“I feel like the love of my life cheated on me” Roberto
(fancy name), 52 years old from
Milan
lives in
St Pietroburgo
for ten years. He runs a marketing agency there. “Everyday life has hardly changed. It is not noticeable that something is happening. Of course we realize that KFC, McDonald’s and Starbucks are closed. But beyond that, everything is the same, he explains.
The 52yearold confirms that sending money to Italy has become complicated after the sanctions. “Difficulties can also arise when working with unauthorized banks.” There were videos on social media and media of people fighting over sugar, as well as photos of empty shelves and long lines outside supermarkets. “I did not have these problems. However, I can say that the prices of some products have increased. Trivially, printer cartridges cost 2,000 rubles and now cost 8,000. The same applies to medicines.”
Roberto does not hide his deep disappointment at the war unleashed by Putin: “The moment A invades B, A’s wrong is obvious. Let’s not forget that we are talking about a technically fascist nation where there is no freedom of expression, there is the same person in power for twenty years, the rights of minorities, LGBTQ and much more have been violated. And after the last laws passed, you can’t even use certain words, we’re at Orwell’s level. I really can’t make a reason for it and yet it is so”.
“I speak with death in my heart: I moved here because I wanted to live in St. Petersburg and now I feel like the love of my life cheated on me and slept with someone else. I ask myself, ‘I’m sure I want to, do I still live here or do I want to go back to a country where I won’t risk years in prison for saying a word?’ If I could go, I would because I’m not happy with the situation am but with my life is here. I’m trying to understand if I’ll have the chance in a while,” he concludes.
“The belly of the people is with Putin”
“In Italy, the perception of what is happening is very inflated. I look at everything the Italian media says, what they say in Germany and the Russian official sources. There is crazy propaganda from Europe and America. I also discussed with some relatives. They tell me: “Go back to Italy immediately. There is chaos, queues at ATMs, demonstrations in the square, there is no food.” ? Files in supermarkets, empty shelves? That’s not true. Nothing has changed. And you don’t even believe me when I say it. I don’t know why the newspapers or TV stations are saying things that aren’t true. This is the story of instead
Rocco
35, originally from Sicily, who has been living in Moscow for a year and a half.
Regarding the situation in Ukraine, he says: “We have known about this conflict for a long time. People’s stomachs are with Putin. I have friends from different walks of life and I’ve never heard anyone say ‘Putin is a murderer’. . Besides, he’s not a dictator. I am a bit ashamed to be European because I see what is explained there. And I have no reason to defend Putin or Russia, but that’s my perception. Sorry but we say are Biden’s slaves, it’s humiliating because Italy and Russia have always had wonderful relations. Despite everything, we are still seen as smart people today. We are treated well. People understand that the blame does not lie with the Italian citizens, but with those who govern us”.
Rocco says he feels let down by Italian institutions. “Transactions are blocked. I work here and I have a small loan in Italy. I have a family there that I want to help, how can I send money? Most Italians working in Russia have accounts here and accounts in Italy. And we can’ They don’t do surgeries. They cut our connections. It wasn’t me, a citizen, who made the war, why are you punishing me?” Rocco explains.
“On a practical level, nothing has changed, but from a psychological point of view, the situation has an impact”
Manlio Casagrande
He is 41 years old and has lived in Russia for 16 years, where he runs a travel agency and an Italian restaurant in St. Petersburg. He recently returned to the city, 40 kilometers away, after a break. “After the invasion, I didn’t see anything else there or here.” His life “continues calmly. The only difference is that Apple Pay no longer works. The situation mainly has psychological effects”.
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The entrepreneur did not notice any particular problems when procuring groceries in supermarkets. “However, I can say that there have been inflation spikes for certain products. Different speech regarding the banks. “A few weeks ago we received a transfer from our partners in Rome from a nonsanctioned bank. However, it arrived with a significant delay because it was blocked in Italy, we don’t know why.”
