A well-known vlogger wanted to find out the opinion of Russians about Romanians and Moldovans, and for that he talked on the street, in Moscow, with several people. In some cases, the Russians also said interesting things.
Vlogger Ilie Rădeanu. PHOTO: print screen
Iie and his wife, Olesa, together with their daughters, Emilia and Sabrina, are the “Planeta Rădeanu” team on YouTube, vlogging enthusiasts. Last time, they were in Russia, in Moscow, where they made a clip that gathered more than 30,000 views in less than 24 hours.
In the first minutes, he entered Moldova street in Moscow. Here he saw two elderly women, one feeding the cats and the other at the window, talking to each other.
“Without Putin we would be nobody”
“Tell me, please, is this Moldavskaya Street?”, the vlogger asked, to capture the attention of the women. “I wanted to ask you what you know about Moldova and Moldovans? Maybe you were in Moldova?”he began, but the women denied it. “I know that Moldovans worked in sanitation. They worked well and with great care. I can’t say anything bad about them, they worked very well and cleanly”, said one of them, while the other interrupted her and asked: “Why is Moldova against Russia now?”
“Maybe the Romanians are against it”he parried. “I’m not talking about ordinary people, I’m talking about the president, about that woman”said the Russian, referring to Maia Sandu.
“The president is not Moldova. That Putin is not Russia either“, defended the vlogger. “Without Putin we would be nobody…”contradicted the woman.
“I asked people on the streets of Moscow what they know about Romanians and Romania. And very strange that Muscovites, Russians in general, know very little about Romanians. How do you think, why, that only Romania was part of the circle of socialist countries?”he also said.
“We got along and lived well with Romanians and Hungarians”
One of the women answered. “You know what I mean, in the days of the Soviet Union, we were all united as one fist. We did not differentiate between nationalities, everything was fine. And with the Romanians, and with the Hungarians, we all lived well. What is happening now is not our fault, the common people. We humans live well among ourselves. We are not interested in other people’s politics against us. We don’t take that into account”the woman answered. Later, she remembered the Moldavian actors Mihail Volintir and Svetlana Toma, famous in the former USSR.
Another woman entered the discussion, who introduced herself as Liudmila Petrovna, and who came with wishes for Moldovans and Romanians.
A few minutes later, another elderly woman remembered the Moldovans. “I want to say that they are very hardworking, once a Moldovan woman cleaned our block. No one did better than her”, were his first words. She also said that her husband and son were in the Republic of Moldova and that the people there were very friendly. “You know something about Romania?”, Ilia insisted.
“There are a lot of gypsies there”
“It’s just that there are a lot of gypsies there. I can also add that during the socialist period, they did a lot for the people. Now I don’t know what it’s like there. I also know that an acquaintance of mine married a Romanian and they immediately got an apartment. In Romania, in Budapest it seems to me”. “Bucharest,” the vlogger corrected her. “Yes, Bucharest. It was in the old days, it was in the time of the USSR and she was happy, they lived very well there. I wish them that we can be friends like in the old days and that we will all be well. Let them be satisfied, healthy, of course, and have healthy products, without palm oil”concluded the 77-year-old woman.
“They educated the youth to be against Russia”
A little later, two teenage girls dodged and refused to answer questions. Another elderly woman did, who criticized the situation in the Republic of Moldova. “What is happening in your country now is madness. They educated the youth to be against Russia. Your West will eat you, enmity you all the time against Russia until you fight like puppies. We lived very well, you came to us, we went to yours,” said the woman. “Have you been to Moldova?”, was the next question. “Yes. Of course, 3-4 day trips from the workplace were organized. There was no such thing as saying with contempt that this one is Georgian, the other is Uzbek and the other Russian. We all lived in friendship and it was considered very ugly if you contemptuously said you are Moldovan or you are Russian. I know your singer Maria Codreanu. And the opera singer Maria Bieșu“, she also said.
Asked why Russians do not know much about Romanians, the woman criticized the youth in Russia, but assured her that the older ones know a lot about Romania and Romanians.
“We know a lot. The youth know nothing because they are not intelligent, but we who lived in the USSR know a lot. (Romania) was a socialist country from the Soviet camp, we lived well, we had good relations. Russia has never attacked anyone. This is what I would say to you there, that Russia is not an aggressor. Cheers and drive your Sandu to hell. For the holidays, I wish you peace and enlightenment in mind, no quarrels and do not consider others as enemies. But let’s send Americans and Westerners to hell”she also said before leaving.
Arriving at an important metro station, with three stations above, the work of the Russian architect Alexei Șciusev from Moldova, the vlogger approached a young Russian.
“I know that your fruits are very tasty. I have an acquaintance from Moldova, a friend. I’m not a wine drinker, but they say Moldovan wine is good”said the young man.
And also the wine from Moldova was remembered by an older man, who wanted to convey a short message for Romanians and Moldovans.
“Moldovans are a people who know how to make good wine. I have not been there and have no relatives there. Peace and friendship for all”, he added.
“You’re scaring yourself in Ukraine”
Later, he approached another young man who was less voluble, but who finally remembered the singer Dan Bălan, whom he said was Romanian, and the vlogger kept correcting him by telling him that he was Moldovan. At the end, he confessed that he had been in Italy for years, but that he preferred to return to Russia:
“I stayed in Italy for 13 years and my relatives, brothers and parents are still there. So that you understand, there in the West life is not bad, it is interesting, it is beautiful, but I like it here, it is better, it is simpler. In general, it’s better here, it’s more boring there. And my brother wants to go back, he doesn’t like it.”
Arriving at a train station, he approached a Russian whom he did not know had fought in Ukraine. Their discussion was quite interesting.
“Moldovans are simple people, just like us. I once worked with Moldovans here in Moscow. They were workers, responsible. I am after the special operation, I was wounded, now I work at the Ministry of Defense, we are building hospitals. Although I also have medals, I am not ashamed to work,” the man began. Asked how it was in Ukraine, he answered. That’s a whole other story. How can it be there? You pretend to be afraid… Of course it’s hard, in war it’s always hard”, said the former Russian serviceman.
“How do Ukrainians fight, are they good fighters?”, the vlogger wanted to know.
“Our Slavic-Ukrainian brothers can fight well, but the others are only of form, they cannot fight. They are little cats, the French and the Poles. Instead, the Ukrainians are fighting to the last bullet. In a word, they are Slavs, they are our Slavic brothers”he said.
Asked about Romania, the Russian burst out laughing. “About Romania, what can I say… Now I’m telling you as a joke. Do you know what I know about Romania? Anyone you ask will tell you that Count Dracula lived there and that’s it”the Russian veteran had fun.
“USSR was the best country, we were all united”
From here, the vlogger arrived at the church of the Icon of the Mother of God, built between 1722 and 760, erected by the order of ruler Dimitrie Cantemir. Here he spoke to an elderly woman, who told him how Prince Cantemir allied with Peter the Great against the Turks, and the Tsar rewarded him with a domain in Moscow. The woman also remembered that several Moldovans work in the area. “Here we also have Moldovan workers, Sirioa, Jenea and his wife. Simple people have always been friendly and benevolent, regardless of nationality. Those at the top make distinctions. We, simple people, have esteem and respect for others”said the woman.
Other women from the church intervened in the discussion: “We know they have tasty wine”, said one of them, and the other commented that: “It was a Soviet Union country only, unfortunately, it was.”
Soon a Moldovan also appeared. “URSS was the best country, we were all united together, good friends, there were no borders, now they have separated us, isolated us through different countries. People are good, it’s just that the people at the top can’t get everything right. Maia Sandu does not pay attention to the peoplehe said.
