These videos opened my mind to the russian POWs' and their relatives' way of thinking. I wouldn't have thought it was possible to be so detatched from their own actions. Question to a wife/mother: "What would he have died for?" Answer: "I'm not interested in politics." "My husband has nothing to do with this war."
Right?! The cognitive dissonance with the 🇷🇺 logic is beyond ridiculous, it's actually downright scary. It's not just 70+ years of Soviet Totalitarianism, it's also from the 500+ years of the old Imperialists colonialists usurpers genocidal tsarists' rule.
@@IgorZhuravlev why exactly? and where should one actually learn from to understand russians. learning from russians isn't possible as they're not honest about themselves.
@@kayleekayt3306 >"as they're not honest about themselves" - And where did you get this idea? Even the form of this frase implies that russians are all generally the same and they are some special breed of humans, unlike any other, and thus require speсific attitude when interacting with them... Lets put aside that this idea is a 200% racist bs, just implied to russians this time, instead of jews, did you ever try to analyse where did you get it and what sources supported it? >"why exactly?" - Just imagine someone provides an idea of understanding true mindset of americans via an interview with Saddam's army veterans on North Korean TV. Should become clear enough.
@@kayleekayt3306 >"why exactly?" - imagine someone pushing the idea of understanding the true mindset and nature of americans via interviews with Iraq army veterans on N.Korean TV. Should become clear enough. >"as they're not honest about themselves" - And where did you get this idea? Even the form of this phrase implies that russians are all generally the same and that they are some spicial breed of humans unlike any other and thus require specific attitude when interacting with them. Putting aside that this idea looks suspiciously similar to some ideas popular in 1930s Germany just implied to different nation this time... Did you ever try to analyse where did you get it and what exactly supports it?
Hi rick. As a translator I know how much time it takes to translate spoken word properly. Incredible how much people say in just a few minutes. You have taken on a huge task. Maybe you should share the load with a few colleagues!! ❤❤
I love Rick! He does regular livestreams and fundraising. I wish he could team up with Zolkin and be paid for it. Rick's translations are so much better than any others because you hear the original in the backfround so you pick up those subtle, important intonations. He gets the meaning of what they're saying too so it's not confusing word salad.
Thank you, Jonathan, for your very informative and insightful podcasts. I am a daily viewer. While watching your podcast with Rick the Ukrainian, the thought occurred to me that this war will only truly end when ALL the Russian people, military and otherwise, feel it deep in their gut that their war of aggression was a mistake and that only ruin can come from their imperialistic ambitions. All else will then follow, including cessation of hostilities, restoration of the internationally recognized 1991 borders, reconstruction of Ukraine, and the payment of reparations.
I used to watch Zolkin’s interviews at the beginning of the war and found the translations difficult. I will certainly go back to watching Zolkin again. Thx
Definately do that, there are such pearls of russian wisdom there, that I have to take brakes from warching that content, to not go insane. But it's important to see, to remind you what this war is truly about.
I work with a Russian living in my country. His explanation and mindset changes every month or so! They change there hatred focus all the time! As long as there filled with it...
That's what russian propaganda does, it produces hunderds of different narratives, so somethink will definately stick in a confused person's mind. And russians are especially confused now, because they suddenly see, they are not that great, not that strong and that nobody really respects them. So they are grasping at straws, just so they don't have to admit to themselves, who they really are.
I used to live with a Russian guy at a sober living house. He asked if i would like to come work with him and taught me how to do electrician work and he paid me a good bit of cash when i had almost no money at all and no vehicle and for just a cpl weeks of fairly easy work. He was one of the nicest people i've met and he helped me out in my own country here in Houston Texas, USA. He was from Moscow.
Great stream Jonathan Rick has now enlightened me to the mindset of Russian people. I would be frustrated listening to them about Ukraine 🇺🇦 being ours, but the penny has dropped. Thank you, Rick. Keep up the good work you do for Ukraine
Great interview! Zolkin's interviews were a huge help for me in understanding the Russian perspective, the POWs really tell you all you need to know. Rick's translations have been super, they are how I found his channel.💙💛
The largest number of the Ukranian diaspora is in Canada and they haver kept their culture very proudly. The foods are commonly sold in grocery stores, the embroidery is seen in almost every city, and some of the language has become part of the Canadian terminology. Rick, you would recognize all this.
hearing that guy talking, trying to see his story in front of the mind, knowing there are so many similarly decent, committed, just great ones in Ukraine, many killed, appreciating, that they are ahead of us with their conclusions about how life, how society shall be, what are the real values, what really matters, what really lasts, what really brings us commonly ahead, I feel so much anger about myself not doing much more and having done something in time to stop that, I feel so disgusted about the pettiness of our politics and the shortcomings with support that only governments can provide, but I as well feel, that this is the side to be on, to follow and commit the rest of the life to. "Bleu - Blanche - Rouge" once did start the movements towards the values we in most democratic countries still can enjoy. Blue and Yellow will be the ones, that revived it, secured it, gave new inspiration and resilience. No doubt. Just listen to him.
I get the self anger part. More through luck than anything else I have a number of skills that would appear to be useful presently in Ukraine. Unfortunately, I've a slew of health problems that make me 'high maintenance'; I simply can't rough it the way I could ten years ago. On top of that, I'm not in a financial position that would let me volunteer my time and energy. What I have done the past two Christmases is to take all the money I'd've spent on gifts and donated it to Ukraine. In 2022 the funds went to a Deaf-owned non-profit that helped evacuate Deaf Ukrainians who were caught behind Russian lines. In '23 I bought a drone and had friends' & families' names painted on it. Until I'm able to get more of my life sorted out these kinds of things are about the limit of what I can do. So don't be so hard on yourself:-)
I didn’t live in Ukraine, but I used to live in Russia, Latvia and Estonia for my teenage childhood. I know, Russian teenagers are different vs Latvian and Estonian kids. The most unpleasant years of my teenage age were in Russia specifically in Kaliningrad. Kids in Baltic countries were more friendly, more open for friendship, much more respectful to other kids. Russian kids were more none tolerant that time of my life.
For that I would have to open the studio. Too much work. I actually dream to open the studio to multiply the production of dubs of Zolkin's interviews.
