April 5, 2015
MARIUPOL, Ukraine—Even
while speaking through a translator, Andrey is a man of few words.
When asked why he
defected from Russia to join a Ukrainian National Guard regiment, the
22-year-old Muscovite simply replied: “Common sense.”
After an assurance that
his face would not be photographed or his last name used, Andrey opened up,
explaining in more detail why it was such a logical decision to leave behind
his life in Moscow to fight pro-Russian separatists—who, he claimed, his native
country is both arming and sending troops to support.
Sitting at the
cafeteria in the Azov Regiment’s camp in Mariupol only minutes before leaving
for the front lines, Andrey talked about life in Russia under what he called
the “Putin regime.”
Andrey described a
repressive political environment in Moscow fueled by government-run propaganda
and fear.
“Many young people in
Russia who have common sense understand they have been deceived by Putin,” he
said between sips of tea, casually leaning back in his chair with his
Kalashnikov assault rifle propped against the table. “I have a brain, but there
are also many young people who have been brainwashed by the propaganda.”
“There are more of us,”
he added. “Putin is afraid of a Russian Maidan.”
Two brushes with the
“Putin regime” and its repressive tactics ultimately spurred Andrey to leave
Russia. The first happened after he witnessed pro-reform protestors handing out
flyers in the Moscow metro. Even though he was just a passerby, Andrey said he
was forcibly taken into custody and interrogated by a group of four men who
never revealed for which agency they worked.
“They said they just
wanted to have a talk,” he said.
The second instance was
at a government-sanctioned peace march in Moscow, in which Andrey was
participating to protest Russia’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict. He said
police began beating protestors without provocation.
“Their crime? They were
just holding signs,” he said.
Fed up with life in
Russia and with no substantial opposition party or movement to join, Andrey
said he did “what any sensible man would do.” He left Russia to fight for
Ukraine as a member of the Ukrainian National Guard Azov Regiment.
The Ukraine war has
drawn fighters from around the world. Loose government oversight over civilian
volunteer battalions opened a pathway for foreign fighters from countries
including the United States, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Georgia, Poland,
Spain, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Croatia, Italy and Canada to
join the ranks of pro-Ukrainian units with virtually no red tape.
There is even a Chechen
volunteer battalion fighting for Ukraine named after Dzhokhar Dudayev, the
Chechen rebel leader who led a war against Russia in the 1990s.
But recruitment rules
were tightened after a push by Kyiv to incorporate volunteer battalions into
the National Guard, sending many foreign fighters home. Although, according to
an Azov Regiment spokesman, a new law has removed Ukrainian citizenship as a
requirement for joining the National Guard.
Unlike the majority of
foreign fighters in Ukraine for whom returning home is an option, Andrey said
he will never go back to Russia.
“They will never
forgive me,” he said. “I will be persecuted.”
Andrey, however, wasn’t
worried about Russian authorities retaliating against his family in Moscow. In
fact, with the exception of his grandmother, he said his family generally
supported his decision to leave.
“My grandma went
through the Stalin times and it’s difficult to convince her that Putin isn’t
right,” he said. “She watches Russian news and is terrified by what they tell
her is going on in Ukraine. It’s all lies of course.”
Years of exposure to
Russian propaganda also distorted Andrey’s perception of Ukraine before his
arrival. He wondered whether the country had truly been taken over by Nazis and
far-right groups as Russian media reports had claimed, or if the Ukrainian war
effort was actually a front for NATO expansionism as Russian media sites had
also reported.
“Of course it’s all a
lie,” he said. “When I got here, I realized the situation was totally
different.”
One of the key
differences was the military training and firepower of the separatists.
“We are not fighting
coal miners and tractor drivers, we are fighting trained professional
soldiers,” he said, referring to Putin’s characterization of the separatists on
Russian TV.
“And where do these
so-called tractor drivers and coal miners buy grenade launchers?” he added.
“From a supermarket?”
Following the
interview, Andrey left for the front lines near Shyrokyne, a small town about
eight miles east of Mariupol. His mission that day was to film evidence of
separatists using heavy weapons in violation of the Feb. 12 cease-fire
agreement.
He said he doesn’t get
scared anymore before going to the front lines. While at the front, amid the
constant sounds of mortars, artillery and small arms, he appeared calm,
displaying the muted reaction to danger common to soldiers who have spent much
time in combat.
When separatists’ heavy
weapons ignited a fire in a residential area, sending up plumes of smoke, he
climbed to the roof of the house being used as the Azov Regiment’s combat
outpost for a better vantage point from which to film the damage. He leaned
around a corner, exposing himself to potential sniper fire, and filmed.
Asked earlier what he
was fighting for in Ukraine, Andrey succinctly replied: “Justice.”
Responding to a
follow-on question, he added: “For Ukraine.”
Nolan Peterson
