Of:
Ola Palmström
Published: Today 00.11
Updated: Today 08.27
NEWS
She has become a Russian propaganda symbol for the invasion of Ukraine.
But behind the famous pictures of the so-called "Babushka Z", whose real name is Anna Ivanovna, hides another reality.
- I'm not happy that they made me famous, she says. The pictures of Anna Ivanovna have been spread all over Russia, from Moscow to Siberia.
She has been seen on murals, postcards and posters.
- I do not think they should glorify me. I'm just a peasant woman. I do not understand why I have become a celebrity, she tells the BBC.
But how did a 69-year-old woman from a small village near Kharkiv become a Russian propaganda symbol?
Video was spread online
It was a viral video that started the course of events. In the video, Anna Ivanovna walks towards two Ukrainian soldiers waving the red flag of the Soviet Union, adorned with a hammer and sickle.
The soldiers, in turn, say they came to help and offer her food. Then they take the flag and stamp it.
The pictures from the video that started it all.
Then Anna Ivanovna responds by giving back the food and exclaiming "my parents died for that flag in World War II".
The images began to spread online and the Kremlin was not late in taking advantage of the clear symbolism.
Russia has met with strong opposition from citizens in virtually all parts of Ukraine. Here they got the chance to show a Ukrainian woman who exalts the Soviet Union and sees Russian soldiers as liberators.
She was nicknamed "Babushka Z", the word for grandma / grandmother in Russia combined with a Z, a symbol that was used extensively by Russian forces during the war.
Russia has used the symbolism in the images in its propaganda.
"Made a mistake"
However, the glorified image of Anna Ivanovna does not seem to really connect with reality.
In fact, it is a misunderstanding, according to the main character.
She tells the BBC that she is not behind the war.
- How can I support the death of my people? My grandchildren and great-grandchildren were forced to flee to Poland. We live in fear and terror, she says.
And she has a clear message for the Russian president.
- If I could talk to Vladimir Putin, I would say that you have made a mistake. We Ukrainian workers, what have we done to deserve this? We are the ones who suffer the most.
Thought they were Russians
The hometown of Velyka Danylivka has been demolished by Russian bombs and Anna Ivanovna's home is no exception. The windows are broken, the roof has been damaged and there are shrapnel on the lawn, writes BBC.
- They do not care about the people of Ukraine, they only care about conquering our country, she says.
Vladimir Putin. Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev / AP
She believed that the two soldiers who offered food in the video were Russian.
- I was just happy that the Russians would come and not fight us. I was happy that we would agree again, she says.
The Soviet flag stands “for love and joy in every family, in every city, in every republic. Not for bloodshed, "says Ivanovna.
"Like a traitor"
Now the celebrity has become a burden for her. She has been ostracized by the inhabitants of the small village because they perceive her as pro-Russian.
- I'm not happy that they made me famous. Because in Ukraine they see me as a traitor, she says.
Ukraine's Minister of Culture Dmytro Galko is also critical of the Russian propaganda machinery.
- They do not care about the truth. They do not care about real people. They are not interested in who Anna is, or in her fate. They would take her, mummify her and put her in a mausoleum if they could, he says according to the BBC.
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