Moscow resident Varya Darevskaya visited Ukraine only as a tourist before 2014. She went here during occupation of Crimea – wanted to talk to  people, to understand what was going on, her trip around Ukraine became the basis for festival motion picture of director Alena Polunina. Majority of Russians today had no opportunity to watch the movie “Varya”, which is forbidden on the territory of the RF.

Then there were a lot of visits in Donbass, other regions of Ukraine, first Varvara came to listen and to talk, then she tried to help. Then there were visits of Luhansk, purchase of food for lonely old people on money gathered by Moscow dwellers. People who are ready to help with spread of food sets found in the city. Varya told in interview to informator.lg.ua about her impressions from travellings on “rebel” Donbass and other territory of Ukraine, about people she communicated with and about moods on the different sides of the demarcation line. She’s willingly shares her opinion about Maidan, war on the East of Ukraine, current political leadership of Russia and future relationship of our countries.

• Tell about yourself please, are you muscovite? What political views do you have?

• I’m muscovite. According to current political regime of Russia I always adhered to opposition views. My husband and daughter were active participants of meetings on “Bolotnaya” and after that too. I didn’t visit them, because, to be honest, I hadn’t seen a special sense in all of this.

When Maidan began in Ukraine, I tried to create from my Facebook page the

platform to discuss happening, where people with different views and beliefs could

have free debates. When Crimean events began, idea to come to Ukraine appeared in

my mind and to see everything that happens here by my eyes. I visited a lot of cities of

Ukraine, communicated with different people. I even was captured in Vinnitsa by

“Right Sector”. It was real captivity, but didn’t fearsome, we sat and drink tea.

Coming back to Moscow I told a lot about seen. Then somebody wrote to me: “Why

you only were in peaceful Ukraine and you don’t go on Donbass? I thought: “And really, why?”. Then in that time also people from Donbass began to write to me with requests to come. I decided that I certainly must go.

I began to spread the information that I was going soon and if somebody has relatives there and there was a need to transfer them something I was ready to help. When I appeared in Luhansk I understood that humanitarian situation is complicated there.

Nobody hasn’t starved yet, but it was understood that a lot of old people wouldn’t survive the winter cold.

I began to think how can I help and decided to try to gathered in Moscow the money to purchase food for them.

People ready to help were found among locals. We applied to local social safety offices for the information about lonely seniors with no one to help. First months we could gather big sums, a few hundreds of thousands of rubles passed through my hands. When I arrived to Luhansk we went on the wholesale market and purchased products. Then volunteers spread them among people. I’m very happy that we could help people to survive this winter.

• Did you and volunteers with whom you’ve worked in Luhansk know that aid, which came from Russia usually didn’t reach civilians?

• They had a less than little bit. Nothing reached lonely old people. Our volunteers are cunning, they have interest in everything. They knew that white KAMAZs one more time came from Russia and unloaded on one of the stocks, which was forced away from one of entrepreneurs. After a couple of days signboard “Wholesale Products” appeared under this stock. They even told me what sold there: cereals, sugar, canned. All was Russian. Moreover, everything was sold there two times cheaper than on local wholesale market. Then we sat there and discuss if it was ethical to buy a food on the wholesale market on this peanuts. Maybe it was better to buy food in their stock and to feed twice as much people. Then, they spit on all these conventions and went to talk to the people there who were selling these products. When wholesale traders knew that all of this bought for humanitarian aid, they sold this products cheaper than price was. Also, they add syringes which were put in humanitarian aid too.

• So, this means that the conscience of the people «leaped», didn’t it?

• Maybe.

• Tell us please, what number of people could get help from you? How many of them — dozen, hundreds?

• Dozen of people. Everything began from Luhansk and then we began to cover vicinities. Once again, the main problem is that we need people who has lists of this lonely old people, who needs help. Our volunteers gathered money not only there, they also gathered funds from Ukraine, but we know that Ukraine still has enough to spend on. The main problem is we need people who will show us where to carry food and to whom. Why this old people die from starving? It doesn’t means that nobody wouldn’t feed them, neighbors can do that, but they are embarrassed to ask for help. They sat in their flat and quietly die, without saying anything to anybody.

