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Away from Moscow’s chilly climate and politics, many Russians have taken refuge in the seaside country of Goa to escape military service. Here, we are friends with Ukrainians and celebrate forgetting the conflict. With the virtue of India, which very easily issued visas to Russia, and at the same time refused to condemn Vladimir Putin before the United Nations.
From our special correspondent in Goa,
A Ukrainian bartender, conversation in Russian, smiling, electro music background. In North Goa, Sho Cafe is a must for tourists from Russia. The season usually starts for them at the end of November, but this year it was September 21st. The day Putin decided to mobilize, recalls Vladimir, who arrived from the city of Nizhny-Novgorod.
” I prefer to leave before receiving my mobilization letter», Explains Vladimir. “I have family and friends in Ukraine. It’s impossible for me to fight them and die for that stupid old lord. In Goa, I had a great time. I’m sure I don’t want to go home while Putin is in power. »
“In Goa, Russians are somewhat free-spirited»
Vladimir departed on September 23 and took 5 days to reach the coconut trees in Goa.
“I don’t mean to attract the attention of the secret services“, he continued. “I took the first plane to the Russian city of Oufa, then took a train to cross the Kazakh border. In that terrible place, many Russians fled. We finally found a taxi to Astana. From there I flew to Almaty, then Delhi, then Goa. »
This year everything has changed, testifies Denis Chernenko, a Russian magnate from Goa who organized chess tournaments.
“I was there when the war started. More Russians came than usual“, he noted. “And not mass tourists, they came to escape war. They arrive by plane from Kazakhstan, Georgia, Turkey, Emirates… In Goa, Russians are more like free spirits. In general, they share democratic, liberal and pacifist values. »
For reconciliation between Russia and Ukraine
Under the Soviet Union, his parents settled in Saint Petersburg after the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine. Today, Denis campaigns for reconciliation between the two peoples.
“With the Ukrainians, we tried to warn about war. We had a silent demonstration in the capital city of Panjim, a parade between villages with Ukrainian flags. So, for me too, it’s better to live in Goa! When I got home, I could be in serious trouble. And then Narendra Modi hosted us. He tries to pardon all parties. »
The Goa Russian Community Facebook group now has over 45,000 members. However, living here is within reach of only a minority of Russians. There are still enough poor people to be sent to be slaughtered on the front lines, judged one client of Sho’s cafe bitterly.