@@ricktheukrainianI understand thats its alot of work, but these battles are much more raw and real, because russians put their "civilized" mask on in captivity. During these battles russians enjoy anonymity and impunity so they expose their barberity and colonial think for the world to see. Which is very important to show to the west. Furthermore that genre is completely untapped and material is plenty. So you can become quite popular Rick.
The Russians who do come on your channel to speak with you are so enlightening about how the country came to be as it is, so I am glad that they do agree to speak. It really helps us to understand the differences between the Moscow regime and the Ukrainians.
Zolkins interviews were compulsive viewing for me at beginning of invasion,fascinating trying to understand what was going on in the heads of these invaders and could they not realise the wrongness and immorality of what they were doing,great interview i enjoyed your guest and hearing how it is for Ukrainians at the interface between them and the Russians..
There's something childlike in the mindset of many of them. Like they never really grew to adulthood.. Morality, responsibility, being a subject and actor (not object..) It's really hard to fathom in a deeper level - to really understand how it can be so - what have the circumstances be for one to stop developing, learning, understanding
@sateentuoksu For some yes,others perhaps higher up seem to enjoy inflicting cruelty as seen in the Russian military practice of Dedovschina also dehumanising of 'the enemy ' like saying Ukrainains are just khokhols or are all just nazi, also following orders,people can carry out the cruelest things by abdication thier 'personal' responsibility to a higher authority or power.. perhaps various combinations of these mixed with propaganda and as part of the Russian imperialistic culture, complicated to understand for more 'civilised ' people or someone who like me at a the most basic human level of universal understanding thinks 'do unto others as you would have done unto you '.. a person could despair and get deeply depressed about the worst aspects of human nature and we are all human and the same underneath the skin..
@@piseag458 Wow, that was a long ass train of thought. 😁 I was following till the very last sentences. Then I got a bit lost... who's depressed and under skin and all? Please if you have time, explain that part again. So is that "a person" you are talking about?
@@sateentuoksu sorry,I'll try.. I was just trying to sum up in that last part mood or emotions about such a grim subject of war.. we all collectively or as an individual 'person' are affected by these events and to add philosophically and as on reflection why?.. why the killings, people killing other people destruction of thier lives,tjier homes, their family! when at the end of the day people are all the same underneath the skin(its a frequently used expression) meaning we all bleed when cut and have the same basic needs and wants in life.. meaning beneath the skin at heart we are all really the same whatever the outward appearances despite things like race or religion..
@@piseag458 yes. Humanity in us gets twisted, leaving us feeling sick and hurt. You cannot hurt a person without us all getting wounded, as humanity. And the one doing the hurting is also part of that humanity. Stop! " There's a new counterculture in this world of division Where we bicker over politics and race and religion There is war, there is peace, that's a human decision Either you could be my brother or another collision And the media, they love it when we hate each other 'Cause the money lines their pockets if you're not my brother And this black versus white, that's divide and conquer Ignorance, it is formed in the womb of monsters If there's war in the East, the streets are getting paved If there's war on the streets, there's a mother at a grave If I pander to my ego, then I'm just another slave A casualty of vanity, hate just breeds hate" (Ren Gill)
Ngl I followed Rick, a while ago, because of those voice overs. It really is VALUABLE to translate the Zolkin interviews. How the russian family members in many cases don't care about their family members vs money offered by the government. It truly sheds light to why the bs items like washing machines are that popular to be looted. Many of those people still have outdoor toilets(outhouses) that occasionally need to be pumped to be usable. Outhouses that have no heating, no running water, no plumbing- literally a deep hole people do their business in with likely wooden toilet seats. No piped in gas for stoves, often no general town heating even for apartments complexes, at site heating buildings in which there's a heater, often a wood fire heater that heats up piping with water in it to heat the homes. Russia is a shithole, I truly hope, especially the ethnic minorities keep their roots dear, the land mass of russia is huge and honestly should be divided into smaller Republics
No nation has the right to invade a neighbour for reasons of stealing resources or grabbing land and to occupy it and interfere with the government there. But we do have the right to fight for our sovereignty and for ethical values such as human rights and personal liberties.
I watched many of the interviews Volodymr Zolkin showed us with the other man with a beard sometimes. I found them to have integrity and I admire the self control of emotions that it must have taken to cope with them. Many of the men were ordinary men being used by a ruthless regime but some were arrogant and rigid in their righteous attitude. All must have been afraid. The interviews with the women differed greatly. They all came across as having never considered the suffering of the Ukrainian people. I don't envy them coping alone with children and all the other challenges of domestic life bringing up a family on their own. Thank you for your video.😊
Thanks to Rick, I no longer feel guilty for having moments in this age of darkness where smiling and having moments of joy amidst this enduring tragedy that scars our souls everyday come as naturally as the pain from witnessing it all does. I constantly have to remind myself this war will end and that if we stay strong, stand by Ukraine, Ukraine will win. Nothing we endure is ahything conpared to a civilian in Kyiv, nothing a civilian in kyiv endures is as bad as a trench, nothing in a trench conpares to losing a limb, and even they are thankful they survived and can still breathe. We all have to remember the ones who can't come back home, ever. The only way to honor them is to never give up and do our best every day 🙏🇺🇦🕯️🕊️❤️🩹 Slava Ukraini 🙌🇺🇦💪❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
Thank You Rick The Wonderful 💯 Ukrainian 🫶🌻💙💛 & Jonathan🌻 Keep up the Very Important Work your doing which is TRUTHFUL JOURNALISM 💯🐦💪💪💪💪 🇺🇦🤝🇪🇺 STOP russia's TYRANNICAL OPPRESSION 🚫🛑👹👺
I saw a video with a Russian soldier who liked fighting in the war. It was more interesting than his old job, he made a lot of money, and it gave him a lot of adrenaline. Most probably, there are others like him.
@@phil3924one can have personal reasons for fighting, such as being hooked on adrenaline and the soldier's way of life, and still be on the good side of things.
Jonathan, the discussions on your channel are gold. I am constantly dumbfounded when I hear the same awful stories of Russia, it's people and their ugly mindset. It seems these people are not of this planet.
Yes, ready guests make your job relatively easy. You are also a kind and deep and delightfully articulate file, Jonathan! Guests know it. I think it’s cyclical.
