Friction occasionally occurred elsewhere in Europe. At the beginning of the war, Germany recorded increased attacks on Ukraine and Russia.
But in Montenegro, little of that has happened so far.
There is a feeling of tolerance here, and Pristaniste and its volunteers have played a role in promoting this.
Sasha Borkov distinguishes between the Russians he met in Budva and those participating in the war in Ukraine.
“People here are trying to help. They are not doing anything against my country, against us, against my children. Unlike those who shoot and destroy our homes and say they are liberating us.”
Friendships grew between volunteers, residents and residents, and a Russian-Ukrainian couple who lived in Pristaniste recently got married.
Empathy is a key factor. When Kiev-based journalist Olha Musafirova gave a lecture in Ukrainian about her work in Budva recently, Russians in the audience cried, horrified by their country’s actions.
For Ukrainian actress Katarina Cincillo, the Russian diaspora can be diverse and the Montenegrin diaspora is “sensitive”.
“I think it’s a bit of a different community because the people who live here are intellectuals, educated people who can’t live without art,” she says.
Joint Russian-Ukrainian projects are rare.
However, Sinchillo, along with her husband and fellow actor Viktor Koshel, established a theater here, using actors from all over the former Soviet Union.
She said many people attended their plays. “The progressive Russian people who are helping Ukraine do so with interest and pleasure.”
Koshel says the environment here is perfect for such contact. “The countryside here is heavenly. It takes you away from the urbanism, the gloom, the gloom, the political propaganda, etc. When you go to the sea, it all disappears.”
