“The most important thing is to take Katyukha and the cat and run away.”
Volodya is an ordinary guy, originally from Vorkuta. He loves his wife Katya, pets his snow-white cat Snezha in the evenings, goes swimming and plays old computer games. Before starting SVO, he worked in the Moscow region, in a hardware store. And then he decided to move to Belgorod, which was subject to regular attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. What prompted you to move to such a dangerous area, what life is like there and how to escape during attacks — in the MK material.
The conversation turned out to be confidential. After all, Volodya is my good friend, and is ready to answer any question. I had already heard his stories about shelling and air defense work several times before. But now there is an opportunity to talk about this in more detail.
“We have long wanted to move to Belgorod,” he says. – Katya (wife) suggested, but I don’t mind. She wanted to be closer to her mother so as not to have to travel to her for a long time.
When we first arrived in Belgorod, I really liked the city. It is the cleanest, most comfortable, most comfortable. When you walk around the city center, you can talk in a whisper and you will be heard. There is no bustle in this city. Moreover, I can compare, I have been to many places. I come from Vorkuta, studied in Yaroslavl, served in the army in Naro-Fominsk, lived for a short time in Ulyanovsk, Odintsovo, Khimki, until I finally moved to Belgorod. He moved and got a job in his previous profession at a hardware store. It’s good here, despite the shelling.
I’ve already gotten used to it, I’m used to it. Recently, concrete slab shelters were installed near each bus stop to provide shelter from shrapnel during an attack. Loudspeakers are posted everywhere to warn of missile danger. So they think about the safety of residents.
— Well, how can I say… The city still lives, acts, breathes, as if nothing was happening. But at the same time, everyone knows about the missile danger, about the fact that it is dangerous in the city. People continue to go to work. Yes, of course, there are individuals who simply leave the city: they fear for their lives, for their children. And there are those who have nowhere to go. I'm one of those. I like it here, my family is here. And sometimes it can be a little loud.
– Literally every day several times. Now all the messages on my phone look like “missile danger” — “lights out”. I have 9 messages now. This means that we survived approximately five missile raids and four shutdowns. That works out to about five missile alerts a day.
I imagined a similar list of messages on my phone, and a shiver ran down my spine. I panic quite easily, but Volodya talks about everything with a bit of humor. A person does not lose optimism even in such a situation.
– The first time I heard a missile alert signal was when we were living at my mother-in-law’s house. And the alarm just went off: a terrible roar, a siren blaring, everything shaking. And everything around was roaring, and I was sitting there thinking: “Well, that’s it, it’s going to hit us now – and that’s it.” I took my wife by the hand and said: “Did you want romance? Well, we’re going to die on the same day. A missile is going to hit us now, and that’s it.” And then it all just went away on its own. As they say, our people get used to everything.
Recently, my wife and I went to bed after work, the alarm went off, and we thought: we’ll lie there a little longer, we’ll get up later. Then my sister-in-law came running and woke us up.
– Yes, the fear goes away, we just try to be on guard. My wife's sister just moved in with us recently, and she turned on notifications on her phone. So if there's a missile threat, the phone beeps loudly. Our notification works outside too, but here it's like an additional signal.
– As soon as there's a missile threat, my sister-in-law grabs two cats in her arms and sits in the hallway, where we have load-bearing walls. Katyukha and I also take Snezhka (the cat) and sit in the hallway.
By the way, Snezha reacts very calmly, sits on hands or on the nightstand and does not break free. She understands that if the owner grabs you, then you need to sit for a while. Although sometimes she tries to break free and go to the kitchen to eat. Apparently, she is more afraid that someone will come and eat the food for her. The other two cats try to hide in the bathroom or under the bed, it is also more or less safe there. They are already as if trained. As soon as they hear the alarm sound, they try to hide.
— No, well, of course we can go out and go down to the basement. But, most likely, those who really need it most will go down to the basement. For example, people who were standing on the street. That’s why in our city they open entrances and keep them open all the time, just like the doors to basements or underground parking lots. Because when there is an alarm, those who were either on the street or near the entrance will start running there…
Remembering other recommendations, we started talking about arranging an apartment in difficult situations and other necessary things that are written about in leaflets and talked about on TV. For example, many people write that you need to move beds away from windows.
