War Time Social Media in Siberia
Day Three of the war and apart from Ukrainian flags or doves appearing on people’s cover photos, “No War” in black and white boxes, and a couple of petitions there is not a lot of chatter about the war in the social media universe. Regardless of how people feel about it, the reality is overwhelming. There is mostly silence as people struggle through this unfamiliar world filled with anxiety. The discount liquor store was crowded last night. There was more strength to write about it when it began. Here are the voices of four people from Day One.
This was a Facebook post from an Independent Deputy in the Novosibirsk City Council:
FIVE THESES ABOUT THE SITUATION
1. For Peace: Yes. I, as a woman and as a mother of three children, oppose war and for the peaceful settlement of any conflicts. Yes. I can’t wrap my head around what’s going on.
2. Stop Military Actions: I really want to believe that the further development of military events will stop.
3. It is Important to Be Calm: We need to remember that the human brain is organized so that in times of stress it often makes the wrong decisions. Do not rush, please, with conclusions and with actions, no matter what they concern.
4. Limit Your News Time: You shouldn’t try to be online constantly to follow ongoing events. It will not give you anything but internal stress. It is better to consciously set aside a fixed time for the news and do the usual things. This will bring back a sense of inner control.
5. Care Instead of Fear: The world around us today is filled with negative energies of fear and hopelessness. I think you need to consciously try not to get sucked into this energy. It’s complicated. But let’s try to do something else. For example, consciously replace these emotions with thoughts and actions of caring, in small and larger everyday actions. In giving up a seat in public transport or in a queue, not responding to someone’s caustic remark, understand what many people are experiencing today and that is why they act this way. Cook something delicious for the family that they love, help a colleague, or just smile kindly at a passerby. Perhaps this will surprise someone. I am convinced that in this, in replacing fear with care, today is our simple and active contribution to the cause of peace. I pray for all of us the best I can. And I hug everyone.
The comments to her post displayed a range of opinions. Even among those who think something needed to be done there is no macho triumphalism, just sadness as they remind people that the war in the Donbass started 8 years ago. A couple of people posted a picture of a stone memorial covered with stuffed animals listing the names of the children killed.
The second Facebook post is from an activist in Novosibirsk who protested on the main square and was arrested. He described his ordeal along with pictures.
“Good morning, I spent a wonderful night in the special holding cell. This place deserves five stars on flamp. The staff are polite and friendly. This is probably the worst thing. Polite people who arrest us here, but in Ukraine they shoot people. Not because they hate you, but simply by order. Probably to people who have never been arrested by the police, who have never seen the walls of a prison cell, this seems terrible. But free will and reason do not stop being free just because they are placed in dungeons. I feel much more comfortable and freer than the one who guards me through the wall on night duty. Freedom is something that cannot be taken away. Greetings from the Central Court”.
and later that day….
“I’m sitting in the October court. The judge is joking with my escort guard”:
Judge: “Why did they push him on me?
Guard: That’s how it was arranged.
Judge: He is assigned to me but where was he detained? They grabbed him and now shove everything on to me. Blow off!”
The third post came from our village WhatsApp chat. Someone asked what people think about the situation. Talking politics is usually frowned upon but this time there was some back and forth. This is from the Head of the cultural center:
“Ukraine is my small homeland. I grew up in Ukraine. My parents were laid to rest there there… Ukrainian is one of my 3 native languages (along with Russian and Tatar). 10 years I studied at a Ukrainian school. The most memorable years of my long life. My sister lives in Kyiv with her husband. Paternal aunts live in Kharkov. I love Ukraine with all my heart, its songs and poems. All but three of my dear classmates, including me, still live and work in Ukraine, and a close friend in the DPR… so what can I say?.. my heart bleeds, and my soul is torn from grief. My Little Motherland is in trouble. After all, any war is destruction and human casualties. All this is terrible. The people became hostages of political disarray. But Ukraine should not remain an enemy foothold for Russia. Ukraine is on the border of Russia, historically our peoples are brothers. Artificially separating them was a great sin… now I only rely on the mercy of God.”
Several posts later the conversation shifted to rumors that people will not have access to their money at Sberbank and then it was back to stray dogs, a domesticated rabbit that got loose and was eaten. Village life only being lived with a new sense of dread.
The last comes from my husband’s Instagram. His Russian speaking Ukrainian friend moved his family to Siberia from the Donbass when the war started.
“War is always bad. Eight years ago, in 2014, the Kyiv authorities launched a war against the civilian population. “Their children will sit in basements,” Poroshenko, the then Kyiv “president,” promised. The shells hit my alma mater, there were casualties, people really hid in the basements. And now the Donbass has a chance to live peacefully, without shelling. I really want to believe that those of my friends on Instagram who post “No war” are really happy that the war is leaving my long-suffering small homeland — Donbass, and that the warmongers who seized power eight years ago will really get what they deserve.”
It is a beautiful Saturday in Siberia, -3 and sunshine. The kind of day that usually brings joyous relief and anticipation of spring but not today. Today there is only hope that this nightmare will end and certainty that, once again, they are in for a long slog of financial instability.
