Stories of Eastern Ukraine From a Former Mercenary
Stories of Eastern Ukraine From a Former Mercenary
Arak in Kyrgyzstan
“He must have been 19 or 20. He was begging me to spare his life for half an hour. I just stood there; then I shot him dead on the spot. I still dream of him, I cannot forget his face. He was Russian.”
‘Manas’ struggles to hold back his tears. This time, he doesn’t use a shot glass. He grabs the bottle of Kyrgyz aragi, a local brand of vodka, and downs a quarter of it in one go.
Manas is the pseudonym of a former mercenary who fought with the Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine. He returned to his native Kyrgyzstan after realizing that Russian claims about fascists taking over Ukraine were mere propaganda.
Following weeks of negotiations, I came to meet him in a safe house in the northern city of Talas, where he took refuge after an interview with Radio Free Europe had turned him into a marked man. In it, Manas had exposed Russia’s role in the war in Ukraine, and this didn’t go down well with the country’s (mostly) pro-Russian elites. He has been on the run ever since.
When Kyrgyz aragi appeared on the table, I was served shot after shot. It would have been impolite to refuse. As day turned into night, Manas stopped pouring it for me as memories rushed through his head and vodka seemed to be the only remedy to soothe the pain. But it wasn’t enough: rapes, killings, and possible war crimes came gushing out during hours of vodka-filled monologue punctuated by many shots and few questions.
He said he had witnessed firsthand the actions of the rebel army, a band of marauders with little respect for civilian life and property. Vodka shot. The 19-or-20-year old Russian volunteer he killed in Stakhanov, a city in eastern Ukraine, had just raped a 40-year old woman and her daughter. Vodka shot. The woman had run up to him yelling hysterically and pointing at the young Russian. Manas hesitated. Then shot him dead. Vodka shot.
That wasn’t an exception. He says that once, they captured 15 people during a reconnaissance mission in Nikishino village. He was ordered to execute them. He did without thinking twice. Vodka shot. Another time, the rebels took 30 prisoners in Slavianoserbsk, who were told to unload military equipment from some Russian trucks. One prisoner managed to snatch a gun from a guard and kill him, so a Russian intelligence officer ordered to shoot them all. Series of vodka shots.
A few weeks later, I met Manas in a brothel in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s capital. Beer and vodka were on the table, in keeping with the Russian saying: “[if you drink] beer without vodka, you are wasting your money.” It is 2 pm. A lady is chatting on the phone by the window. Manas is sitting at the table drinking. He boasts that he can quit any time he wants.
He is a wanted man. He needs to leave the country and has come to the capital to purchase a fake passport. He claims he’d rather die than go to prison. Vodka shot.