In Goa, no rift but uneasy peace between Russians, Ukrainians

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Filmmaker and musician Paul McLay (35) describes himself as a mixed-blood Russian who hails from Moscow and has been living in Goa since the first Covid lockdown of 2020. He says the lockdown brought all communities in Goa — Russians, Ukrainians, Europeans and local residents – together, and they have been living as one since. Condemning the violence in Ukraine, McLay says the war has not caused any new rifts and the community, in which many Ukranians speak Russian, remains united in their call for peace.

But over the last fortnight, as Russian troops advanced into cities across Ukraine, there has been disquiet among Ukranians in Goa. Most of them have been talking to their families back home, hearing bombardment in the background, about supermarkets running out of essentials and sirens warning their families in Kyiv to go underground.

Their lives in the leafy lanes of north Goa have been taken over by continuous monitoring of news from back home, new WhatsApp and Telegram groups of Ukrainians in Goa reaching out to each other. Even as many of them battle sleepless nights, they are trying to help compatriots in Goa cope with the mounting burden of bad news from home.

Mariia Skutova, 30, lives in Sangolda and runs her business of leather garments. Until November last year, she was home in Kyiv where she used an app to book train tickets. The app is now also a platform that sends out alerts when sirens in Kyiv warn people to go underground.

Skutova receives the alerts on her phone, too. Minutes later, she is on the phone with her mother to check whether or not she has made it to a safe place. “She said there is no bread, no meat in the supermarket. Only porridge packets that she could get,” says Skutova.

While many Russians have reached out to their Ukrainian friends in Goa, Skutova says that on social media she has had to unfriend a Russian friend who told her that videos of bombings in Ukraine were fake. “Someone you know, who knows the situation there but just ignores it. I don’t know how to tell you how that feels. I minimise going out and getting into conflict. I just hope I still have some Russian friends left,” she says.

Like her, Yevheniya Marenych (35), who hails from Kharkiv, says that while most Ukranians and Russians are trying to support each other in Goa, some Russians have made it “impossible” to interact. “Some people don’t have an open mind or an open heart. They just have their point of view which is so strong and is completely opposite (to ours),” she says.

Marenych runs an entertainment company that manages artists in Goa, and has performers from both Ukraine and Russia. “If there are sanctions against Russia, they may affect my Russian colleagues. I cannot leave them or stop collaboration…we have to support each other despite what is happening back home,” she says.

According to Marenych, in the last 15 years that she has lived in Goa, she never felt that they needed to have a group or an NGO to help Ukranians in the state. “But now I think we need to have one,” she says.

Holder of a Russian passport, Denis Chernenko, (35) rides a two-wheeler with ribbons of blue and yellow — colours of the Ukrainian flag. He carries a ‘Stop War’ sign in his backpack.

Chernenko hails from St Petersburg but he is Ukrainian. “I am ashamed of civilians being killed in my motherland because of someone who gave me my passport,” he says. He says that a post he shared on a group on Facebook was taken down by the group administrators. “The war is also online.”

Chernenko says many Russians were wary of voicing their opinion for fear of attracting a prison sentence when they return home for offences at par with “treason”. He has no plans of going back.

North Goa has been a microcosm of East Europe for many years. Engaged in several trades — entertainment, garments, accessories, hospitality, fitness and art, among others — Russians, Ukranians and other East Europeans have made Goa their home with long-term business visas.

According to Ukrainian Embassy officials, there are about 1,000 Ukraine nationals residing in India, Sri Lanka and Maldives who have registered with the Embassy. The number of Ukraine nationals living in India, however, could be higher. It is estimated to be about 1,000 and most of them are in Goa, Embassy officials said.

Going back home is as much a concern for Russians as it is for Ukranians. Russian Cosmetologist Roman Naumov, 40, who lives in Morjim went back to Moscow every monsoon. “I don’t want to go back until the war situation is over. The (value) of the Rouble also went down and this has affected the financial part of our lives too,” he says.