BLITZ INTERVIEW: Julia Gorodetskaya - journalist, volunteer, fundraiser and candlemaker - 'I knew that Odesa would never give up'

Julia emigrated to the U.S. 10 years ago, but spends half her time in Ukraine volunteering, fundraising and selling candles - of Vladimir Putin.

Where are you from in Ukraine? Education? Background?

I was born and raised in Ukraine, in Odesa, and now I live in New York. By profession, I am a historian, having graduated from Odesa National University, but I never worked a day as a historian. At the age of 22, I came to television and became a local news reporter. After that, I became an editor, then the editor-in-chief. Until 2010, I worked on TV.

In 2010, by coincidence, I became a PR specialist for various cultural events, organizing tours of different musical and theatrical stars. Ten years ago, I moved to New York, where I worked as a housewife. I had no right to a work visa, so I had to stay home and not work. I got into cooking, learned how to make soap, learned how to make candles, and learned how to bake cakes. Later, I worked for several years as a press secretary for the Odessa Classics Music Festival. 

How has the war changed your life, changed you personally?

When the war began, I started volunteering. I knew the war would start in February 2022, so I came to Odesa at the beginning of that February and was able to stay here for six months because I live in America on a green card, and, accordingly, I can only stay in Ukraine for less than half the year. So, since then, I have been spending five and a half months in Odesa and six and a half months in New York every year.

I have various achievements, I would say: I have monitored elections and managed Twitter and election broadcasts when Twitter first appeared. I specialized in social media and taught people how to work with them. And I was the first person to send a message on Twitter from underwater!, hehe - this is a little-known fact that I am very proud of, even though it is strange.

When the Maidan started in 2014, I was a news editor. At some point, the news department of our TV channel was shut down, and instead, I became a volunteer. I translated everything that people involved in the resistance movement were writing at the time. The war started back in 2014, and that’s when children from Luhansk and Donetsk began to come to Odesa, and a group of girls who later formed a charitable organization appealed to the entire city, asking for help. I remember knitting many hats and socks because the children came without clothes.

However, large-scale volunteering began in February 2022 when it suddenly turned out that my friends who play in the Navy Orchestra would have to defend Odesa. I was very scared then because all these 50 people are very good musicians. They are, of course, military musicians, but none of them are real soldiers, and they do not have the training to defend the city, shoot, and save with weapons. It was scary. When I was told that we needed to find 50 bulletproof vests, I announced a collection and was able to gather the money. We then managed to find first aid kits and various other medical supplies and communication tools because, of course, Ukraine was not ready for a full-scale invasion.

I think volunteering saved me from despair and fear because I didn't have time to sit and be afraid of the Russian bombings. I had to look for money to provide the guys with everything they needed, so I did what I could. Among other things, because I was the press secretary of the classical music festival, I wrote to various artists and asked them to play concerts and give us the money. Some even did so. Some people who came to Odesa to play didn't even respond to my messages. That was very sad. These were world stars who claimed to love Odesa, and when real help was needed, they preferred not to help. On the other hand, we now know exactly who our friends are. Did this change me personally? Probably yes and no. Yes, I became more nervous. I have clinical depression and all that. It’s pretty difficult for me to exist in the peaceful mode of New York. Unfortunately, when I return, I worry a lot about being unable to be in Ukraine. In Ukraine, I do a lot and try to help everyone I can.

Tell me about your Putin candle project, please

Last year, when Odesa was heavily bombed, I lived in the very center of the city, and every day of the bombing, which lasted a whole week, I did a flash mob called “Хуй вам, а не Одесса,” non-literally translated it means something “Fuck off from Odesa.” This flash mob was very popular; I recorded videos that were translated into different languages. I had about 15 minutes of fame on Twitter when people said I resembled the old lady with sunflower seeds who offered them to Russian occupiers, saying they would grow when the Russians were killed. This year, when I first arrived, three ballistic missiles were flying toward Odesa in the first week. On the one hand, it was very frightening. On the other hand, I felt I no longer had the right to do the flash mob because I don’t live in Odesa all the time; I had just arrived.

But I was looking for a way to express my feelings, relieve nervous tension, and help the army simultaneously. That’s when I thought maybe I could make candles with the image of what people say is Putin. His popular nickname is Хуйло (‘dickhead’), a nickname given to him by football fans back in 2014. Since then, it has stuck. So, I bought a mold that someone made by hand and sold it on a craft site. It was a mold for a small sculpture. But I knew how to make candles, so I repurposed them for candles and started selling them to raise money. Not a lot of money, but enough to repair a vehicle for the Kherson army. These candles have been bought as gifts and sent to the US, Greece, Israel, and Germany. So, these candles have an international story. I plan to continue. I have ideas for new candles. I already made a poop with Putin’s head and have a few other ideas I think will be popular and will help me raise money for the army. 100% of the money I receive for these candles supports the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

You can order these candles by contacting Julia via Facebook.

What has surprised you most about Ukrainians these past couple of years?

Honestly, nothing has surprised me about Ukrainians. I knew we would unite. I saw two Ukrainian revolutions in 2004 and 2014 when it was clear that common misfortune united people and they could do impossible things. Therefore, I knew we would not just give up our land. Some people probably wanted the Russians to come; they watched propaganda shows and were speaking the words of propagandists so that Odesa would not be bombed. They insisted that we should surrender. I knew for sure that we would not give up. I knew that I, my friends, and others would defend our land to the last. We don’t want any disgusting invaders here. So, I knew.

What are your plans?

Honestly, I think about returning to Ukraine. I will soon be able to get American citizenship and come to Ukraine not for half a year but for the whole time. Now, unfortunately, Ukraine has lost many of its best people because this war has taken so many lives. There is now a shortage of personnel in all areas of work. So, I want to return to Ukraine and help rebuild the country after the victory. I believe that Ukraine will defeat this global evil. I think that the Russians will lose. Historically, they are doomed because they are waging an aggressive war against a state that does not agree to compromises. Therefore, our people are not slaves, but theirs are.

How do you see the war ending and Ukraine returning to a ‘normal life’?

 We cannot return to normal life immediately after the war ends. I think that, unfortunately, many veterans and disabled people will return with post-traumatic stress disorder and that all our people will need help. I remember that when I first came to New York after the start of the full-scale invasion, I walked around Times Square looking for where the shelter was. I also thought the children walking there had no hands and feet, just like Ukrainian children now don’t have hands and feet. Unfortunately, this disaster has affected Ukrainian society, and we are only beginning to realize it. I know that women's health has deteriorated due to lack of sleep, because of nightly bombings, because it is cold, because there is not enough light, and because there is a lack of essential resources. Our health has deteriorated significantly, both physical and mental health. Unfortunately, I think we won’t have normalcy for several generations. But I hope that when veterans return from the front, we can defeat corruption, for example, because they will not agree to the compromises that civil society often, unfortunately, still agrees to and turns a blind eye to for the sake of some greater goal. I hope our children will value the peace that comes more because we were all the grandchildren of those who fought in World War II, and our grandparents always said, “just no war.” And this was a saying, but no one took it seriously. Now, it is clear that we must do everything to avoid war, and I hope we succeed.

Tell us one thing you don’t think people abroad know about Ukraine – but they really should?

People should understand that Ukraine is a country of very educated people capable of achieving the impossible in a short time. Our people are very hardworking. They can invent a bicycle and make drones from plywood if necessary.

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