Local Russians denounce Putin’s war

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This article was published 26/02/2022 (1510 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ALEXEI OUKLEINE says it’s a painful time to be Russian.

“For me, to be Russian nowadays it’s a big shame,” says Oukleine, who feared Vladimir Putin when he immigrated to Winnipeg 19 years ago.

“It’s difficult to make any comments about this, yes, but I would like to be somebody else.”

He is among Manitobans of Russian heritage who are grappling with the impact of Russian attacks on Ukraine.

Oukleine left Russia with his wife and children shortly after Putin became president, and they arrived in Winnipeg in 2003. He sponsored his mother to come to Canada, and still has many family members and friends in both Russia and Ukraine.

“When he became president of Russia, I immediately organized papers and applied for immigration to Canada. Without Putin, probably I would still live in Russia,” Oukleine said.

“I predicted some terrible things, but I cannot imagine that Russia (would) fight with Ukraine.”

The Winnipegger says it’s important for him to speak out against Russian attacks in Ukraine, which he described as “a step to the Third World War.”

He said he knows some Russians who support Putin, but believes the majority is against this war. He’s in favour of sanctions against Russia and has donated money to help Ukraine.

“I cannot stay and do nothing. I cannot stand aside (and say) I don’t know nothing, it’s not my business, it’s not my war, I immigrated to Canada, everything is fine. No, no. We should be involved.”

Politics tends to sow division, and not everyone has the same perspective, he said, but he spoke about seeing Russian-speaking Winnipeggers for their commonalities — he said he doesn’t differentiate between who is from Ukraine and who is from Russia. The bottom line, Oukleine said, is the war needs to stop.

“People who will be killed, they are artists, they are poets, they are writers… it’s not just soldiers or unknown strangers,” he said.

The Association of Russian-Speaking Manitobans (formerly known as the Russian Cultural Association) issued a statement condemning war and military aggression but said it will not weigh in to political discussions.

It won’t help for local Ukrainian and Russian communities to be in conflict with each other, suggested Roman Pavlov, priest at the Russian Orthodox Holy Trinity Cathedral on Manitoba Avenue. His parishioners come from a variety of ethnic groups, united by the Russian language and their faith, he said.

He hasn’t seen any such division, and said he can’t speak for the whole community.

“No one can support any kind of war,” he said, urging religious people to pray for peace.

“We need to understand that hate is not the way for us. Our way is peace, our way is love,” said Pavlov, who has lived in Winnipeg for 11 years. Half of his family lives in Russia, half in Ukraine.

“I spoke to them, they’re trying to be calm, they’re trying to pray. So they’re trying to do as good as they can there,” he said. “They’re trying to do as much as they can from their side for the peace… nobody wants the war, 100 per cent.”

katie.may@winnipegfreepress.com