Anastasiya Hnatiuk

Is there a point in pro-Ukrainian protests in a provincial town? Olga Filipova doubted: is it at all worth it to initiate any public activity outside of Portugal’s capital? Today each Ukrainian protest in Coimbra is a noticeable and significant event. And it is thanks to the small-town activists that Russian propagandists in Portugal are talked about in the first columns of the national media.

«I have always felt the need to act»

Olga came to Portugal in 2001. At that time, the country was in dire need of labour force, and tens of thousands of Ukrainians headed south to Europe to build houses and roads. Among them was Olga's partner at the time. Once, while visiting him on vacation, she decided not to return.

She studied at a local university, worked, raised her daughter and did not engage in particularly active pursuits. Everything changed during the Revolution of Dignity. Without any skills or experience in public work, Olga organised the first protests intuitively because she felt it was impossible to remain silent:

- I started doing something in 2013. When Maidan began, we set out to organise similar «Maidans» in Coimbra. But I had no experience in doing it at all back then. That is why we just picketed ourselves, 5-6 friends. We also went on a protest when the Russians occupied Crimea. That time I did it somewhat more organised. Even the media came to write and record stories about us. But anyway, there were 20 of us at most.

For some time, Olga lived in Berlin and fought for the closure of the «Russian House of Science and Culture» (Russisches Haus der Wissenschaft und Kultur) - also purely intuitively - together with friends in her free time. It was Olga who initiated the push in the prolonged struggle against this propaganda centre, which was later taken up by larger organisations. Today, the issue of its closure is being discussed in the Bundestag, and at the beginning of last year, the institution was investigated by the German prosecutor's office.

After the full-scale invasion began, Olga returned to Coimbra. She missed the large-scale rallies like those she attended in Berlin. However, she did not see the lack of such rallies in Coimbra as a reason for disappointment, but rather as motivation to organise them herself:

- I started by realising that it was important to understand our target audience. These were the Portuguese people to whom we wanted to convey something. It was important for me to understand where they stand in terms of understanding this war, what they expect, and generally what they need. So the first event we organised was Free Hugs from Ukraine. I just called my friends, and we stood in the middle of Coimbra's tourist street with a sign that said «Free Hugs from Ukraine». People came up to us and hugged us. And I asked them what they thought, how they thought the war would end, how they saw Ukraine's victory, why it was important to them, or the opposite, what they knew, what they didn't know.

The loud voice of the minority

- Coimbra is a city of students. It has a high concentration of educational institutions and various youth organisations. In this town, conveniently located between Lisbon and Porto, there are slightly fewer than 150 thousand people. According to official data, there are about 600 Ukrainians among them. The key to how such a small community manages to keep attention on itself for over two years lies in consistency and integration into the local context.

Olga says that the consistency of the actions not only reminds the Portuguese about the war. The persistence with which Ukrainians take to the streets also demonstrates that this people do not intend to give up:

- The most important thing is to show the Portuguese that we are not tired, that we are confident in Ukraine's victory. Because as soon as we disappear from their sight, they think: «Listen, well, maybe they are tired, maybe they would not mind if Russia occupied them because that would be better than losing their lives». I see that there are already many people who think in a way like: «I would give up my house to stay alive».

They can not possibly understand that being occupied by the Russians - is tantamount to being raped, losing your whole identity, everything you had. That is why we have to come out and show that we do not want that

The second component of the effectiveness of Coimbra's events is understanding what information the Portuguese are willing and not willing to accept and from which angle it is easiest to reach them. Although Olga lived in Portugal for a long time, it took a lot of time and effort to come to this understanding.

The activist realised that most Portuguese people genuinely believe that Russians are victims of Putin's regime. She also noticed that Portuguese citizens greatly value culture. On the one hand, this makes it difficult to explain to an average Coimbra resident why attending a Russian ballet performance means supporting the war against Ukraine. On the other hand, this is also a topic that can be used to reach people:

- I took it upon myself to convey this idea and organise Ukrainian cultural events. So that it does not look like a bunch of Ukrainians are here wanting to remove culture, but on the contrary, we want to bring culture. That is, we show that it's not about cultural cancelling, it's about the fact that there are things that are not timely. And if you want culture, we can show you beautiful, good, kind culture. For example, Yulia Holub, a folk-jazz singer from Lisbon, and I organised a concert last year. It was a cultural program - and the Portuguese, who love culture, came to watch. But after each song, she told a little story about the war.

It was very important, we reached their minds with songs. For them, it was not like someone wanted to persuade them into believing something against their will

Moreover, Olga spends a lot of time searching for fresh verified information, facts, and studies which are necessary for communicating with foreigners. The Portuguese, to whom our war is foreign, are mostly not ready to take things at face value and may attribute the radicalism of their interlocutor's statements to emotionality due to their experience. She had to learn to acknowledge the existence of good Russians and the occasional value of Russian culture in her dialogue with the Portuguese:

- Here, you have to be very careful not to appear discriminatory. You can say: «Yes, you know, there really are good Russians» (laughs). But we need to avoid saying that we know that good Russians are not visible in thermal imaging. To ordinary people, you need to say: «Yes, there are, but you know, here are the statistics - 77 per cent of Russians support the war». About culture, I learned to say: «Yes, of course, there are some cultural stories. Yes, we can not cancel it. But some things are not timely. Think about whether it would be okay if, during the Nazi occupation, we started promoting German ballets on the stages of Europe under attack. Well, probably not. But after some time, after the war, after denazification, after all this, it would be okay». And then they understand.

