Brothers In Harms - September 25th 2023

September 25th 2023

Yuriy shares the heartbreaking story of his strained relationship with his brother, who remains in Russia despite the ongoing conflict. Yuriy reflects on the choices people make when faced with adversity and the profound sacrifices required for the pursuit of freedom. He sheds light on the personal struggles and difficult decisions experienced by those living in the midst of conflict.

You can email Yuriy, ask him questions or simply send him a message of support: fightingtherussianbeast@gmail.com   
You can help Yuriy and his family by donating to his GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-yuriys-family  
Yuriy’s Podbean Patron sign-up to give once or regularly: https://patron.podbean.com/yuriy  

Buy Yuriy a coffee here: https://bmc.link/yuriymat 

TRANSCRIPT: (Podbean app users can enjoy closed captions)

You can email Yuriy, ask him questions or simply send him a message of support: fightingtherussianbeast@gmail.com   
You can help Yuriy and his family by donating to his GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-yuriys-family  
Yuriy’s Podbean Patron sign-up to give once or regularly: https://patron.podbean.com/yuriy  

Buy Yuriy a coffee here: https://bmc.link/yuriymat 

TRANSCRIPT: (Podbean app users can enjoy closed captions)

I have already told you about my brother, who lives with his family in Moscow. I ceased all communication with him almost at the very beginning of the full scale invasion, when I realized that he was perfectly fine with everything that was happening, even the mortal danger hanging over our parents, who were literally bombarded with rockets and shells could not make him leave Russia. At first, it seemed to me that he was simply confused, not fully understanding what was actually going on. However, as this confusion persisted for weeks and then months, I realized that I no longer had a brother. There was some entity that had taken on my brother's appearance, but inside it was something cold, malevolent, and ruffless, like that cosmic creature from the old movie, The Thing, that could cleverly mimic humans who were killed by it. I cut off contact with this person, but my relatives did not. My uncle, who lives in Kharkiv and risks his life almost every day under Russian shelling, spent a lot of time trying to persuade my brother to leave Russia. Not necessarily to come to Ukraine and join the Ukrainian army, but to go anywhere to avoid dealing with a country that had ignited this insane bloody war.

At first, my brother mumbled something Vaguely even promised to start looking for ways to live the country of killers. But at some point he could not take it anymore and confess that he had no intention of going anywhere that he could not imagine how he could leave behind everything he had accumulated in his life, all it was in Russia. 

You know, when I heard about this, I remembered my acquaintance, a journalist who escaped from the then beseiged city of Kherson, taking only her cat and a bit of food for herself and this cat. She left everything else behind for the enemy and she was happy when she reached the free part of Ukraine. She had nothing, not even spare socks, just the cat and a piece of paper with her relatives phone number in Kyiv who took her in. But she cried tears of joy because she had escaped from the enemy, preserving the most precious fink, your freedom. 

I also recalled an older man who last autumn walked nearly 200 miles on foot from the occupied Mariupol to reach the unoccupied part of Ukraine. He nearly died of cold and hunger, but he was happy too because he fled from the occupiers. But my most vivid memory was the evacuation of our- my and the person who was my brother- parents. Our father carried our partially paralyzed mother to the evacuation bus because she could not walk. When they were just about 300 meters away, the bus started moving and my father had a heart attack, thinking the bus would leave them on the road which the Russians were shelling with artillery. He carried my mother and she held a bag of sandwiches in her hand, the only thing they took from home. And he fell right on the road when he saw the only chance of survival was moving away. He fell while still holding my mother in his hands. That could be the end. But fortunately, the bus driver saw my parents and stopped, and the people inside the bus helped my parents crawl on board.

Of course, I expected my brother not to want to spend a single moment among the people who had tried to kill our parents, who had decided to forcibly subjugate our homeland. I thought he would leave that country and somehow start helping Ukraine in its struggle against the enemy. But to do that, he would have to part with his almost new TV, his motorcycle, a couple of dozens branded shirts, expensive furniture, and recently installed plumbing. He was not ready to do that. It was too high a price for him. 

I once read about How monkeys are caught in Africa. The hunter takes a dry gourd, carves a small hole in it, pours seeds inside that monkey loves, and then securely fastens the gourd to a tree. The monkey reaches its hand into the hole, grabs the seeds, clenches them in its fist, and then tries to run away. But the clenched fist won't fit through the small hole. The monkey senses danger, even sees it approaching when the hunter comes, but it can escape and save itself by simply opening its hand, letting go of the seeds and leaving them behind. But greed prevents the monkey from doing this, and that's why it meets its demise.

All this stuff that my brother and those like him cling to, it's precisely those seeds in the gourd that they are unable to leave behind. Very soon, the Russian authorities will start looking for those responsible for the failures on the frontlines. That's how they've always done in throughout history. So it's clear to everyone that this time will be no different. Ukrainians living in Russia will be the first in line to be labelled enemies and spies through whom Russia failed to conquer all of Ukraine. They could save themselves, they could run away, not to mention that they could help their homeland. But you see there are shirts, tVs and motorcycles that simply cannot be left behind. I feel somewhat uncomfortable bringing this up, but both I and my loved ones  still rely on your support. If you enjoy my podcast and would like to support me, you can always do so by using the details provided in this episode description. Thank you, your assistance has truly been a lifesaver for my family and continues to be.