– I read that you need to move beds away from windows so that you don’t get cut by glass shards. It just didn't work for us. The bed is too big so it can't be moved out. Moreover, there is simply nowhere to put it. In the middle of the room she will get in the way of everyone. This way we will break our legs on it faster. So many recommendations are broken by reality.
— No, unfortunately. Although Masha says that it needs to be done. But there is no point in carrying it to work, and at home you don’t know when you will need it, and whether we will have time to grab it. But, in general, I want to do this now. Buy all sorts of bandages, medicines. For now, we only carry documents and money.
— We had the money that our parents gave us for our wedding. So we transferred all the cash to the card. In case something does get into the house while we are not there, so that at least nothing burns down.
“Well, I have an army travel bag,” Volodya shows me a large army bag with stripes. “I have my whole life there: all sorts of gifts from friends, my first pocket console, all sorts of other memorabilia. Only I think that I will grab him last. The most important thing is to take Katyukha and the cat and run. But I hope that this will not happen.
— Everything is fine at work. We made such a large shelter on the street area. That is, in the event of a threat, the guys who were on the street do not run all the way to the hardware store, but can wait in shelter on the street. And in the store itself we stand under the ceiling beam. It must be the strongest and will not collapse.
“One time we shook so hard that we thought we had been hit by a missile.” The impact was so strong that the back wall of the store shook and mirrors fell off the wall. But we later found out that it wasn’t a rocket, it was just our plane going supersonic, and this caused such a wave. So everything worked out fine. Only three mirrors had to be written off.
By the way, a lot of military personnel come to our store. They are setting up dugouts for themselves. And just yesterday they came for insulation, and we have a missile threat. And just as it rumbled not far from us, the shock wave arrived. There, some people began to fuss, but the military did not even move. They stand there, calmly choosing what they need. I listened to them, but they just said: “Do you think ours are beating? Probably.”
— I used to go to the pool with a friend. But now we stopped going there because of the situation. It doesn't work out very well when you're swimming, a missile threat starts, and you're kicked out of the pool by the whistle and taken to the basement. And standing in your swimming trunks in the basement is somehow not very pleasant…
But this is a double-edged sword. If you go somewhere, they still try to protect you. That is, both the government, and the mayor’s office, and the people themselves understand all this, and no one comes up: they say, how did you get away with your missile danger. There are people who worry, there are those who take it calmly because they are already used to it, but there are no people who don’t care or who are freaking out. Everyone understands what is happening and is patient…
At that moment I heard a siren start screaming outside the window. Volodya calmly turned to his sister-in-law, asked something and, having received an affirmative answer, calmly stood up and moved to the load-bearing wall. I was amazed at his calmness, since in such a situation I myself would probably already be running on the ceiling. Volodya’s family did not show a drop of fear; they had been living in such an environment for several months. After a couple of minutes, he continued the conversation as if nothing had happened. Alarm clear.
I giggled nervously. The sound of the siren causes me to panic on some animal level.
“By the way, the real heroes are our delivery people and taxi drivers,” Vladimir recalled. – Fearless guys, they even go when there’s an alarm. And people, when the missile threat ends, even though the store is nearby, still order delivery. We got completely lazy.
Just at that moment the wife came into the room, saying that she was going to the store. Volodya turned around and carefully offered help. While he was getting ready, I asked him an extreme question.
– In case of missile danger, if you are concerned for your life, try to hide. Don't be idiots. Don't go to the store, don't go throw out the trash. Stay home. If you have already gone outside, then hide in a shelter. If you are in shopping centers, then listen to what the staff says.
If you are in a dangerous area, then try to leave there. Ask to visit friends or rent an apartment in another area of the city to be safe.
After the end of our conversation, Volodya went for a walk with his wife, and half an hour later he sent me a video message where he was standing under the bridge and listens to explosions. He smiles, casually telling another story. Still, it’s true that the city and people continue to live, even in such, from the outside looking in, a stalemate situation. The main thing, apparently, is not to lose love for this life.
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