About This Blog

Hello, I’m Basil. That’s my name.

And this is my blog about the Russian (ruzzian) war in Ukraine. Or, living-through-the-war, if you will.

Expect a lot of so-called (by russians) russophobia here.
It’s not a phobia, I just hate them. And I have every right of doing so, as I know their culture very very well.

The Name
#

Let’s start with the name. It’s a wordplay. Mr. Putin, the russian so-called president, called it’s full-scale war on Ukraine with the word ‘Benderites’, meaning banderites). Which is a russian-propaganda invented term for the fantasy they made up about Ukrainians being devils.

If you want to explore the topic more thoroughly, I cannot recommend Timothy Snyder more. Find his books or his YouTube lectures, whatever. He knows the history of Ukraine very well, and he explains it very well for the general public. On that, just read him, not me. I’m not here to educate my blog’s visitors on the history of Ukraine (although I may here and there), but to document my experience. I just hope my diary won’t become Anne’s Frank like.

Despite the horrors of war, my first reaction to many things within the first weeks was just laughing over many things russia did. I think that was my shock reaction to protect my psyche. Laughing my ass off (literally) over this ‘banderites’ bullshit was one of my first vivid memories of the beginning of the war. Mr. Putin is just a fucking illiterate idiot, isn’t he? (Yes, he is, he fucking is. As much as the people who wholeheartedly support him.)

So, it’s the War of Benders because of the Bender, the robot from Futurama. I use him on the avatar because of that. I photoshopped the flag of Ukraine on top of his antenna, so to symbolise the fight of the people. I like this idea, and so I kept it.

The Z on the end, is a reference to the Z of ruzzian army, their new swastika.

How It Started
#

The thing is, I live in Ukraine now, and I’ve been here for 3 years prior to the full-scale invasion of Russia, since early 2019. Or, fair to say, I’ve been here since the end of 2017, as I was visiting my future-to-be wife in Lviv, the beautiful westmost city. I’ve visited Lviv in 2013 for the first time, and lived here for a couple of years, before leaving to South-East Asia for work.

I never left the country since 2019, and I hope I’ll leave it when I want to, not when I’m forced to.

When the full-scale invasion started, I’ve begun blogging privately for my friends, so they’ll know if I’m still alive. As I’ve survived the first years of full-scale war, I have some chances to continue doing so. I hope so very much, I’m not into duying young.

The private blogging took place in a private Telegram group. Which isn’t the best place for long-term blogging, even if we would ignore the russian roots of its developers. (Not ‘roots’, they’re just russians, that’s it, rus-si-an-s.)

I am on my way of transferring my notes from that private group to a public blog. I think the website could be interesting for a wider audience.

If you’re interested in what other languages I may or may not translate my blog to, visit the special post I’ve made:

Plan
#

I plan to keep journaling till the war is ended (hopefully won by Ukraine), or I’m dead, whatever comes first.

I prioritise the story over the news. Sometimes, I may post short form or long-reads. I may rewrite my older posts, so to improve them or add more context.

I prioritise the new visitor over the recurring one. In terms of rewriting my old posts. I may never notify anyone that I edited some previous post of mine, sorry for that.

Site Theme
#

Sorry if the red colours affect readability. There’s this theme, named ‘bloody.’ I just feel it naturally fits the whole thing.

You can use your web browser’s reader mode for reading long texts, that helps.

The rockets on the background is my adaptation of this illustration I found online.

I found it on Twitter, I believe that’s the author’s page. More about the author in my Attributions a bit further.

As you see, my site slogan — ruzzians turn homes into graves — is also taken from the illustration.

Why Minuscule russia?
#

It’s a new writing system Ukrainians try to place on Russia, and I think that’s a good thing.

Other Blogs
#

I have other blogs. You may want to check my primary blog, basil.skrnk.trueowl.com, it has some other links in there.

Attributions
#

Again, the illustration that served me as a theme is by Lviv’s illustrator Mykhailo Skop that goes by the name Neivanmade.

The blog made with the help of Hugo, and the theme is blowfish. More on that in my primary blog.

Thanks the Armed Forces of Ukraine, without their hard work, I won’t ever be able to live my busy life.

Disclaimer
#

The views expressed on this site are my own and do not reflect those of any individual or entity of which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated with.

Any mention of any individuals or entities on this site is not an endorsement of said individual or entity.

Any site content may be modified, removed or otherwise altered without notice.

Some pages may include references to copyrighted material. Any such references are made under Section 30(1) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988 with regards to the purpose of criticism and review.

Although every effort has been made to ensure correctness; I accept no responsibility for errors and/or omissions.

Please be mindful that the facts, opinions, and circumstances surrounding a given piece of site content may have changed since its date of publication.

Any tips, advice or similar content on this site is provided for informational purposes only and is presented on an ‘as is’ basis with no guarantee. The author assumes no responsibility for any negative results from the application of the information presented.