the “titular nation” to have some special rights on the territory of its state or region.

Russia for the Russians, Japan for the Japanese, Estonia for Estonians - all these slogans form the basis of nationalism and contribute to the intensification of enmity between peoples who would be better off living on planet Earth as a single and friendly human community.

 * Chauvinism exaggerated or aggressive patriotism. Chauvinism is the unreasonable belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak, unworthy, or inferior. It can be described as a form of extreme patriotism and nationalism, a fervent faith in national excellence and glory.

 * Fascism is a radical ultra-right ideology based on dictatorship, militarism, nationalism and xenophobia.  The essence of fascism is something like this: our nation is above all, and every citizen must give everything for the good of the nation, according to the orders of the national leader.  Fascism is a tough opponent of liberal democracy, but economically it relies on capitalism.  The fascist regime is characterized by the suppression of the opposition, propaganda and control over the media, as well as a one-party system of power with a dictator who controls all its branches.  Fascism relies on violence, therefore it cultivates the buildup and development of armaments.

 Any fascist regime turns the state into a totalitarian sect, where everything is subordinated to one person, and citizens are obedient soldiers who carry out any order of the national leader.  The fascist state is aggressive and seeks to seize territories.  It pursues an imperialist policy with elements of national patriotism and humiliation of other peoples.

 * Neo-Nazism is a socio-political movement associated with the justification and revival of the ideology of Nazism.

 I can add one thing to the above: different people live in each country, both good, kind, educated with high moral qualities, and evil, stupid, without any abomination values. If you deny it, then you are idiots and I feel sorry for you.

Before breaking into someone else's house, under the pretext of salvation from wickedness, deal with this wickedness in your own home.  Better yet, look in the mirror.

Ukraine

I personally have no link with Ukraine, apart from the fact that my father was one of those rebuilding Slavutych. I made friends and good acquaintances from Ukraine only here in the UK. I have never been to the country itself, although I would very much like to visit Kyiv. Before, it was even difficult for me to understand the language, but now I can watch the broadcast in Ukrainian and basically I will understand everything. I almost don’t know music in the Ukrainian language, except that I listened to Okean Elzy, Friday, and I really like Dorn’s “Dance of the Penguin”.
I don't know what to say to the Ukrainians. I don't believe in God for a long time now. I think a lot about this topic, but more and more often I come to the conclusion that nothing awaits us after death. Since the beginning of the war, in the most difficult and emotional days, I began to pray. As a child, my grandmother taught me prayers and I prayed every day. I also studied religion at school and was generally a religious nerd. I was always up for a chat with Jehovah's Witnesses until I stopped getting answers to my questions. Now I remember only one prayer "Our Father" and I pray for you.
In one of the bags that we sent with volunteers to the Ukrainian border from Bristol, I put a postcard with a return address. I really hope that it reaches someone. And I would like to get something like a card back, which would mean that the person or family survived.

Refugees

We see many stories about refugees in the news: children are greeted with applause in schools in Poland, Spain and other countries. People offer housing, jobs and any other help around the world. Creative support actions are organized. From acquaintances and friends who took their relatives at the borders with Moldova and Poland, I know that volunteers and doctors work there around the clock, providing invaluable assistance to the victims, people with physical and deep psychological trauma. Guys from London and Paris travel to Ukraine at their own risk to transfer essentials and help arrange flash mobs and support actions.
There is also another side of the story. There are also refugees who, no matter how strange it may sound in this situation, but, so to speak, benefited from the war and forced relocation. It seems to me, probably, in every catastrophe and crisis there are those who somehow win. Most go through hell, lose everything, remain with injuries for the rest of their lives, travel away from war to literally nowhere, but there are those who, probably, can be called lucky ones, who come out of even the most bloodthirsty situation, roughly speaking, “dry out of water”. They are lucky and it happens. If you imagine a guy / girl from the village who managed to leave the country in time (before the bombings in their area), they suddenly found themselves in the center of Berlin, Paris or London. The whole world is welcoming them! Isn't it a lottery (sort of)? But how long will they be welcomed? Will they be able to integrate and how many years will it take? Where they end up, only time will tell. I personally wish all refugees a soft integration. Be sure to learn the language of the country you are in and make new acquaintances, preferably with native speakers of the language and local culture, and you will succeed. I know exactly what I'm talking about 😉

Russian Friends

To all those who are sane and disagree with this bacchanalia, I wish strength and the speedy overthrow of the current government! I am very sorry that this is happening and sad to think about what else will happen to your country, to my friends and my relatives. I am very worried about you and understand what a cruel trap you all got into. I love St. Petersburg very much and not so long ago I fell in love with Moscow, but now I don’t even know when we will meet with you, if ever.
Take care of yourself, don't give up, help each other, make your choice towards love and kindness, even if for some time it will be unrequited! ♥️ #nowar

• I have no tolerance for aggression, threats and insults from any side. BUT I do not live neither in Russia nor in Ukraine. Bombs don't fly over my head, people don't get killed right in front of my eyes.. children.. I don't have to hide in basements, freeze and starve for weeks. I have no right to blame people who survived going through all this and as a result didn't manage to remain human ..