I think at this point very few people doubt the presence of Russian volunteers in Donbas. But why do they go there? And how do they get there? Russian provincial media are a great source of information about the Russian volunteers. Here is an excerpt from a story on Andrey Tsiryulnikov, a former policeman from Nizhny Tagil who has just returned from the war, published by Tagilsky Rabochiy on March 5, 2014.
“Many people ask, why do I need this? I’d say I am a Cossack and I can’t remain indifferent to everything that is going on. I watch the news regularly, I have relatives in Lugansk, and I myself come from those places, the Rostov region that borders Ukraine. I worked as a welder at Uralvagonzavod. There is no work there, [workforce has been] reduced by two-thirds, so I decided to go help people. I would be there even today, I wouldn’t have come back, but we were promised to get back to work, and now we’re actually back to two-thirds …
I had some exchange over the Internet, joined special groups in social networks. Packed up and went there. I didn’t let my wife in on my plans for a trip to Donbas. To be honest, I called her and warned when I was on the train from Nizhny Tagil to Novorossiysk. I couldn’t call her from Donbas too often. You can’t turn your cellphone on for more than two minutes when you’re in combat positions because it starts working as beacon. Ukrainian military can identify your location and then strike with precision.
[…]
For the first time I’d learned about arms when I was in the Army. I served in our military unit, then had a three-year contract with the MIA.
My train reached its destination quickly. I got off in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, and then got on a passing car to Izvarino. I walked across the border. Russian border guards stopped and questioned me: who, where, why? I explained that I wanted to join the opolchenie [militia]. They checked my passport, saw that I was not on their list, and let me go.
I was met on the other side by the opolchentsy [rebels]. They asked me the same questions as our border guards. Then they stopped a car for me and took me to the military commission in Lugansk. I reached it in the evening. Everything was closed. I had to wait until morning. Went to the train station. In the waiting room I met a guy, he told me that there was a Cossack regiment in Stakhanov. In the morning I took the bus to the Cossacks. Found the commandant’s office, explained that I wanted to get into the opolchenie. They sent me to a training camp, where novice fighters usually spend a couple of weeks.
I do not know if it was luck or the opposite, when heavy shelling started; it was my first baptism of fire. Everyone was ordered to run to the shelter. We jumped out into the street but then the shelling stopped. We stood and smoked. A man with a beard walked by. He waved, come here. I did not understand what he wanted, but came up. He told me to pack up and go with him. Brought me to the base. There they dressed me in a military uniform. We returned to Stakhanovo, where I got the arms – a machine gun and four magazines. And in the evening I was already in position in the neighboring Sanzharovka. The village was empty, there were no civilians left. Only units of opolchentsy, 10-15 people in each. Sometimes such a group had to stand against a thousand ukrops [Ukrainians].”
The article is of interest for several reasons. First, it highlights the role of TV news and social media in motivating Russians to fight in Donbas. Second, it shows how easy it is to cross the border with Ukraine, even if one’s intentions to join the separatists are known to the Russian border guards. Third, Uralvagonzavod, a tank factory where Andrey works, is one of President Putin’s chief support bases. Apparently, its workforce is being laid off due to the economic downturn. In Andrey’s case, this resulted in a trip to Donbas. However, if the economic woes continue, who knows: in spite of their patriotism, next time Andrey and other laid-off workers may decide to visit Moscow instead.
russian carousel 