Thanks for much for this interview, guys 😊 At 36:57 , Rick, you say you can see that many of the pow's really like the war. It may seem completely bonkers, but I think it's all about them suddenly finding a purpose in life and suddenly feeling like they're doing something important. Therefore they feel that they are suddenly an important person. That can be an extremely intoxicating feeling and that's why it easily turns into sort of a drug. Their brains produce the same kind of "feelgood hormones" as people suffering from any addiction. So they are drawn back in because they need those kicks. Some of them may also be so called "adrenalin junkies". There are many soldiers that can testify to the fact that they never feel so alive as when they are close to death, and they have that adrenalin rush. The human brain is a complex creation 🥴
Rick is Ukrainian he is a wonderful guy he has a calming Ora. He has been through so much in his life like the questions he answered. He not only translates but he has raised funding for trucks and Drones and Medical Aid to the AFU he is a proper Gentleman
hi i love ricks voice overs he is good at impression's of the people that he translates accurately i hope he has the time to do more wish they made it worth his time he also works hard at fund raising for those troops at the front
Excellent! Gives me hope for Ukraine. Jonathan, please don't forget the important contribution being made to understanding the courageous Russian emigre' resistance to Putin by channels like Konstantin's "Inside Russia".
I need to watch more of Rick's Zolkin interviews. I used to try to watch a lot of Zolkin's material but I just don't have time to sit and read the often bad subtitles. I appreciate any help that Rick can lend to those valuable pieces of war history.
I heard a story about how blood pressure, breathing rate, & heart rate increase when a normal person watches a video of a person being beat. Putin’s remains unchanged.
Alexei Navalny's last message was that Russia is a huge power and the only way for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing!!! I wonder if he died in the hope that good men would stop doing NOTHING!
This is a really interesting interview... Super interesting watching it as a Welshman watching an Englishman be shocked about the importance of language to culture and the terrible effects of governments forcing people to stop speaking a language due to an imperialistic attitude that the other are not really a separate people... Thankfully we no longer have any violence associated with it but it should be an easily understandable issue for British people...
You've now got dual-language roadsigns (so that the tourists, bring money into the country) can read them! Do tourist still have to pay the get into Wales via the M4, but are free to leave? Kernow has a similar problem...
Great interview and great points about Navalny. He accomplished nothing and won't. He was a russian imperialist racist but also just had a huge ego needed the attention but it didn't work out well for him. No one came out to protest for him as he and the West hoped when he went back. I think those in the West pumped his ego up thinking he'd be their hero with visions of him getting russians to become Europeans which they are not. They themselves are imperialist. Hollywood hoped it would be easy a Hollywood script ending with a victorious celebration of Navalny being raised to power by non existent good russians doing a world tour whitewashing and putting russia's crimes behind them with no blame or accountability no punishment or reparations. While I'd welcome peace Navalny would never have de-Nazified russia he would have absolved them and made them as always the victims.
I think you're wrong and totally misunderstand Alexei Navalny. He wasn't a fool, he was incredible brave and went back to Russia knowing he would be arrested after he survived an assassination attempt, because he understood that only Russians can change Russia and they have to change it from within. He knew Putin wanted him dead, he had tried to kill him with novichok and it was by a miracle he survived. Anyway, I hope you care to watch a documentary released today titled "Putin's Poison", it has three parts, the last one is about Navalny. To beat the monster in Kremlin we need as many brave and good people we can possible gather. To attack martyrs like Navalny, whom sacrifice their earthly lives to stand up against Putin, won't help Ukraine and will eventually destroy us all.
Thank you very much for this great video, which I watched in addition to your video with Professor Gerdes a few days ago. Both episodes left a deep impression on me, as I had also observed what was said there in my own contacts with Russians. Unfortunately, the terrible situation of Russian aggression against the Ukrainians has only now made me aware of the differences between these peoples, as briefly described by Professor Gerdes.. Over the years, I've met various Russians both in person here in Continental Europe or just through social networks, with mostly similar incidents as you describe it. So I maybe came across what they label as “Russki Mir” (Русский мир) already a long time ago without even noticing it. But I do notice now since I was born and do live on the Continent in a country with more than 3.5 million migrants with a Russian based background. And these people very often behave differently and according to the previously described pattern ("Русский мир") compared to those who have grown up in the traditional behaviour patterns here ... Many of them vehemently and openly support Putin and his regime, which in my opinion is tolerated far too much by society. There are various reasons for this, some of which seem like Chamberlain's well-known appeasement policy ... Since you mentioned that Russians don't feel comfortable or easy interacting with people from English-speaking backgrounds, this could also be true. An interesting observation that I also share, although I am not a native English speaker. So please be tolerant of my language. 😅 I don't speak Russian myself either, although triggered by these events I've started learning it again to get "a better picture". As for curious incidents, I even went through some of my memories of such things and edited one such incident on my iPad to share it here as well, but I decided not to as it's too long. But it needs to be detailed enough to understand it in full detail. I do share your view in which you are telling us about your own mostly negative experiences with Russian UA-camrs (like always there are exceptions to the rule) who although are opposed to the Putin regime are hesitant to collaborate with someone else. Ukrainians seem to be generally acting here differently and thus definitely use a way of thinking similar to ours. Besides: I am subscribed (not using this screen name for certain reasons) on Vlad Vexler’s channel, Jake Broe’s channel, Konstantin’s Inside Russia channel, Zolkin’s channel for the POW Interviews (Apostle Dima being the favourite of the two for me, this guy is somewhat unique 🙂) and as my favourite channel because he is so keen and mature Zack the Russians channel. A very encouraging and promising young guy and I am very glad for him he has made it to the US! There are some more I watch or did watch but I don’t want to mention all of them. And of course Dr. Timothy Snyder’s videos or podcasts are in my opinion essential for anyone looking for a better understanding in the reasons for the war. And so are Yaroslav (Sages) videos … Also Anders Puck Nielsen explains very clear and comprehensive what is at stake! And finally, as a fan of the technological achievements of Elon Musk's company SpaceX and Tesla EVs, I seriously considered buying a Tesla from the new Brandenburg factory here. But after Elon's behaviour regarding the situation in the Russian-Ukrainian war by actively supporting Putin (bandwidth restrictions for Ukraine on the SpaceX StarLink network, supplying equipment to the Russian army via Dubai), I decided against buying a product made in Elon's company! His appalling behaviour is treason, Trump style! Besides: For those interested there is a fascinating interview Dr. Timothy Snyder gave to Russian exiled journalist Mikhail Zygar titled“Putin’s and Trump’s lies, “rashism”, Dostoyevsky is an imperial writer” in spring 2023 in Berlin. ua-cam.com/video/IU3JE4ucX2A/v-deo.htmlsi=isZ0yFGjMN_4Xo3Z
It was wonderful to hear the language component given some of the attention it deserves. Like Rick I'm intrigued as to how some groups collectively figure out that language is a weapon of genocide and then learn how to wield it to fight back. Half my family is from Poland originally and despite being the third generation born in the US, I actually speak decent Polish. My great-grandmother actually attended one of the Flying Schools for several years when she was a young girl. So I guess there's stubbornness that gets handed down. Anyway, language is a key to resistance when occupied by a larger group. I'd love to hear more on this topic in the future.