• Can you judge about mass of this tendention?

• I can’t say about scales of it. But we faced with such sad cases. One our volunteer told that he was given with address with one old woman. He came and brought some products for her, but he was late on two days… Here is one more case, when I drove aid from Moscow to locals from their relatives, I came to one old woman. In spite of she doesn’t have TV she translated to me all this rave from our Russian media, actively and emotionally supports Russia. In time of shellings she sat in the cellar and composed poems about “junta” and “Poroshenko” etc. So, when she met me, she brought a chummage to me, everything that she had tangerine and apple. I understood, that I couldn’t refuse her, but at the same time it’s everything that she had to eat. But I brought to her a chocolate and certain amount of money, so conscience not so torments me. This old woman took money, went to the shop and there she had a hungry fainting.

• You began to help to Luhansk old people from the end of autumn, didn’t you?

• Yes, it was the end of autumn. We stand all winter and then Russians began to sacrifice much less… Maybe people tired of this war and even tired to think about it. So, it’s only a little bit that we manage to collect. Well, some pensions began to pay there. I’m very glad that we could overcome this winter. But terrible situations happened that times. We came to one granny and there is nothing even to drink. Refrigerator was disconnected as unnecessary, because there were no products, shelves are empty, only food that we had brought. I asked her: “Did you have a water?” (there were some bottles) and she answered “It was only an an hour in the morning, but I wasn’t hurry to collect water”. This granny lives on the 5th floor and she barely moves in her flat. That’s why think that such “scout”, volunteer help is necessary.

• During the last year you’ve communicated a lot with people in Luhansk and Donetsk and on the other territory of Ukraine. What can you say are residents of Eastern region with their mentality more alike Russians or they still Ukrainians?

• Mentally they more close to Kyiv people than to muscovites, even those who’re with pro-Russian views with their candor, emotionality. So, I think that it is still Ukraine. Another situation is in Horlovka. People are more dark and serious there. This city has a lot of distinctions with other cities where I had been to. One question is tormenting me for a long time. Why Horlovka is under regular fire and Luhansk not? Even a suspicion appeared that commanders who give such orders are the betrayals of Ukraine… As a result from my point of view situation is the next: “LPR” somehow «drifts» to the direction of Ukraine and the opposite situation with “DPR”. Anti-Ukrainian moods are continuing to grow in both cities Horlovka and Donetsk. Probably, the case is still in the fact that “DPR” as a structure much stronger than “LPR”. “LPR” absolutely discredited itself.

• Are you going to go once again on Donbass?

• I’ll surely go there, this time I want to get to Horlovka.

• Did you faced and cooperate with representatives of so-called power during your visits?

• I didn’t meet them at all. What depends entering “LPR” it’s not a problem for citizen of Russia. We were travelling in a car with one Moscow “separatist. Automobile had Moscow numbers, so they didn’t check documents.

• At the beginning everyone cried “Russia! Russia come!” But Russia came in such a form that even a lot of convinced “separatists” realized that it would be better for this state not to come. They think: it’s necessary for it to come honestly, without hiding its army, to put its own order and be responsible for everything that is happening there. The fact that “green men” there doesn’t find the support and understanding among people including ardent patriots. And this one, this separatists also decided: or this way or another. He even went with me on “Marsch of Peace” in Moscow. We were carrying flags there Russian and Ukrainian.

• So, this muscovite understood that state mustn’t act so with neighbors?

• Yes, he recognized it now. In my opinion even convinced separatists act in this way not because they don’t like Ukraine. Vice versa they like Ukraine, that’s why they act so. Maybe it could be compared with teenager, who has a scandal with parents “You owe me that, you owe me this, and in general, you have spoiled all my life”. But it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t love them…

Interview was made by Aleksei Chernov and Lana Kosach-Kvitka for informator.lg.ua to be continued…