The image of the military of the Russian occupation army among the residents of the city of Kherson through the prism of oral history

Abstract

The article is dedicated to highlighting the image of the military of the Russian occupation army that was formed among the residents of the city of Kherson during the 2022 occupation period. The methodological basis of the research became oral history. This made it possible to focus on the life stories of narrators with different experiences and levels of life stability. What was experienced by the residents of the temporarily occupied city turned out to be an unexpected event for everyone and had an impact on their further lives. The authors relied on fresh memories, as their advantage lies in the important potential for reconstructing events, the image of the occupiers, and studying the experience. By recording the narratives of witnesses of contemporary events, we are dealing with factual and documentarily valuable interviews, which constitute the source base and will not be preserved in archives, while simultaneously providing researchers with answers to atypical questions. The article reveals the image of the Russian occupation army's military in many dimensions: the rules of life that the Russian military introduced in the occupied city; how local residents went through checks at checkpoints; observations of the military, how they behaved with civilians; how communication with the occupiers took place, with what difficulties they had to face during departure; how the Russian military conducted searches, detentions, arrests, and interrogations; how they abused civilians, keeping them in basements. The plots that the authors focus on could not be captured by photo and video cameras, and therefore the only way to learn about them is through documented interviews with eyewitnesses of these events. In the conclusions, it is emphasized that the Russian occupiers were remembered by local residents as wild, uncivilized tribes from the east, who were aggressive towards the peaceful civilian population. They tried with all their might to build a "russkiy mir" in Kherson and to show in their media that Kherson residents were happy with this situation. However, this was completely contrary to reality, as the population of Kherson was extremely negative about this alien element that destroyed the city's natural development. The image of the occupiers was exceptionally negative, as they destroyed the existing communication systems and infrastructure, mocked the civilian population, shot at and dispersed peaceful protest rallies, and banned freedom of speech, etc. The unique experience of the struggle of the self-organized civilian population is highlighted, as it conveys the essence of the resistance to Russian military aggression. In general, the article reveals numerous details of people's unique experiences under occupation: the atmosphere of occupation, the crimes of Russian troops, the torture of the civilian population, and the defense of their rights and freedoms by the Kherson residents, including the right to a Ukrainian future.