Being polylingual is great but I think getting hung up on language can be a little detrimental, partly because it can be REALLY difficult more most people to gain fluency in new languages as they age. I’m much more concerned with Russia’s deliberate erasure of culture. Language is a part of that, yes, but only a part. English and Spanish are far and away the most common mother tongues in the Americas. The English-speaking countries are pretty damn big, admittedly, but even within the US and Canada there are dramatic regional cultural differences between people with the same mother tongue. The differences between cultures in Mexico, Central & Sourh America are even larger. I’m just saying I don’t think it’s helpful to try and convert people to a new mother tongue that they’re unfamiliar with. Ukranian should absolutely be taught as a first language in Ukraine. But it’s still helpful to know Russian as well, if only because the bastards are right next door & ya gotta deal with ‘em. It’s also the most commonly spoken Slavic language, meaning it’s useful. I’m terrible at languages besides English, and still a little bitter that I hadn’t been exposed to other languages when I was young. This is a common failure of American and (increasingly) British school systems. Being polylingual is always a good thing, even if sometimes it means becoming fluent in the tongues of people you don’t like.
This ukranian "superpower" to endure is the Grace of God and st. Vadimir protection. It is evident because they see it is a "superpower" beyond human srength to put up with this madness and pure evil.
www.youtube.com/@ricktheukrainian
How nice to see Rick here! He tirelessly raises funds to liberate Ukraine. A honest dedicated person with stellar character.
Hi I couldn't agree more 😊 great to see this interview 💙💛
@@Aussie_T Wishing you well Aussie. 🤗
Thanks Rick for dubbing Zolkin's interviews. It's indeed extremely valuable material. And thanks Jonathan, for inviting Rick.
Thank you Jonathan for inviting Rick again! Huge respect , gratitude and admiration for his tireless commitment ! 🎩🎩👏👏👏
❤️❤️❤️
These videos opened my mind to the russian POWs' and their relatives' way of thinking. I wouldn't have thought it was possible to be so detatched from their own actions. Question to a wife/mother: "What would he have died for?" Answer: "I'm not interested in politics." "My husband has nothing to do with this war."
Right?! The cognitive dissonance with the 🇷🇺 logic is beyond ridiculous, it's actually downright scary. It's not just 70+ years of Soviet Totalitarianism, it's also from the 500+ years of the old Imperialists colonialists usurpers genocidal tsarists' rule.
To listen to british talking with ukrainian is not the best way to understand russians, actually
@@IgorZhuravlev why exactly? and where should one actually learn from to understand russians. learning from russians isn't possible as they're not honest about themselves.
@@kayleekayt3306 >"as they're not honest about themselves"
- And where did you get this idea?
Even the form of this frase implies that russians are all generally the same and they are some special breed of humans, unlike any other, and thus require speсific attitude when interacting with them... Lets put aside that this idea is a 200% racist bs, just implied to russians this time, instead of jews, did you ever try to analyse where did you get it and what sources supported it?
>"why exactly?"
- Just imagine someone provides an idea of understanding true mindset of americans via an interview with Saddam's army veterans on North Korean TV. Should become clear enough.
@@kayleekayt3306 >"why exactly?"
- imagine someone pushing the idea of understanding the true mindset and nature of americans via interviews with Iraq army veterans on N.Korean TV. Should become clear enough.
>"as they're not honest about themselves"
- And where did you get this idea? Even the form of this phrase implies that russians are all generally the same and that they are some spicial breed of humans unlike any other and thus require specific attitude when interacting with them.
Putting aside that this idea looks suspiciously similar to some ideas popular in 1930s Germany just implied to different nation this time... Did you ever try to analyse where did you get it and what exactly supports it?
Hi rick. As a translator I know how much time it takes to translate spoken word properly. Incredible how much people say in just a few minutes. You have taken on a huge task. Maybe you should share the load with a few colleagues!! ❤❤
I love Rick! He does regular livestreams and fundraising. I wish he could team up with Zolkin and be paid for it. Rick's translations are so much better than any others because you hear the original in the backfround so you pick up those subtle, important intonations. He gets the meaning of what they're saying too so it's not confusing word salad.
Hi Nik 😊 loved seeing this. Two legends together 💙💛💪
@@Aussie_T 👋😊 Hiya Aussie, absolutely 💯 me too 🤗 ❤️
Agree. The translations on the originals are terrible.
Thank you Jonathan another great guest. I'm a Roller 😊, love our Ukraini supporters community on YT. Slava Ukraini 🔱🇺🇦
Good to see Rick and Jonathan on the same stream. Slava Ukraini
Thank you, Jonathan, for your very informative and insightful podcasts. I am a daily viewer. While watching your podcast with Rick the Ukrainian, the thought occurred to me that this war will only truly end when ALL the Russian people, military and otherwise, feel it deep in their gut that their war of aggression was a mistake and that only ruin can come from their imperialistic ambitions. All else will then follow, including cessation of hostilities, restoration of the internationally recognized 1991 borders, reconstruction of Ukraine, and the payment of reparations.
Agree. But that could sadly take years.
