An Aberdeen woman who runs events for the Russian community in the city says they are open to everyone – and are not meant to cause any offence.
Ksenija Ostapchuka, a Russian originally from Latvia who has a Ukrainian father, has lived in Aberdeen for 20 years.
For about seven years, she has been organising events for the Russian-speaking community through her Facebook page Ksenija Flammere Events.
She hosts karaoke, disco and comedy nights, as well as themed parties and celebrations.
But, when the war in Ukraine started last year Miss Ostapchuka cancelled all her events.
She felt like it wasn’t the right time to be celebrating and wanted to be respectful.
Later in the year, the MC decided it was time to try to get back to normal and start organising events for the community again.
However, she says she was met with some backlash with people messaging to tell her she shouldn’t be allowed to celebrate and describing her as the “enemy”.
Miss Ostapchuka said: “I had messages from Ukrainian people saying ‘You’re Russian, you’re not supposed to celebrate – you are the enemy.’
“I had a lot of different messages from random people, and I didn’t reply.
“I do understand their aggression, but it has nothing to do with me or anyone staying in this country.”
‘We used to be friends’
Miss Ostapchuka, who has a qualification in events management, is passionate about keeping the close-knit Russian community in the Granite City together.
The mum-of-two explained she feels as though she is being held responsible for the actions of her country, even though she does not support it.
“We are not in charge of politics,” she said. “I’m far from it, I don’t have any clue about politics and I don’t even watch the telly anymore.
“I’m not supporting the war at all, I am absolutely for peace.
“We used to be friends, we used to be united. My father is from Ukraine, but it doesn’t mean we are arguing, we’re still family.
“I just want everyone to be at peace and to enjoy their life.”
The 39-year-old has two children, a son who attends an academy and a young daughter who is a year and a half.
She is now worried that they will become afraid to say they are Russian because of the backlash from the war. However, says they have not faced any problems yet.
Events open to everyone
Miss Ostapchuka is hosting a karaoke night at the Victoria Bar in Torry on Saturday night where there is a Russian kitchen. Guests will be able to enjoy some traditional Russian dishes.
She is also hosting an event to celebrate International Women’s Day at the new Resident X in Marischal Square on March 11.
The MC says the event is open to everyone, including English speakers.
She said: “I’m not doing this to provoke anyone, I just want to be friends. If anyone wants to come to my events, they can. They are open to everyone.”
Conversation