Russian history buffs barred from cultural events
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The war in Ukraine shook up French associations devoted to the reproduction of Tsarist and Soviet troops. If one of them was able to go this weekend to Meaux, where nearly 300 re-enactors met, several meetings have preferred, in recent months, to keep them away.
This weekend, the Meaux Great War Museum welcomed some 300 enthusiasts who came to reconstitute, in uniform, the multitude of troops engaged in the conflict. The hairy abounded, naturally, alongside American, German, Belgian, Irish, Australian and Russian soldiers. The good behavior of the latter was ensured by the French association Na Zapad, which for several years has taken its marks at the Meldoise event. But their presence was not self-evident. Not since February 24.
The start of Russian invasion in Ukraine caused unease within the community re-enactors, those history buffs who reproduce old outfits and take part in various events every year and commemorations. With the war, several appointments preferred to get rid of the arrival of troops dressed in the colors of the red army or of the russian empire. This is the case of the Festival des Heures Historiques in Sully-sur-Loire, which brings together nearly 3,000 enthusiasts each year. Despite its long-standing collaboration with Na Zapad, the association has been designated persona non grata at the end of March, a few weeks before the 2022 edition of the meeting.
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Joined by Le Figarothe municipality of Sully-sur-Loire assumes. “It seemed inappropriate to us to parade Russian troops, even only reconstituted ones, when the town hosts several families of Ukrainian refugees”, we commented on the side of the town hall. An explanation that Fabrice Oulevey, founder of the Na Zapad association, hardly digests. “It is an affront, an amalgam. We had been guests for at least ten years, we were almost part of the furniture!“, laments this enthusiast who has devoted himself for more than thirty years to the world of historical reconstruction. “The vast majority of members of the association are French, adds the veteran re-enactor. We even have a native Ukrainian of Donbassamong us”.
Feeling of exclusion
In the wake of Sully-sur-Loire, the air show Meaux Airshow also canceled the arrival, in July, of a collective of Russian associations. And this, while the 2022 theme focused on the Normandy-Niemen squadron. This unit, made up of French pilots who fought alongside Soviet troops between 1942 and 1945, celebrated its 80e anniversary. The perfect opportunity to bring together, alongside other old planes, a handful of Yak fighters decked out in the tricolor stripe and the red star.
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The show amazed 30,000 spectators gathered on Meaux-Esbly aerodrome. In the absence of troops on the ground, they kept their eyes glued to the sky. The decision to cancel the visit of the re-enactors of Na Zapad and other groups specializing in Russian reproduction, had been taken at the level of the department of Seine-et-Marne, in order to prevent a possible scandal. The organizers feared the “reaction from certain audiences”according to the words transmitted at the end of April to the association.
A few points may actually strike an uninformed audience. If the uniforms have changed, a few Russian military insignia have remained more or less the same between the first half of the XXe century and today, like the colors of the Georgian ribbon. The Imperial Russian flag in use during the First World War takes up the current bands, flanked by the double-headed eagle of the tsars. Finally, the very name of the association Na Zapad (“Towards the west”, in Russian) can also resonate in a more fatal way since the use of the acronym Z used by part of the Russian troops in Ukraine, and reappropriated by the population supporting “special military operation” .
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When the group was founded more than ten years ago, Fabrice Oulevey was far from imagining that the name – a nod to a Soviet propaganda poster of the Second World War – going to be tinged with such a connoted meaning. The opprobrium nevertheless spread, affecting the other French associations specializing in Russian armies of the XXe century, i.e. half a dozen structures bringing together around fifty people.
“We did not hesitate for a moment»
At the start of the war, the re-enactors had nevertheless nurtured the hope of quickly clearing things up. “We are history buffs, engaged in a hobby where we strive to bring the horror and madness of war to the public during re-enactment events”recalled Na Zapad on Facebook, on February 28 – four days after the start of the invasion -, emphasizing the nature “non-political” from the Association. Because of his “level of authenticity” and sound “teaching commitment”the group was awarded the living military history label in 2017 by the Defense Historical Service.
Read alsoIn Meaux, these enthusiasts who replay the Great War
Despite the hiccups of spring and early summer, the association was nevertheless able to pitch its bivouac in the grounds of the Great War Museum. The group of friends presented there Saturday and Sunday outfits and reconstituted equipment of the Russian brigades, the expeditionary force sent by Nicholas II support the Western Front. “We did not hesitate for a moment to invite them backexplains Audrey Chaix, who has just taken over the management of the museum at the beginning of September.. The spirit of our institution is to explain the past to better understand the present. And we have always been very satisfied with the professionalism of this association with which we have worked for a long time».
“Na Zapad has been a regular at the museum for many years. They were invited in the same way as the other associations, without this being a subject.also clarified on Sunday at the Figaro the office of Jean-Francois Copepresident of the urban community of the Pays de Meaux on which the museum depends. “To hide the presence of Russian troops and their participation in the conflict would be contrary to the mission of the museum”, we finally added, recalling that the row of flags in front of the establishment had been flying the colors of Ukraine since February. At least, until the usual banners return to their place at the beginning of the month, for the reenactment weekend. According to the organizers, the 2022 edition of the Meldois meeting attracted nearly 5,800 visitors.
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