Rick’s super power is being Ukrainian 🇺🇦💪
I used to watch Zolkin’s interviews at the beginning of the war and found the translations difficult. I will certainly go back to watching Zolkin again. Thx
Definately do that, there are such pearls of russian wisdom there, that I have to take brakes from warching that content, to not go insane. But it's important to see, to remind you what this war is truly about.
I work with a Russian living in my country. His explanation and mindset changes every month or so! They change there hatred focus all the time! As long as there filled with it...
That's what russian propaganda does, it produces hunderds of different narratives, so somethink will definately stick in a confused person's mind. And russians are especially confused now, because they suddenly see, they are not that great, not that strong and that nobody really respects them. So they are grasping at straws, just so they don't have to admit to themselves, who they really are.
That sounds chilling.
They hate themselves and they hate happiness and even a smile.
I used to live with a Russian guy at a sober living house. He asked if i would like to come work with him and taught me how to do electrician work and he paid me a good bit of cash when i had almost no money at all and no vehicle and for just a cpl weeks of fairly easy work. He was one of the nicest people i've met and he helped me out in my own country here in Houston Texas, USA. He was from Moscow.
Thank you for bringing Rick on, Jonathan!
Great stream Jonathan Rick has now enlightened me to the mindset of Russian people. I would be frustrated listening to them about Ukraine 🇺🇦 being ours, but the penny has dropped. Thank you, Rick. Keep up the good work you do for Ukraine
👍👍👍
Great interview! Zolkin's interviews were a huge help for me in understanding the Russian perspective, the POWs really tell you all you need to know. Rick's translations have been super, they are how I found his channel.💙💛
👍👍👍🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦
A fantastic interview Jonathan with legend Rick🇺🇦👌
Hi mate loved seeing this 💙💛 Slava Rick's Rollers 😅
Rick, you rock 🪨 Slava Ukraini 💙💛
Heroyam Slava 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇧🇧
The largest number of the Ukranian diaspora is in Canada and they haver kept their culture very proudly. The foods are commonly sold in grocery stores, the embroidery is seen in almost every city, and some of the language has become part of the Canadian terminology.
Rick, you would recognize all this.
hearing that guy talking,
trying to see his story in front of the mind,
knowing there are so many similarly decent, committed, just great ones in Ukraine, many killed,
appreciating, that they are ahead of us with their conclusions about how life, how society shall be, what are the real values, what really matters, what really lasts, what really brings us commonly ahead,
I feel so much anger about myself not doing much more and having done something in time to stop that,
I feel so disgusted about the pettiness of our politics and the shortcomings with support that only governments can provide,
but I as well feel, that this is the side to be on, to follow and commit the rest of the life to.
"Bleu - Blanche - Rouge" once did start the movements towards the values we in most democratic countries still can enjoy.
Blue and Yellow will be the ones, that revived it, secured it, gave new inspiration and resilience.
No doubt.
Just listen to him.
I get the self anger part. More through luck than anything else I have a number of skills that would appear to be useful presently in Ukraine. Unfortunately, I've a slew of health problems that make me 'high maintenance'; I simply can't rough it the way I could ten years ago. On top of that, I'm not in a financial position that would let me volunteer my time and energy.
What I have done the past two Christmases is to take all the money I'd've spent on gifts and donated it to Ukraine. In 2022 the funds went to a Deaf-owned non-profit that helped evacuate Deaf Ukrainians who were caught behind Russian lines. In '23 I bought a drone and had friends' & families' names painted on it.
Until I'm able to get more of my life sorted out these kinds of things are about the limit of what I can do.
So don't be so hard on yourself:-)
We love Rick , great to see him Here on this important channel !
Talk about stubborn, so rare for Ukrainian woman admitting she was wrong, gotta be mentioned
Thanks Jonathan 🙏🏼
ДЯКУЮ Rick
Героям слава! ❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤
What a wonderful interview. Thank you so much!!! Look forward to seeing Rick's channel as well.
Wonderful interview! Thank you
I didn’t live in Ukraine, but I used to live in Russia, Latvia and Estonia for my teenage childhood. I know, Russian teenagers are different vs Latvian and Estonian kids. The most unpleasant years of my teenage age were in Russia specifically in Kaliningrad. Kids in Baltic countries were more friendly, more open for friendship, much more respectful to other kids. Russian kids were more none tolerant that time of my life.
Thank you again Jonathan for a really interesting conversation and introducing me to Rick. I will look out for the livestream on Sunday!
👍👍👍
Great talk as always!
Sure, however listening the entire interview takes over one hour. Nevertheless it's worth it!
Thank you, amazing conversation.
Rick should translate russian/Ukrainian chatroulette battles - that would open so much eyes in the west.
For that I would have to open the studio. Too much work. I actually dream to open the studio to multiply the production of dubs of Zolkin's interviews.
👍
@@ricktheukrainianI understand thats its alot of work, but these battles are much more raw and real, because russians put their "civilized" mask on in captivity. During these battles russians enjoy anonymity and impunity so they expose their barberity and colonial think for the world to see. Which is very important to show to the west.
Furthermore that genre is completely untapped and material is plenty. So you can become quite popular Rick.
@@dukenukem8381a better example of colonialism is what the US has done over the last 50 years. Spreading democracy at the barrel of a gun.
@@phil3924what are you even doing here 🤡
The Russians who do come on your channel to speak with you are so enlightening about how the country came to be as it is, so I am glad that they do agree to speak. It really helps us to understand the differences between the Moscow regime and the Ukrainians.
Just wish the fools in the GOP would listen and understand what they are cheering for.
Agree.
This is a great interview, thank you for featuring Rick!
Thank you, Jonathan. Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦
There have already been negotiations.....it is called the Budapest memorandum
Rick is awesome !!!
RIIIIIIIICK!!!💞✊️🇺🇦🌻
*_Another_* one of my favourite people on YT has been interviewed on/by one of my favourite YT channels (Silicone Curtain)!!
❤️❤️❤️
Just saw the membership levels! Hysterical 😂😂🎉
Zolkins interviews were compulsive viewing for me at beginning of invasion,fascinating trying to understand what was going on in the heads of these invaders and could they not realise the wrongness and immorality of what they were doing,great interview i enjoyed your guest and hearing how it is for Ukrainians at the interface between them and the Russians..