Manlio says he is “very shocked by the conflict, to be honest I didn’t expect it. I think many people hope that a solution will be found as soon as possible so that they can also get up in the morning and not read the news about outbreaks of violence.” , guns and war. “. A high school student, son of a Russian, beaten by his classmates in Brescia. The course on Dostoyevsky was canceled by the Bicocca University of Milan. Episodes that could herald a growing tension between Italians and Russians. However, the entrepreneur does not believe that the Relationships go sour.” I think it’s a gut answer also understandable but wrong. Everything is thrown into one pot. Here there is no such reaction towards the citizens of the ‘enemy countries’,” he concludes.
“This war benefits nobody”
Sardinian is also found in St. Petersburg
laura
and the bell
Francesca
(fantasy names), 21 and 22 years old,
Pisa High School for language and cultural mediators
. They went to the Russian city at the beginning of February to carry out Erasmus, shortly before the invasion of Ukraine. “When the conflict started we were worried, our families too, then we decided to stay because we didn’t want to interrupt this experience. In addition, the situation here is calm, we see that people are being tempted, but we continue to live normally, they tell.
“We put a number on hold (which should last us through MayJune) because of the sanctions making it difficult to get money. Although there is a way. The VPN can get around the block. McDonald’s? Five still open . But most have closed.” Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, the young women say that they are all against it in the university environment they attend: “Very few people support Putin’s decision. Because they have lost communication with Europe, have problems with banks, rising prices has caused communication breakdowns with Europe, the products from the EU are not arriving. It is also not a good situation for the Russian economy … it is of no use to anyone,” says Laura.
“The Russian boys apologize for the situation, they are embarrassed,” explains Francesca. Laura repeats: “Recently I was talking to a girl about the conflict and she was embarrassed because she was sure that now everyone in Europe hates Russians. But what is their fault?. “Politics is politics, governments are governments. I don’t understand the need to sow baseless hatred against a population that has no flaws. With sanctions, with poor communication and speaking of ‘enemy’, relations are further aggravated, adds Francesca. Regarding the narrative of the conflict, the young women say: “What has left us stunned is that the Italian media, unfortunately, only shows one side of the coin. Always and only on the side of Ukraine, while the connections are not examined. “Why Russia started this war. The media is expected to be neutral, neutrality that doesn’t exist.
“There is a danger of war between civilizations”
“I have Ukrainian and Russian dissident friends, but I am also in contact with the government environment through my work. So I have a pretty broad view of the situation, says the Roman instead.
Stefano Capilupi
, associate professor at the Russian Christian Academy of Humanities in St. Petersburg and visiting professor at Leti State University, who has lived in the country for 22 years and has been responsible for faculty and student exchanges between the universities of Italy and Russia since 2017 and 15 years. “I saw the demonstrations in St. Petersburg. I didn’t participate because if I want to stay in this country, it’s better not to. Here, unless authorized first, people cannot take to the streets and virtually nothing is authorised. If they do, they risk being beaten and imprisoned. That’s why I say that St. Petersburg showed great dignity. The citizens had the courage to protest. Faced with a similar reaction, Europe should say: ‘Let us continue to have channels of exchange, these people.’ …”, he says.
Tgcom24
“The European Union decided that Russia’s isolation was the best choice adds the professor . I don’t think it’s right to have canceled every transport, every channel, every agreement, art and film festivals … What have they Europeans in mind? To provoke a rebellion in Russia? Was it necessary to combine sanctions with isolation? Canceling all transports and having frozen all agreements harms the people, that open bourgeoisie who are most critical of the regime. It means, leave the dissidents alone, leave them to despair don’t talk about the students There are young people who may not have seen Europe and who in time will become convinced that the bad guys are the Europeans they are isolated, left them alone.
The government’s decision to invade Ukraine surprised the professor. “Despite the government propaganda, I didn’t think it would come to this. Many didn’t expect it he admits Personally, I’m downright devastated by the decision that was made. Putin knew that through what he was doing, he was going to make a difference in the crisis relations with Europe, all this world of cultural relations that we have painstakingly built up over 30 years, for me an unheardof suffering because the meaning of my life has always been in it insisted on working so that these two worlds get to know each other “. On the case of Dostoyevsky, Stefano, who has written, among other things, several monographs on Manzoni and the Russian writer, concludes: “The thought that torments me the most is precisely this : the risk of igniting a ‘war between civilisations’ what shouldn’t be there.