Valeria on folk heroes: part 1

Series:

Vic: Did you ever see any Ghost of Kyiv mentions on VK?

Valeria: No, I don’t think so. I think I just exited it soon enough, you know, just in the first day of war, I was like, “No, I’m done with this shit. I’m so done with all of you”. So, no. But I did see a lot of angry posts, you know, you could just go look up hashtag “putler huilo” [Portmanteau of Putin/Hitler and calling him a dickman], and there would be a lot of posts of angry Ukrainians. But no, I don’t think it was soon enough for me to see the posts about Ghost of Kyiv here.

I think it could also be moderated, like it could just be deleted, because the Ghost of Kyiv- the thing was, with that story is that, of course, now we all realize that it’s not true, and it can’t be one person it. But it is true in a way that a lot of Ukrainian pilots were like that. They were doing incredible job at the first days of full-scale invasion, and not just the first days. But what I mean is that they are incredible. It’s just that we all collected them into this one person, this one persona, so that we could- it was easier to praise them, you know.

But even though it was kind of overblown in a way, it was still a great deal in maintaining our spirit, you know. So that’s why, I guess it could be moderated in this way. Because, you know, when you- when you talk about this cool Ukrainian pilot that shot a bunch of Russian planes, in one day. It does increase our spirit and decrease the Russian’s pro war spirit.

Vic: So was the ghost of Kyiv the main person that you discussed? Or were they the only, I guess, hero that got discussed at the time?

Valeria: Well, we talked really good about all of our soldiers, actually. Well, I think the first few months, there was absolutely no one who would be, well, at least, I didn’t hear of any people like that who would discredit, try to discredit our army. Like everyone were believing that we are just almighty, you know <laughs>. But the ghost of Kyiv was, as I said, this one person- that would make talking about them so much easier, easier. Because when you say soldiers, you’re talking about 1000s, hundreds of 1000s of people. When you say ghost of Kyiv, it’s just this one cool Ukrainian pilot, you know. And when you you’re able to personalize them, it speaks so much closer to your heart, you know. Gosh, I’m sorry that you’re gonna have to structurise my awful English <laughs>.

Vic: <laughs> Your English is a hell of a lot better than my Ukrainian.

Valeria: Well, I try.

Vic: Did you hear about Snake Island?

Valeria: Yeah, we, I think we did talk a lot about it too. You know, this, this phrase that this person said, like “Російський військовий кораблю, іди на хуй” [Russian warship, go fuck yourself] it did too become a great motivation for us. Because if a person that is in a very bad position that it is about to die, that’s about to get captured, is still able to resist, and is still able to say such things, then we all can. We all can fight back, and we all can fight so that their sacrifice wouldn’t be in vain. And it became very popular, popular very quickly. And I remember it even being on the loading screen of Kyivstar mobile app.

So- actually, the adults didn’t really like it very much. I remember them telling “it’s a swear word. Why would it be everywhere? It’s so bad, it’s so bad”, but I didn’t care. Like, yes, it’s a swear word, but it maintains our spirit. So what? So, I guess it is still popular, just not as popular as before. And the Snake Island was legendary. You know, he became legendary then, but then it also became legendary when he finally was freed after a while.

Vic: How did you feel when you found out the guy survived?

Valeria: The guy from Snake Island? Oh, I was very glad. Because, well, when you’re captured by Russians and you are saying such things, you know, everyone thought that they would just kill him, that’s it. But, well, I’m glad. I hope he’s doing okay now.

Vic: Do you think it added to the story that he survived?

Valeria: Yes, think it is because. Well, I’m sure, even if they didn’t kill him, they- well, as we know, they torture our soldiers really bad, and I’m sure he did go through a lot of similar things. And it’s sad and good at the same time that he survived. But what he went through, I don’t know. I don’t really want to imagine that. It’s very painful.

Vic: Do the characters like the guy from Snake Island and the Ghost of Kyiv get talked about much nowadays?

Valeria: Nowadays? Not really, unfortunately. I don’t know. It just all went away. But we were, we were talking about them for a pretty long time. But, you know how it is. I don’t want to draw bad parallels, but we are all kind of in a stagnation right now, you know. Nothing new is happening, pretty much, with the war. Just bad and bad and bad and bad. So we don’t- we don’t have much characters like them anymore, and we don’t talk about them so much anymore.

