Juliana cries as her brother’s coffin sinks into the ground. The 37-year-old actress attends the funeral of Vanya, a dead Russian soldier. at the forefront in Ukraine. “They said he died a hero,” Yuliana says of 23-year-old Van. “I thought, ‘What does a hero mean?’ This is absurd, I don’t want my brother to be a dead hero.” she herself tells the bbc.

Her father, however, Boris, although also in tears, is proud that his son Vanya died fighting for his country.

In his opinion, the conflict is a battle against “a government that preaches fascism.” The claim echoes Russian President Vladimir Putin, who says he is helping to denazify Ukraine and that its government has committed genocide — a claim for which there is no evidence.

“Before this happened with Vanya, we didn’t talk about the war,” Yuliana says, describing her relationship with her father. “But after he died, we had terrible fights about it.”

In a new film for BBC Storyville, father and daughter discuss the war, a conversation that goes on in many families in Russia today.

It’s hard to get an accurate idea of ​​how people in the country feel about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, given legislation that forbids any comment that could be seen as slandering the military, or calling military action a war rather than a “special military operation.” .

However, a survey published in November 2022 by an independent Russian research group shows that generations are separated. 75% of respondents aged 40 and over said they supported the war, compared to 62% of those aged 18-24.

Russian director Anastasia Popova says she figured it out herself when she traveled around the country to film a documentary.

“I noticed a lot of different disagreements between families. The children were mostly against the war, and the parents were the generation that grew up in the Soviet Union, who saw [κρατική] television day and night – they supported the war. I have the same split in my family,” she adds, saying her father supports the war effort.

Relying on state television for the news means imbibing the official version of the Russian government from day to day. Juliana and others her age are more likely to get their news from other media such as YouTube and social media.

“Sorry” can’t express the sadness I feel inside, she says. He describes how the war changed people. “I look at people on the subway [στη Μόσχα]. They read the news and then turn away. They stopped looking into each other’s eyes.”

Popova notes that outside the big cities, support for war is greater, regardless of age group. According to her, this became clear when she returned from Vanya’s funeral in their village of Arkhangelsk, 97 kilometers from Moscow.

Yuliana also talks about the moment of state recognition. “When I watched these people, it occurred to me that they really believe in what they say,” he says, “[που ήταν] that Vanya died a hero, a true patriot who defended his homeland.

“I know something is wrong. Who are we supposed to save? Why are our boys dying? I never in my life could have imagined that my brother would be brought to me in a coffin.”

Vanya was the youngest of four brothers and the only son. “He was a golden boy,” Juliana says. “He had a broad upbringing,” explains Boris. “Art school, music school, sports… I gave him everything I dreamed of.”

After leaving home, Vanya entered a literary institute in Moscow to study writing and act in experimental productions, including at the Bolshoi Theatre.

Boris says that this led to disappointment in Van, who fell in love with a girl whom he did not want to marry. “This is the theater world. With my outlook on life. His own moral standards. Instead of family values, they have open relationships between men and women,” he says.

Yuliana says that Vanya seemed extremely happy in the theater, but the father notes that this caused some kind of crisis in his son.

“He was not satisfied with their worldview, that they always have a negative attitude towards Russia, that Russians mean nothing to them, that their ancestors, the whole history of Russia is full of nonsense. He knew it wasn’t. We were talking about it. About what he should have done.”

So, says Boris, he and Vanya agreed that he should go to the army.

“Life in creativity requires life experience,” says Boris. “Where can you find her? We decided that he should follow in the footsteps of great writers. And that was the army.

Vanya joined the army as a conscript – and then, wanting more interesting tests, he signed a military contract. He was a Marine based in the city of Sevastopol in Russian-held Crimea when Moscow launched a major offensive against cities across Ukraine last February. He was told to call his family to say goodbye before he was sent to the port of Mariupol, Ukraine.

“We talked for a long time, more than an hour,” Yuliana says. “He had tears in his eyes. I said: “Vanya, show me what you have there.” He showed me the machine gun, as he showed me his toys in childhood.”

Boris shows an excerpt from Vanya’s video message to him. “Our cause is just,” says Vanya. “Hi everyone. I’ll write when I’m there. Hugs and kisses.” “Those were his last words,” says Boris. He died near the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol on March 15, 2022.

His death drew attention to Juliana’s and Boris’s differing views on the war.

Boris tells Yuliana that she is too young to remember what he calls the “brotherhood” of the republics of the Soviet Union. He claims that her fall “broke the psyche of many succeeding generations, convincing them that the Russians were the enemy.”

His language is reminiscent of President Putin, who called the fall of the Soviet empire “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe [20ού] century.” Ukraine declared its independence shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The Russian president also places the blame for the war on the doorstep of NATO and the West, which he says is trying to weaken and eventually destroy Russia. Boris echoes this story. “In today’s context, ‘No to war’ means only one thing,” says Boris Iuliane. – It means “Death to the Russians.” This is a struggle for the Russian world, for the Russian soul, for our culture.”

It is clear that Juliana does not share this at all, although at times she hesitates.

Popova captured the moment Yuliana is vacationing in Georgia — one of the few countries Russians can still visit because of sanctions — and discussing the war with friends over dinner. Juliana begins to doubt the facts.

“I want to believe that my brother did not die in vain. You want to justify the loss. This is very painful. You have to hold on to something,” she explains.

In memory of Van, a small temple was erected in the family’s house. It includes land collected in Mariupol, where he died. Sometimes father and daughter stood before him together.

Juliana says that despite their differences, she wants to keep her relationship with her father.

“I cannot wage a ‘war’ against my own father. I can’t say, “I hate you because we don’t agree.” All I can say is “Dad, I disagree.” That’s all I can say”.

Source: BBC