Caravanserai
Refugees

'Ashamed' of the motherland: Russians helping Ukrainian refugees in Bulgaria

By Caravanserai and AFP

When Elena Bondarenko fled to Bulgaria after Russia invaded Ukraine, she never imagined she would be taken in by a Russian there. But that is exactly what happened to one of many refugees fleeing the war who have been quietly sheltered, provided for or employed by members of the country's 17,500-strong Russian community. 'I am happy that not all Russians are aggressors,' said Bondarenko. Meanwhile, the Russian owner of a grocery store chain who employs Ukrainians said, 'I must take some responsibility for the people who have suffered from the war." [Diana Simeonova/AFPTV/AFP]

VARNA, Bulgaria -- When Ukrainian Elena Bondarenko fled to Bulgaria after Russia invaded, she never imagined she would be taken in by a Russian there.

But that is exactly what happened to the bank clerk from Zaporizhzhia, one of many refugees fleeing the war who have been quietly sheltered by members of Bulgaria's 17,500-strong Russian community.

Bondarenko, 36, and her mother and two small children were welcomed by a Russian who runs a children's holiday camp near the Black Sea city of Burgas.

At first "it was a shock", Bondarenko admitted. But "I am happy that not all Russians are aggressors".

Ukrainian refugees Anna Lasho and Oksana Shurdova work at a Russian goods shop run by a Russian investor in the Black Sea coastal city of Varna, Bulgaria, on November 25. [Nikolay Doychinov/AFP]

Ukrainian refugees Anna Lasho and Oksana Shurdova work at a Russian goods shop run by a Russian investor in the Black Sea coastal city of Varna, Bulgaria, on November 25. [Nikolay Doychinov/AFP]

Ukrainian refugee children do arts and crafts in a veranda at a children's holiday camp on the Black Sea coast near the city of Burgas, Bulgaria, on November 24. [Nikolay Doychinov/AFP]

Ukrainian refugee children do arts and crafts in a veranda at a children's holiday camp on the Black Sea coast near the city of Burgas, Bulgaria, on November 24. [Nikolay Doychinov/AFP]

"When you are without a roof, and you need to save your children, it does not matter who helps you," said another refugee, 34-year-old Anaida Petrushenko, who fled from Pavlohrad in eastern Ukraine with her three children.

"I never hid the fact that I am Russian because people saw that I wanted to help," said the camp's co-owner, who did not want to be named.

He has taken in about 160 Ukrainian refugees, some of whom were evicted from nearby hotels when the tourist season started.

While a number of Russians in Bulgaria are helping refugees, a large swathe of the Balkan nation remains resolutely pro-Russian. And the Bulgarian government has often been less than welcoming when it comes to providing accommodation and support, forcing many Ukrainians to leave.

Of the some 932,000 who fled to Bulgaria since the invasion, only about 51,000 remain with less than 10,000 put up by the state, according to official data.

Indeed, the Russian who runs the holiday camp gets only a daily allowance of €7.50 per refugee from the Bulgarian government, and even these meagre payments are often delayed.

With about 60 children and 50 elderly people to look after, the Russian and his Bulgarian partner are having to cover the extra costs themselves.

'Immense shame' over the war

Volunteers in Bulgaria have been the main driving force behind relief efforts for refugees following the Russian invasion in late February.

Despite their efforts, some of the Russians helping Ukrainians are uncomfortable about admitting who they are.

"I came up with this phrase, 'I was born in Russia,'" said a 47-year-old Russian translator, who lives in nearby Varna.

"It was less painful for me to put it this way. I can't describe this feeling of being ashamed of your own motherland," she said, fearing giving her name in case it got her mother back home into trouble.

Having driven hundreds of kilometres to fetch refugees from the border with Romania, she is still putting up several families in her and her sister's Airbnb apartments in Varna.

Another Russian in Varna, Viktor Bakurevich, said he had "decided to take some responsibility for these people who have suffered from the war".

"I do not believe in collective guilt, but I do believe in collective responsibility," said the father of three, who moved to Bulgaria 14 years ago and founded his Russian grocery chain Berezka.

Feeling "immense shame", he publicly declared his opposition to the war from the outset and has hired about 50 Ukrainian refugees in addition to dozens of Ukrainians who already worked in his stores across Bulgaria.

Bakurevich is still providing daily food supplies and hot meals to support 100 refugees sheltered in a government recreation centre near Varna.

One of his Ukrainian refugee employees, Oksana Shurdova, 48, said the salary provided for her family mattered more than the "Russian grocery" sign at the door.

"My relatives know that not all Russians support the policy of the Russian government... They don't generalise," she said as a communist-era monument honouring Bulgarian-Soviet friendship looked down on the city from a nearby hill.

Do you like this article?

1 Comment(s)

Comment Policy * Denotes Required Field 1500 / 1500

I see them as "Russian Oskar Schindlers", people with a lot of courage and humanity inside but unfortunately that is not the majority of Russians. Just a tiny minority. I heard of a San Petersburg guy who decided to join the ranks of the Ukrainian army, and the Russian group aiding in Georgia hostels too.

Reply