'Difficult time' in Quebec's Russian community as Ukraine conflict continues
CBC
Standing in his Quebec City grocery store, Vladimir Gaspariants, who moved to Quebec from Moscow 25 years ago, says he feels helpless.
"I should be over there, either in Ukraine or in Russia," he told Radio-Canada.
Gaspariants says he's thinking about making the trip but hasn't made a final decision. His parents and two sisters are still in Moscow and he says if he returned he would protest against the actions of Vladimir Putin — something he knows is "extremely difficult to do" but which he says is necessary.
"The reputation of Russians has been completely destroyed," he said. "I really hope Putin's regime will fall because of this war."
With Russian forces intensifying their attacks on major urban areas, including the capital, Kyiv, the humanitarian situation in Ukraine has worsened. As of Wednesday, more than 874,000 people had fled the country in search of safety in neighbouring countries, a UN refugee agency spokesperson told CBC News Network.
Here in Quebec, some Russians say they're feeling the brunt of people's anger against Putin.
"It's a very difficult time for our community," wrote the Association Russophone de Québec in an email, apologizing and explaining there was nobody with the association who was comfortable publicly sharing their name and doing an interview.
"Tension between our members is rising and that's why we've decided to stay out of politics and concentrate on helping and supporting each other. We're seeing how hate against Russian Quebecers is spreading and we're scared to speak our mother tongue in public or share our thoughts on social media."
Ksenia Tsypina lives in Baie-Comeau on Quebec's North Shore but was born and raised in Moscow. She told CBC what's happening in Eastern Europe is tough to stomach — but not all that surprising.
"I've known for a long time who Putin really is," she said. "That's why I left my country 20 years ago."
Tsypina says following the news coming out of Russia and Ukraine has taken a toll on her mental health but she's trying to focus on ways she and others can lend a hand from Quebec.
She suggests writing to local and provincial politicians to encourage them to take a strong, active stance against Russia's military action, and donating money or contributing clothes and blankets to recognized organizations that are sending financial and material aid to people in Ukraine.
Other groups associated with Russia have tried to pre-empt potential blowback by publicly condemning Putin's military invasion and standing with the Ukrainian people.
Slava's Snowshow, a theatre production created by Russian performance artist Slava Polunin, issued a statement Feb. 28, a few days ahead of the first in a run of shows it's putting on in Montreal this month.