I think we should stand behind Ukraine, too. But if it’s at the cost of a core value, freedom of speech, then what the hell is the point?
You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.
If Anastasia Trofimova’s film Russians at War is a piece of Kremlin-approved propaganda, as its legions of detractors allege, then whoever approved it should stay well clear of any high windows.
The Russian-Canadian’s documentary was recently disowned under pressure from Ukrainian groups by co-funder TV Ontario (after it initially defended it) and then cancelled over security concerns Thursday by the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), also after initially defending it. I have watched it. It’s a portrait of sad, drunk, chain-smoking, confused, ill-equipped conscripts and volunteers surviving on a mixture of adrenaline, boredom, fear, vodka and misinformation about Ukraine — notably, in at least one case, that they are essentially fighting the second coming of the Third Reich.
Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.
Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Don't have an account? Create Account
Most of the soldiers and medics we meet in the documentary are far more cynical about the war, however, and in various ways. One shakes his head as he peruses a pro-government newspaper distributed to the front lines, bitterly dismissing it as “propaganda.”
“After watching TV, I volunteered, let’s say as a patriot, … for six months. Now I’m already in my seventh month here,” he tells Trofimova.
“They say the only way back to Russia is feet first (i.e., in a body bag),” he says. “If I’d known that, I wouldn’t have come. Because I too had life plans.”
........