Vyacheslav's journey: Russian expats fighting for unexpected reasons
Vyacheslav Zarutskiy has been living in Poland for over two years. Thanks to being granted asylum in the country, he can stay without fear and openly discuss what is happening in Russia. Recently, he learned that three of his acquaintances went to fight against Ukraine. Their motivations are indeed surprising.
Vyacheslav discovered that his acquaintances had signed up for the war entirely by chance. He noticed their photos in uniforms on social media and asked what made them fight for Putin.
The first acquaintance admitted that he had problems paying off his loan. He lost funds during gambling.
He said he does not support Putin's activities; he went only for the money. He doesn't want any war but needs money, said Vyacheslav.
His acquaintance signed up for service in Moscow, where they pay £42,000, although they could even push him onto the front line. Vyacheslav asked him if he was not afraid that he might die in the war.
Even better, because my wife can get an extra £25,000 for me, his acquaintance replied.
Vyacheslav's second friend lived in Spain but lost money and returned to Russia. He couldn't get any job, so he went to fight for money too.
He didn't even serve in the Russian army. When he received a draft notice at the age of 18, he was ill. He obtained a hospital certificate stating he was ill, and he did that for seven years. Now he is 30 years old and goes to the army. And he is not a patriot. Two days ago, he left; now he is at a distribution point. The Ministry of Defence will decide where they need soldiers, Vyacheslav reported.
They signed up to fight for Putin. Only one believes in victory
The third of Vyacheslav's acquaintances was with him in the Russian army. He seems to be the only one who believes in Russia's victory and maintains that he is doing it because he believes in Putin's army.
I know you are on the Ukrainian side, but victory will be ours. Victory is on Russia's side, he reportedly said to Vyacheslav.
Vyacheslav added that his superiors asked him when he was in the army if he would go to fight in Donetsk.
One had to go there and say that they didn't want to be in Ukraine and for that reason, we started a war. I said that something was not right here; I didn't want to. There were people who went for money, he admitted.
He added, however, that none of the acquaintances serving in the army today want to say straightforwardly that the Kremlin offered money. When he brought up this subject with an acquaintance who was in military service with him, he heard that he says so because... "they brainwashed him in Poland".