There's something childlike in the mindset of many of them. Like they never really grew to adulthood.. Morality, responsibility, being a subject and actor (not object..)
It's really hard to fathom in a deeper level - to really understand how it can be so - what have the circumstances be for one to stop developing, learning, understanding
@sateentuoksu For some yes,others perhaps higher up seem to enjoy inflicting cruelty as seen in the Russian military practice of Dedovschina also dehumanising of 'the enemy ' like saying Ukrainains are just khokhols or are all just nazi, also following orders,people can carry out the cruelest things by abdication thier 'personal' responsibility to a higher authority or power.. perhaps various combinations of these mixed with propaganda and as part of the Russian imperialistic culture, complicated to understand for more 'civilised ' people or someone who like me at a the most basic human level of universal understanding thinks 'do unto others as you would have done unto you '.. a person could despair and get deeply depressed about the worst aspects of human nature and we are all human and the same underneath the skin..
@@piseag458 Wow, that was a long ass train of thought. 😁 I was following till the very last sentences. Then I got a bit lost... who's depressed and under skin and all? Please if you have time, explain that part again. So is that "a person" you are talking about?
@@sateentuoksu sorry,I'll try.. I was just trying to sum up in that last part mood or emotions about such a grim subject of war.. we all collectively or as an individual 'person' are affected by these events and to add philosophically and as on reflection why?.. why the killings, people killing other people destruction of thier lives,tjier homes, their family! when at the end of the day people are all the same underneath the skin(its a frequently used expression) meaning we all bleed when cut and have the same basic needs and wants in life.. meaning beneath the skin at heart we are all really the same whatever the outward appearances despite things like race or religion..
@@piseag458 yes. Humanity in us gets twisted, leaving us feeling sick and hurt. You cannot hurt a person without us all getting wounded, as humanity. And the one doing the hurting is also part of that humanity.
Stop!
" There's a new counterculture in this world of division
Where we bicker over politics and race and religion
There is war, there is peace, that's a human decision
Either you could be my brother or another collision
And the media, they love it when we hate each other
'Cause the money lines their pockets if you're not my brother
And this black versus white, that's divide and conquer
Ignorance, it is formed in the womb of monsters
If there's war in the East, the streets are getting paved
If there's war on the streets, there's a mother at a grave
If I pander to my ego, then I'm just another slave
A casualty of vanity, hate just breeds hate"
(Ren Gill)
Elon Muscovite is a lot more toxic than i realised.. 😯🙁
Thank you for your very interesting Silicon Curtain.
Thank you! Cheers!
Ngl I followed Rick, a while ago, because of those voice overs. It really is VALUABLE to translate the Zolkin interviews. How the russian family members in many cases don't care about their family members vs money offered by the government. It truly sheds light to why the bs items like washing machines are that popular to be looted. Many of those people still have outdoor toilets(outhouses) that occasionally need to be pumped to be usable. Outhouses that have no heating, no running water, no plumbing- literally a deep hole people do their business in with likely wooden toilet seats. No piped in gas for stoves, often no general town heating even for apartments complexes, at site heating buildings in which there's a heater, often a wood fire heater that heats up piping with water in it to heat the homes. Russia is a shithole, I truly hope, especially the ethnic minorities keep their roots dear, the land mass of russia is huge and honestly should be divided into smaller Republics
Wow! So you are the person that helped me come back to the interviews! Thank you!
I) All nations have a right to exist.
II) 🇺🇦 is a nation
C: therefore 🇺🇦 has a right to exist.
Except Palestine, Rhodesia, Biafra, and the Confederate States of America.
No nation has the right to invade a neighbour for reasons of stealing resources or grabbing land and to occupy it and interfere with the government there. But we do have the right to fight for our sovereignty and for ethical values such as human rights and personal liberties.
Thank you Jonathan for your very informative podcast! Thanks for doing so much for Ukraine!
I hugely admire Zolkins work. I found the conversations with the prisoners families so differing in attitudes. Sometimes heart rending and often not.
Rick is such a genuinely lovely man and he does so much for UA. Thanks for inviting him on Jonathan ❤
Excellent interview, thanks Jonathan!
I'm a confirmed 'roller' , and seeing 2 of my favourite YTrs in one interview is a bonus. 👍🏽
👍👍👍
Yes Musk and Twitter are disgusting. I do not understand his motivation.
Greed. Self-aggrandizement.
@@grahamstrouse1165 I suspect blackmail and fear, maybe. He changed course noticeably after being contacted by the FSB.
That’s bs. Musk doesn’t do anything of this sort.
I watched many of the interviews Volodymr Zolkin showed us with the other man with a beard sometimes. I found them to have integrity and I admire the self control of emotions that it must have taken to cope with them. Many of the men were ordinary men being used by a ruthless regime but some were arrogant and rigid in their righteous attitude. All must have been afraid. The interviews with the women differed greatly. They all came across as having never considered the suffering of the Ukrainian people. I don't envy them coping alone with children and all the other challenges of domestic life bringing up a family on their own. Thank you for your video.😊
Thanks to Rick, I no longer feel guilty for having moments in this age of darkness where smiling and having moments of joy amidst this enduring tragedy that scars our souls everyday come as naturally as the pain from witnessing it all does.
I constantly have to remind myself this war will end and that if we stay strong, stand by Ukraine, Ukraine will win.
Nothing we endure is ahything conpared to a civilian in Kyiv, nothing a civilian in kyiv endures is as bad as a trench, nothing in a trench conpares to losing a limb, and even they are thankful they survived and can still breathe. We all have to remember the ones who can't come back home, ever. The only way to honor them is to never give up and do our best every day 🙏🇺🇦🕯️🕊️❤️🩹
Slava Ukraini 🙌🇺🇦💪❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
Thank You Rick The Wonderful 💯 Ukrainian 🫶🌻💙💛
& Jonathan🌻
Keep up the Very Important Work your doing which is TRUTHFUL JOURNALISM 💯🐦💪💪💪💪 🇺🇦🤝🇪🇺
STOP russia's TYRANNICAL OPPRESSION 🚫🛑👹👺
I saw a video with a Russian soldier who liked fighting in the war. It was more interesting than his old job, he made a lot of money, and it gave him a lot of adrenaline. Most probably, there are others like him.