Vic: Can you think of any new characters? It’s okay if not.

Valeria: Wait. My think is really impaired right now. Well, always. I mean, there was this lady that was, she was, she was janitor. How is it called cleaner? Outside, janitor?

Vic: Yeah, janitor.

Valeria: And she was cleaning the streets when a rocket or bomb hit near the Stepan Bandera statue in Lviv. We were talking about her a lot. It was very funny, because she was cleaning, and then there was this big explosion. She just looked for it for a second, and then we went on cleaning. And she even received regards from the mayor of- the mayor. But so, but not as it wasn’t as intensive as before, you know, because, well, back then we were actively fighting, actively resisting. And this is just, actually, it’s quite sad, if you think about it, because it shows our reality of a lot of Ukrainians that they just look at the whatever is happening and they have to go on with their lives. Because otherwise, if you stop and you wallow and you be scared, you just won’t live at all. So you, you’re forced to- well, not ignore, but you’re forced to adapt to what is happening in our lives right now, for the last four years. But she is cool <laughs>.

Vic: Do you ever hear anything more about her, or?

Valeria: Not really. I don’t think I ever heard anything beyond the first few days from that occurrence.

Vic: Do you ever hear any stories of like old women doing things to attack Russians?

Valeria: <laughs> About the woman that threw a jar of pickles on the drone? Yeah, Yeah. I remember it was so funny. I even bought sticker, a sticker pack about her. And you know, it was in the first few months of the full scale invasion, as far as I remember. Because I don’t really remember when exactly this legend started going around, but in ATB, our beloved supermarket in the east, they were always doing some things like, “buy things for 200 Hryvnia, and you get this little sticker”. And then there was this woman with the pickles, and I remember- I remember loving it, this sticker. I bought a few, and I gifted it to my parents <laughs>. They were like, “oh, okay”.

Vic: Did ATB use stickers before the war? Or did they just bring in stickers because of her?

Valeria: Well, not because of her, just because of her. It was with a lot of, you know, popular things like Pes Patron and stuff. They did such things before, but not as much, I think. It became way more popular. They did, like cards, little cards and little coins, as if you can call them? And stickers and stuff. Well, it was another method for them to get money, so <laughs>.

Vic: Did you ever hear about, like, any concrete details about the lady, like, did you hear where she was supposed to be from, or what she threw or?

Valeria: As far as I remember, we were talking about how she was in Kyiv, and that she hit a drone with a jar of pickles and it collapsed. That’s it. That’s all I know. Well, that’s all I remember.

Vic: Since you’re an artist, did you ever draw any of these characters?

Valeria: Not really, but what I was drawing is Ukraine as a collective, you know, as a- as a person that was fighting. I never had any finished that work, because, well, that time was pretty, pretty bad for me, and I couldn’t finish anything. But I remember trying a lot. And it held up my spirit too. Because, you know I was feeling as if I was contributing something, even though it wasn’t really anything.

Vic: Did you ever post pictures anywhere that you draw?

Valeria: No, not then, because I was really ashamed of my skill. If I did it now, maybe I would- wait, I should do this now. Definitely I should.

Vic: <laughs> Draw pictures for an article, if you want.

Valeria: I can, I can draw the woman with pickles.

Vic: Yeah. Did you hear any other stories about women, like poisoning soldiers or?

Valeria: Ohyeah, I heard, but it wasn’t as a legend. It was- or maybe it was, I don’t know. I can’t exactly recall where or when was it, but I remember a woman in occupied territories baking pyrizhky [small buns with a filling], and she, she put a poison in it, and she then she fed Russian soldiers, and they all died. So that was great. But I can’t remember what year was it even?

Vic: Were there ever any like stickers made of her?

Valeria: No.

Vic: Or was that something that just got discussed?

Valeria: We were just talking about it, yeah. And not, not that- and lately- not that long ago, I heard a really sad story. I actually saw it, saw the videos, about a woman who was on the occupied territories, and she donated a large sum of her pension to Ukrainians. It was like 30,000 a year. It’s an insane sum for someone who’s, who’s that old, and that she got sued because of that by Russians.

Vic: So the Russians in the occupied territory knew that she donated money and sued her.