Ciao, professor

One of Olga’s most significant achievements - the dismissal of a Russian propagandist from the University of Coimbra.

Since 2012, Professor Vladimir Pliasov has collaborated with the «Russkiy Mir» Foundation (translated from Russian as «Russian World»). A Ukrainian, Vyacheslav Medvedev, who studies at this university, noticed after the start of the full-scale invasion that the flags of the Russian organisation still hung on the university premises. Moreover, they were placed directly opposite the blue and yellow flags and posters in solidarity with Ukraine. After contacting the rector's office, the enemy’s colours were eventually removed, but it turned out to be just the beginning. Sometime later, a stand with the inscription «the greatest Russian writers» appeared on the faculty wall, suggesting works for students to read. Among the collective Tolstoyevsky and the usurped Gogol, there were also Eduard Limonov and Zakhar Prilepin.

Eduard Limonov was a Russian politician with Ukrainian roots who denied Ukraine’s sovereignty and the distinctiveness of the Ukrainian people. Zakhar Prilepin is a Russian propagandist who fought against Ukraine from 2016 to 2018 as part of the «DNR» terrorist organisation and later boasted in interviews with Russian journalists that his unit «killed large numbers of people».

Together with Vyacheslav, a student at the University of Coimbra, the activist wrote a comprehensive article containing a series of arguments unequivocally proving that the pro-Russian professor was engaged in propaganda activities. Although the mere mention of Prilepin would have been enough to cause an uproar, Olga and Vyacheslav had to prove that this was neither an error nor a coincidence:

- We presented various facts. We showed that he distributed St. George ribbons. There are video materials where, in an interview, he responds about the annexed Crimea: «You do not understand the historical context and what’s there... Who are Ukrainians anyway?» There were plenty of his articles on the site where he explicitly wrote that the Ukrainian language is a dialect.

Olga's revealing article was published in a small publication, after which the well-known historian and journalist in Portugal, José Milhazes, took notice of the story, followed by the national media.

The professor was quickly fired and it caused a huge uproar in the Russian community in Portugal

The Russian diaspora, whose activity usually limits itself to comments on Facebook, even managed to organise a petition to reinstate the professor. But this did not help.

«We have to act, show and tell wherever we are»

Olga is convinced: whether in the capital, a small town, or even a village, there is always something for Ukrainian activists to do. Although she initially doubted whether it made sense to unfold activities in Coimbra:

- I had this question regarding Coimbra. Say, why do anything in a small town if the parliament is in Lisbon, and all the embassies are in the Portuguese capital? Then I realised that sometimes such events in small towns have a bigger impact. Last year, on the anniversary of the full-scale invasion, we had a small event - about 300 people. But for Coimbra, it looked like a massive event. And it was widely covered in the media.

That is why I believe that if your heart and soul desire to do something, you should do it regardless of where you are

Moreover, it should be remembered that voters, who will determine whether a pro-Russian populist comes to power, do not only live in the capital. Their public demand will also influence the government's course. So even if there is an opportunity to tell at least ten people about Ukraine - it is worth it.

Olga has three simple pieces of advice for those who aspire to lead a Ukrainian movement in their city or village but can not bring themselves to do it:

1. Do not be embarrassed to turn to more experienced colleagues for help (her included);

2. Properly investigate the habits and moods of the target audience. If you already have local friends - you should ask them for advice on what works best in their country for various goals.

3. Research the laws on conducting public events, fundraising, and other activities and abide thoroughly.

And if you do not have the desire or opportunity to fully dedicate yourself to activism, you can simply continue telling everyone you know in the new country about Ukraine. However, it is important not just to share any news, but to choose verified information and ensure that the way we speak about Ukraine publicly creates a positive image of the country. Any communication with the local population abroad should pass a control question: «Will this person, having learned new information, want to support Ukraine on its path to victory?».

- Every Ukrainian has this mission to convey something. We can not turn into Russians and say that we are small people and that we can not do anything. We must convey that Europe needs Ukraine, possibly even more than Ukraine needs Europe. But this has to be explained with facts. Because sometimes people do not think about what they are saying.

Protests, concerts, marches, solo pickets, or flash mobs - all forms of attracting the global community’s attention are critically necessary for Ukraine, as with each passing day the level of attention from Western media to Ukraine decreases. According to a study by the NGO Brand Ukraine, in 2023, the number of articles about Ukraine in foreign online publications alone was 20 per cent less than the previous year. Regular public opinion research by Eurobarometer consistently records a decline in support for Ukraine among EU citizens each quarter. For example, the latest report notes that six per cent fewer people are willing to see Ukrainian refugees in their country compared to the summer of 2022, and eight per cent fewer people currently agree with providing military support.

All photos in the article are from the heroine's private archive