Why do you think Ex US army guys are fighting in Ukraine ?. War is a powerful drug. Some people get hooked. Same thing happened after the Vietnam war.
@@phil3924one can have personal reasons for fighting, such as being hooked on adrenaline and the soldier's way of life, and still be on the good side of things.
This is depressing because it seems to mean that war will never go away and peace will never be possible.
Thx
Jonathan, the discussions on your channel are gold. I am constantly dumbfounded when I hear the same awful stories of Russia, it's people and their ugly mindset. It seems these people are not of this planet.
Not of this Century more like the 1850 saddly !🇷🇺 !
@@bonnienichalson5151Correct. Living in the past.
See you then, good Show & Thank You 👐👣☮️🇨🇦🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻
I remember those videos in summer 2022, the subtitles said really weird things. They were definitely in need of a proper translation!
Fantastic interview. Hope you have him back regularly for followup. He and Konstantin are excellent.
I watched the first translation video that Rick did. Great work.
Thanks, Jonathan!
Thanks! 🙏
Nice
Yes, ready guests make your job relatively easy. You are also a kind and deep and delightfully articulate file, Jonathan! Guests know it. I think it’s cyclical.
Thanks for much for this interview, guys 😊
At 36:57 , Rick, you say you can see that many of the pow's really like the war. It may seem completely bonkers, but I think it's all about them suddenly finding a purpose in life and suddenly feeling like they're doing something important. Therefore they feel that they are suddenly an important person.
That can be an extremely intoxicating feeling and that's why it easily turns into sort of a drug. Their brains produce the same kind of "feelgood hormones" as people suffering from any addiction. So they are drawn back in because they need those kicks.
Some of them may also be so called "adrenalin junkies". There are many soldiers that can testify to the fact that they never feel so alive as when they are close to death, and they have that adrenalin rush.
The human brain is a complex creation 🥴
Hey Rick! 👋
Rick is Ukrainian he is a wonderful guy he has a calming Ora. He has been through so much in his life like the questions he answered. He not only translates but he has raised funding for trucks and Drones and Medical Aid to the AFU he is a proper Gentleman
👍👍👍
Great interview!
hi i love ricks voice overs he is good at impression's of the people that he translates accurately i hope he has the time to do more wish they made it worth his time he also works hard at fund raising for those troops at the front
Excellent! Gives me hope for Ukraine.
Jonathan, please don't forget the important contribution being made to understanding the courageous Russian emigre' resistance to Putin by channels like Konstantin's "Inside Russia".
Jonathan has monthly conversations with Konstantin...
@@stpfs9281 I watch those. Excellent.
Great interview! Brave guy......
All Ukrainians seem to be brave and inspiring.
Didn’t know what to expect from this episode but actually really really insightful
👍👍👍
Thanks!
Thank you! 🙏
Thanks Jonathan and Rick
Thank you for this fantastic conversation. Rick was able to articulate everything I feel as a Ukrainian.
Слава Україні 💙💛
Elon Muskovite! Brilliant! Troll ammo locked and loaded! 😂
😉😁💙💛🖖🏼🛼🌅
Very interesting interview! ☺️
I need to watch more of Rick's Zolkin interviews. I used to try to watch a lot of Zolkin's material but I just don't have time to sit and read the often bad subtitles. I appreciate any help that Rick can lend to those valuable pieces of war history.
Rick makes awesome stuff. Great to see him on here
I find it odd that Putin is not remorseful at all about the death of anyone, totally disconnected.😊
It’s not odd at all. He’s a KGB thug - a trained murderer.
Though it wasn’t native .😊
It’s the same with the secret police agents in the Dragon Country next to mine. These people are actually trained not to have remorse.
I heard a story about how blood pressure, breathing rate, & heart rate increase when a normal person watches a video of a person being beat. Putin’s remains unchanged.
Rock is inspiring and tireless. I have been a fan for a while. Then you for another great video. Aussie Sue
Thank you for interesting
Alexei Navalny's last message was that Russia is a huge power and the only way for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing!!! I wonder if he died in the hope that good men would stop doing NOTHING!
Good talk
This was a great video. Interesting as hell
Thank you for another very interesting interviews.
I speak Google Translate with my Ukrainian friends.
You invite really interesting guests for interviews. I'm glad you include Ukrainians, unfortunately it's not so common in Western media environment.
Thanks. Great talk! 👍🇺🇦
💛💙💜💙💛 here I am, right on time 😄
🇺🇦 🌏 🇬🇧 🇺🇸
Great show, thank you
This is a really interesting interview... Super interesting watching it as a Welshman watching an Englishman be shocked about the importance of language to culture and the terrible effects of governments forcing people to stop speaking a language due to an imperialistic attitude that the other are not really a separate people... Thankfully we no longer have any violence associated with it but it should be an easily understandable issue for British people...
You've now got dual-language roadsigns (so that the tourists, bring money into the country) can read them!
Do tourist still have to pay the get into Wales via the M4, but are free to leave?
Kernow has a similar problem...
Great interview and great points about Navalny. He accomplished nothing and won't. He was a russian imperialist racist but also just had a huge ego needed the attention but it didn't work out well for him. No one came out to protest for him as he and the West hoped when he went back. I think those in the West pumped his ego up thinking he'd be their hero with visions of him getting russians to become Europeans which they are not. They themselves are imperialist. Hollywood hoped it would be easy a Hollywood script ending with a victorious celebration of Navalny being raised to power by non existent good russians doing a world tour whitewashing and putting russia's crimes behind them with no blame or accountability no punishment or reparations. While I'd welcome peace Navalny would never have de-Nazified russia he would have absolved them and made them as always the victims.
I think you're wrong and totally misunderstand Alexei Navalny. He wasn't a fool, he was incredible brave and went back to Russia knowing he would be arrested after he survived an assassination attempt, because he understood that only Russians can change Russia and they have to change it from within. He knew Putin wanted him dead, he had tried to kill him with novichok and it was by a miracle he survived. Anyway, I hope you care to watch a documentary released today titled "Putin's Poison", it has three parts, the last one is about Navalny. To beat the monster in Kremlin we need as many brave and good people we can possible gather. To attack martyrs like Navalny, whom sacrifice their earthly lives to stand up against Putin, won't help Ukraine and will eventually destroy us all.