Valeria: Yes. They think they distracted and she, she got into the prison because of that. She’s really old, like, well, maybe 60 to 70. And in the- in the commentaries, there were a lot of people saying that I knew this woman, she was very great. She was helping a lot. And it’s just so sad, so heartbreaking, and it’s not- unfortunately, well, it’s not that kind of story to cheer you up. It’s a kind of story to hate Russians even more.

Vic: Has there been an increase in that type of story recently?

Valeria: Well, I think there were stories like that were always here, ever since the start of full-scale invasion, because people still try to help. Even if there’s such dire positions, and I don’t know. Just really sad, but still, some part of it still gives us hope. Because it’s so heartbreaking that she got sued for it, but she tried to- she gave away so much of her money, even when she when she’s earning, like, I don’t know, we say, kopiky [coins], like, really, really small, small amount of money. It’s just heartwarming that people are still willing to do this. That’s it.

Vic: Why do you think she was staying in the occupied territories?

Valeria: I’m not sure. I don’t think I it was written in the article or something. But as far as I know, people have a lot of problems with that. At first, it costs a lot to extract, because you have to go around, you know, you can just go directly from occupied territories to Ukrainian territories. It’s a very short distance, but you have to go around a lot of countries. You have to go through Russia. Then, I guess, to Belarus, then from Belarus to some other country that accepts flights for them, and then only then you can go to Ukraine. And this is very expensive process.

So I guess, especially regarding that she was getting so so little money, and she was giving away so much, I don’t think she had enough money. Or often, people stay because they have to stay with someone who cannot leave like, like a relative who’s just in no state to do that, something like that. Well, some, sometimes people stay of- Well, in my mind, stupid reasons. But for them, they’re not stupid. You know, some people are really afraid to leave their homes. And they think that they will not get accepted on Ukrainian territories.

And unfortunately, partly this may be true, because Ukraine, in no way can provide for everyone, so that people would be able to live as they did before war. You know, it’s, it’s very hard work. Because I am lucky to have parents who are working and who are providing for me. But in the end, we have no property, we have no nothing. We rent out a flat, and that’s it. That’s all that we have. And we are able to go through only because my dad works a really hard job on the factory, you know. He basically, well, I don’t want to don’t want to say that, but he kills himself every day to give money to us so that we could be able to eat. And, you know, not everyone are that privileged as I am. Not everyone has a relative who is able to provide for them, who is able to work such hard job, to get some food on the table.

That’s it, maybe that’s why they stay. Because Russians, they try to get their favors by giving them free stuff, like free flats and stuff. So sometimes it’s even more beneficial for them to just go to Russia. Well, in the short term, more beneficial. In the long term, of course not. But when people are desperate, that’s what they’ll do. And I’ve heard a lot of such stories when people were staying in Avdiivka. And the saddest thing is that- well, it’s one thing, when you stay yourself, you and your husband, I don’t know. But when you force your little kid to stay with you, it’s really, really sad.

And right before the occupation, I remember that our soldiers were hunting for kids. They were like raiding the flats to search for kids. Because as far as they know, they were like 5 to 10 kids left in the town. And they were trying to extract them forcefully, because, well, you know what will happen [Russia is infamous both for deporting Ukrainian children into Russia for re-education, and for forcing children to live in their command posts to deter Ukrainian counter-attacks].

And there was a story of a young boy, he was like 17 at the time, trying to walk on his legs from Avdiivka to Ukrainians, because he was so afraid and his mother was forcing him to stay. We call those people Ждуни, because at this point, why are you even here? Why are you staying here? Because it’s obvious that the town will be occupied in a few months, and I don’t know. Yeah.

Vic: What does that word mean?

Valeria: Ждуни? People who wait, but in, like, a derogatory way. You know, so they’re waiting for the Russians.

Vic: Okay, yeah.

Valeria: Because we- this is, that ждать, is a Russian word, not a Ukrainian, that’s why. But as far as I know, after he tried to escape, he was rescued by Ukrainian soldiers, and he’s safe. He was safe.

Vic: So he made it.

Valeria: Yes, he did made it, fortunately. It was heartbreaking to hear at the time because, well- I was lucky that my parents are normal <laughs>. They extracted us as soon as they could. As soon as it got serious, as soon as we realized that it’s not just two weeks.

Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply