Rashkin reports on Russo-Ukrainian war

By HILLARY GAVAN Senior staff writer, Beloit Daily News, Dec 28, 2020

Picture (Rock County Board Supervisor Yuri Rashkin has transformed his basement into a studio as he works as news analyst for Russian-speaking news networks and raises awareness of the plight of civilians in the Russo-Ukrainian war.)(Hillary Gavan) 

Via the internet, Rashkin has been making more appearances through news outlets and most recently bringing attention to the civilians caught in the crossfires of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he said some politicians and residents in the West have forgotten the plight of Ukrainian civilians living in a war zone.

“They want to get more attention on this issue, and to get politicians to put pressure on the Kremlin to have civilians go home. There’s people caught up in a war zone. They feel Ukrainian politicians are helpless. The only people the Kremlin will listen to is the West,” Rashkin said.

Rashkin, who was born in Moscow, came to the United States in 1988 when he was 13 years old. In addition to his work as an instructor at UW-Parkside and UW-Rock County, he often works as a Russian interpreter when not playing upright bass and piano.

One of the latest episodes of the “Rashkin Report” on YouTube features the stories of two women caught up in the war which began in 2014 and is focused on the Ukrainian regions of Crimea and Donbass.

The episode aired at the following link at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UzppZIgqEA&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR06oY9AyHCsv3MkZbx9uudpcNnjjQU3jJw5Dv-BQBMmCaQKtQoy_GFxn-g on Dec. 25.

Rashkin said the issues in Russia are important for Americans to keep tabs on.

“Russia is an interesting culture and we need to build bridges. It’s also a national security threat, and we need to be aware of it,” Rashkin said.

Rashkin explained how there was attention paid to the war when it broke out, but it has faded from the public’s radar. However, people are still dying and hundreds are being imprisoned. The most recent episode of his YouTube channel features the stories of people working to free prisoners of the war and reunite families.

In the episode, Olexandra Matviychuk, with the Center for Civil Liberties in Kiev, Ukraine, shared how her organization assists with the process of releasing political prisoners in Russia and occupied Crimea as well as prisoners of war and civil hostages in occupied Dombass, many believed to be detained for political motives.

The majority of civil hostages, she said, remain in Russian-occupied Dombass, and there are at least 251 people who are detained. There are also prisoners in Russia, with Matviychuk noting it’s a violation of international law to illegally transport people between countries.

Russia, she said, detains the hostages in order to use them as instruments in informational war by labeling them as extremists and spies, as a tool to maintain control in the region and as a bargaining device. Matviychuck said these people are tortured, have no medical care and are kept in isolation. Some of them have been beaten, raped and tortured, she said.

Marina Sheffer, who is living in Germany, spoke on the “Rashkin Report” about working to get her father and other prisoners of war released. The war came into their lives when her family and many others were forced to leave their homes as tanks moved in and the shelling of apartment buildings began.

Sheffer’s father went to visit his mother, her grandmother, to try to take her out of the situation and he couldn’t return.

Sheffer said she’s been looking for her father for three years. She heard from people who got out of a secret jail who told her they saw her father in the jail and he’s still alive. He may be detained there because of his skills as an electrician.

Rashkin said he has also interviewed the wife of Oleh Shevandin, a KungFu champion, taken prisoner when he went to recover his 80-year-old mother.

Rashkin said many of the families of prisoners don’t know whether to be vocal.

“You are afraid if a loved one is being kidnapped that it might be worse if you speak out,” Rashkin said.

Rashkin said it’s important to keep the bright lights on the Russo-Ukraianian war.

“I think we have a lot of challenges in the U.S. that we haven’t dealt with in a long time,” he said. “It’s hard to remember what can happen when war comes to your land. These people can serve as a reminder to us in a powerful way that there are certain things we don’t want to have.”

Rashkin is not only telling the stories of the Russo-Ukraniian War, but also acting as a “talking head” on many news shows such as Russian-American TV, Voice of America, Russian Television International, Israeli News Channel 9 and others. With censorship in Russian TV, there are also lots of opportunities for him to speak on more YouTube channels around the world.

Rashkin said he’s found a niche for Russians who can speak from a progressive perspective.

Traditionally, Rashkin said Russians tend to be politically conservative. However, after years of information wars and the occasional Russian-controlled media, people are becoming more open minded to hearing new and different views.

Rashkin said Russia spends at least millions of dollars a year in misinformation campaigns to portray Ukraine as the villain to justify the invasion of Crimea. There is a channel funded by the Kremlin, for example, called Russia Today (RT), which specializes in showing only information critical of the West.