Thank you very much indeed for introducing us to Rick. Also thanks for your work governor, you are appreciated.
Thank you very much for this great video, which I watched in addition to your video with Professor Gerdes a few days ago. Both episodes left a deep impression on me, as I had also observed what was said there in my own contacts with Russians.
Unfortunately, the terrible situation of Russian aggression against the Ukrainians has only now made me aware of the differences between these peoples, as briefly described by Professor Gerdes..
Over the years, I've met various Russians both in person here in Continental Europe or just through social networks, with mostly similar incidents as you describe it. So I maybe came across what they label as “Russki Mir” (Русский мир) already a long time ago without even noticing it. But I do notice now since I was born and do live on the Continent in a country with more than 3.5 million migrants with a Russian based background. And these people very often behave differently and according to the previously described pattern ("Русский мир") compared to those who have grown up in the traditional behaviour patterns here ... Many of them vehemently and openly support Putin and his regime, which in my opinion is tolerated far too much by society. There are various reasons for this, some of which seem like Chamberlain's well-known appeasement policy ...
Since you mentioned that Russians don't feel comfortable or easy interacting with people from English-speaking backgrounds, this could also be true. An interesting observation that I also share, although I am not a native English speaker. So please be tolerant of my language. 😅
I don't speak Russian myself either, although triggered by these events I've started learning it again to get "a better picture".
As for curious incidents, I even went through some of my memories of such things and edited one such incident on my iPad to share it here as well, but I decided not to as it's too long. But it needs to be detailed enough to understand it in full detail.
I do share your view in which you are telling us about your own mostly negative experiences with Russian UA-camrs (like always there are exceptions to the rule) who although are opposed to the Putin regime are hesitant to collaborate with someone else. Ukrainians seem to be generally acting here differently and thus definitely use a way of thinking similar to ours.
Besides: I am subscribed (not using this screen name for certain reasons) on Vlad Vexler’s channel, Jake Broe’s channel, Konstantin’s Inside Russia channel, Zolkin’s channel for the POW Interviews (Apostle Dima being the favourite of the two for me, this guy is somewhat unique 🙂) and as my favourite channel because he is so keen and mature Zack the Russians channel. A very encouraging and promising young guy and I am very glad for him he has made it to the US!
There are some more I watch or did watch but I don’t want to mention all of them.
And of course Dr. Timothy Snyder’s videos or podcasts are in my opinion essential for anyone looking for a better understanding in the reasons for the war. And so are Yaroslav (Sages) videos … Also Anders Puck Nielsen explains very clear and comprehensive what is at stake!
And finally, as a fan of the technological achievements of Elon Musk's company SpaceX and Tesla EVs, I seriously considered buying a Tesla from the new Brandenburg factory here. But after Elon's behaviour regarding the situation in the Russian-Ukrainian war by actively supporting Putin (bandwidth restrictions for Ukraine on the SpaceX StarLink network, supplying equipment to the Russian army via Dubai), I decided against buying a product made in Elon's company! His appalling behaviour is treason, Trump style!
Besides: For those interested there is a fascinating interview Dr. Timothy Snyder gave to Russian exiled journalist Mikhail Zygar
titled“Putin’s and Trump’s lies, “rashism”, Dostoyevsky is an imperial writer” in spring 2023 in Berlin.
ua-cam.com/video/IU3JE4ucX2A/v-deo.htmlsi=isZ0yFGjMN_4Xo3Z
💙💛Glory to Ukraine💙💛Glory to the heroes💙💛Long live Ukraine💙💛
💙💛Слава Україні💙💛Героям слава💙💛Хай живе Україна💙💛
Slava dude🇳🇴🤝🇺🇦
Never mistake peace for freedom people - freedom is not given it is taken🫵
It was wonderful to hear the language component given some of the attention it deserves. Like Rick I'm intrigued as to how some groups collectively figure out that language is a weapon of genocide and then learn how to wield it to fight back.
Half my family is from Poland originally and despite being the third generation born in the US, I actually speak decent Polish. My great-grandmother actually attended one of the Flying Schools for several years when she was a young girl. So I guess there's stubbornness that gets handed down.
Anyway, language is a key to resistance when occupied by a larger group. I'd love to hear more on this topic in the future.
Jonathan, it's a really uplifting treat to hear your interview with Rick! Thank you! Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦 🇺🇦 🇺🇦 Victory for Ukraine 🇺🇦 🇺🇦🇺🇦
Its the heart ❤️🇺🇦✨💛🩵💛🩵❤️🇺🇦 Careing is in your heart 🇺🇦❤️💛🩵🇺🇦👍
Nobody can't negotiate with devil
Being polylingual is great but I think getting hung up on language can be a little detrimental, partly because it can be REALLY difficult more most people to gain fluency in new languages as they age. I’m much more concerned with Russia’s deliberate erasure of culture. Language is a part of that, yes, but only a part. English and Spanish are far and away the most common mother tongues in the Americas. The English-speaking countries are pretty damn big, admittedly, but even within the US and Canada there are dramatic regional cultural differences between people with the same mother tongue. The differences between cultures in Mexico, Central & Sourh America are even larger.
I’m just saying I don’t think it’s helpful to try and convert people to a new mother tongue that they’re unfamiliar with. Ukranian should absolutely be taught as a first language in Ukraine. But it’s still helpful to know Russian as well, if only because the bastards are right next door & ya gotta deal with ‘em. It’s also the most commonly spoken Slavic language, meaning it’s useful.
I’m terrible at languages besides English, and still a little bitter that I hadn’t been exposed to other languages when I was young. This is a common failure of American and (increasingly) British school systems.
Being polylingual is always a good thing, even if sometimes it means becoming fluent in the tongues of people you don’t like.
This ukranian "superpower" to endure is the Grace of God and st. Vadimir protection. It is evident because they see it is a "superpower" beyond human srength to put up with this madness and pure evil.
Good onya Rick… we can call him Elon Muskovite too! 😂 And good onya Jonathan for the interview! ☑️
FASCINATING!