On Trofimova's 'anti-war' film Russians at War

Anastasia Trofimova's film Russians at War is considered anti-war. It was screened at the Venice Film Festival and almost showed in Canada, which co-financed the film along with others.

Trofimova said, "Russian soldiers are people too." I imagine a film about a Nazi who executed people at Babi Yar. He probably also saw himself as a person, had a family he loved, and might have been critical of Hitler, yet he pulled the trigger. Trofimova added, "If you choose a side, you are for war. You are either for war on one side or the other. I am for peace."

This stance resembles the statements of the Pope, who equates the aggressor and the victim. It mirrors China's position, which effectively justifies Putin. Ultimately, it reflects the extreme position of the so-called "white coats," the infantile observers who fear taking a firm stand and thus devalue those who do.

I remember my time in Transnistria, where I was the first Ukrainian journalist with a video camera to go there for filming. I built my film around the tragedy experienced by Ukrainians from all sides. Ukrainian militia men spoke of Romanian fascists across the Dniester, while Kuban Cossacks insisted their language was a Kuban dialect, not Ukrainian. However, my sympathies lay with a young Moldovan police officer from Chișinău with a Ukrainian surname, who, in Ukrainian, spoke about Moscow’s plans to restore an empire and the desire to live within the European family. Without seeing the tragedy from all sides of the Dniester, I couldn’t have portrayed the land’s suffering.

That's why I signed with other colleagues to oppose the screening of Trofimova's film at the festival in Canada.

About the author. Mykola Kniazhytskyi, journalist, member of the Ukrainian parliament.

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