"I didn't want to be a Russian for the first time."
"I can't meet you all ."
It was a Russian YouTuber woman working in Japan who confessed with a squeaky voice.
She talked about her Ukrainian friend and her family in Russia.
I just enjoyed drinking and talking
Lana (30), a YouTuber from Russia who lives in Japan.
I came to Japan 10 years ago to try a life where I can't speak Russian or English.
The YouTube channel "Lana's Evening Drink", which she launched while working in the hospitality industry, conveys the differences between Japan and culture that Russians and foreigners feel.
The appearance of casually talking with friends while drinking at an izakaya became popular, and the number of subscribers to the channel exceeded 250,000.
(From Lana's YouTube channel)
However, when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the content of the video to be delivered changed completely.
Two days after the invasion, I released a video titled "I don't want to be Russian".
"To be honest, I can't meet you all," he confessed with a quivering voice.
I want to wake up from a nightmare soon
Russia has similar languages and many have roots in Ukraine.
Lana also has many friends in many Ukraine.
Lana doubted her eyes when she learned from the news that her own army had invaded there and many victims had been killed.
Are Ukrainian friends okay?
What is the impact on your family in your native Russia?
As I was thinking, I became mentally unstable, and I couldn't sleep or my hands trembled.
Wake up from this nightmare early.
I have come to be ashamed of being a Russian and the country where I was born and raised for the first time.
A mother who said, "All your stories are false."
There was an event that chased Lana.
It was when I made an online call because I was worried about my mother in Russia.
"Everything you say is fake news."
She dared to ask, "What do you think of the war?" And her mother said, "No war is happening." ..
She was criticized for her misunderstanding of Lana.
Her mother is in her 70s, she has little internet access, and she usually spends most of her time watching TV.
I want her mother to understand.
Based on information from her worldwide media, Lana spoke to her mother for several hours.
She showed not only the news, but also videos sent by her friends in her Ukraine.
However, the mother said, "It's American propaganda. The person who took the video is a spy."
On the contrary, she emphasized the significance of Russia's "military operations."
The explanation was like this.
"The damage in Ukraine is not due to the Russian army, because the Nazis are attacking Ukraine. The Nazis are using the Ukrainian civilians as a shield. Russia is not attacking, but to save the Nazis. The only target is military facilities. The TV
reports that "Russia has invaded to protect Ukraine from the Nazis" in Russian reports, experts Points out that older people are more susceptible to these televisions and newspapers.
At last, Lana said that her mother even said, "Are you supporting the Nazis? If you think that way, you can die anymore."
She tries to think, "I'm sure my mother just got hot and said," but she was still shocked and she expressed that feeling in a YouTube video.
With the freedom of the press running out
On the other hand, it is said that many young people in Russia criticize Putin's stance based on information from the Internet and independent media.
In fact, not a few of Lana's friends participate in anti-war demonstrations, with the expectation that they will drop out of school, lose their jobs, or be put in jail.
However, Mr. Lana also feels a sense of crisis that it is becoming more and more difficult to disseminate information as information control in Russia progresses.
"Before the invasion, there were programs, newspapers, and internet media that could tell the truth, but recently the law has changed and the media is no longer free to act. Individual bloggers, youtubers, etc. are direct. Some people have managed to avoid traditional expressions, but newspapers and television are no longer free to report. "
Can I be here ...?
What should we send as a Russian YouTuber?
What can you do in Japan?
Lana made a decision while all the frustration was soliciting.
I participated in a rally in front of Shibuya station to protest the military invasion.
Not all Russians support the Putin administration.
I wanted to show that.
However, he was hesitant to go to the venue.
"I don't know how Ukrainians feel even if I go to support them, and I was a little scared that Russians would make me feel uncomfortable. The country where I was born and raised Since I was invading the military, I felt very responsible or sorry. "
Still, all I can do now is tell on YouTube.
While interviewing the participants with a camera, I met a woman from Ukraine.
She wore a blue and yellow Ukrainian flag over her clothes to show her protest against the war.
The woman tearfully confessed that her parents and relatives remained in her home country and her cousin had been put into war.
And the woman told Lana-san:
She hugged the two involuntarily while interviewing, "I know the Russians aren't bad,"
and Lana couldn't stop crying.
The content of the interview on that day will be released the next day.
As of the 17th, it has been played about 190,000 times.
And we decided to use all the advertising revenue of videos about Ukraine including this video to support Ukraine.
What I want to convey in Japanese
Since the start of the Russian military invasion, Lana has released about 10 videos related to Ukraine that she made by the 17th.
As a YouTuber in Japan, I would like to continue to communicate in Japanese for the time being, as it may be dangerous for me if I return to Russia.
"It's really painful for the country where I was born and raised to do such an incredible thing. Even if Russia is hated by all over the world and criticized by SNS, even among Russians, it will be a war. I hope I can keep telling you that there are people who are against it. "