"I thought: who, if not me?"

21-year-old Hera Ugryumova decided to fight for the rights of Russians and now attacks European banks, airlines and bureaucrats with letters. Does it work?

21-year-old Hera Ugryumova fights against the discrimination of Russians abroad: sends requests to European banks that refuse Russian citizens to open accounts, communicate with central banks, and also collects a list of other problems that Russians are faced with exile. Some believe that she does exactly the work that the Russian opposition should deal with. The "cold" talked with the hero about how she accidentally became an ambassador of Russians and what problems she was trying to solve right now. The documents confirming the history are at the disposal of the editorial office.

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In 2022, I studied in the third year of the Faculty of Journalism of the Russian University of Friendship of Peoples. But after the outbreak of war, when it was impossible to fully engage in independent journalism in Russia, I emigrated from the university. Together with a friend, we received tourist visas to Italy, and already filed applications for political asylum on the spot.

This is an exhausting long process: in May 2022, I submitted documents and my passport was taken to verify. Six months after the application, I was sent to the commission, and only at the end of May 2023 I was able to get a permanent residence permit.

Immediately after moving, I tried to help Ukrainian refugees: volunteer, explained how the Italian bureaucracy was arranged, and helped to look for housing. And at the same time she lived in Shelter.

All this year I did not manage to make an ID card because no one wanted to prescribe me. Without ID in Italy, I could not open an account with a bank, I could not be legalized for official work in the country. According to the law, the ID-card is not needed, but in practice all institutions want to see it, not a residence permit. My friend and I had about four thousand euros for two. When the money began to end, and the apartment was never found, we settled in Shelter. Soon he closed due to insufficient funding-he had to move to another. But it was impossible to live in it with the dog that I brought with me from Russia. I had to look for sorters and constantly pay for overexposure.

More recently, I still managed to make a residence perfection-this is a kind of residence permit of the homeless, after which it was possible to issue an ID card and a bank account. All this took a year and a half - a year and a half, which was, to put it mildly, inconvenient to live.

The Russians constantly require that we are engaged in the overthrow of Putin and some useful activity, but it is difficult when you spend so much time and effort on your legalization in Europe.

In mid -September, I saw the news that Russians could no longer import cars and personal items into the European Union. This caused a lot of discussions on Twitter and misunderstanding whether laptops, shampoos and clothes will now be taken on the border. I then read the perplexing comments on Twitter and was surprised that no one could figure it out yet whether it was or not. Then I decided to ask these questions directly to the European Commission.

"Everyone must fight for those rights that excite him"

The news dispersed on the weekend. I googled the phone number of the European Commission press and called him right on Sunday. He introduced herself as an independent journalist and asked for a comment. He answered, but very chaotic: he said that he did not adopt any new laws of the EU. I wrote about this a tweet that was encouraged.

Then I realized that few people are engaged in protecting the interests of Russians in exile, when they are discriminated in rights simply due to the presence of a Russian passport. For a year and a half, I myself have accumulated dissatisfaction due to the fact that so much time and effort is spent on the implementation of some seemingly simple procedures. Then I thought: who, if not me? I think that everyone should fight for those rights that excite him. Or at least should support those who are fighting for them. So why don't I do something like that myself?

I collected the complaints of Russians about various problems that they are faced with exile, and first of all I decided to try to figure out the fact that many foreign banks refuse to open accounts for people with a Russian passport.

I collected a list of banks that refused to Russians, and began to send letters to them. I seemed to be an independent journalist, reported that I knew about problems with the opening of accounts, reminded that there was no such ban on the current sanctions against Russia, and asked to comment on how much the banks are engaged in this? Pretty soon it became clear that it was pointless to contact the banks: they answered, but sent the unsubscribes - no links to laws, no documents, just dust in the eyes. Then I decided to write to the Central Bank of European countries that regulate the activities of banks and can affect them.

My friend and I sent 24 letters to the Central Bank of different countries (in addition to the EU, we wrote to the Central Bank of Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Turkey). In total, there are 120 banks on our list that refused the Russians to open an account. The answers come from the central banks that the discrimination of people at the place of birth is unacceptable , they promise to conduct additional checks and send explanations within their countries that this is unacceptable and there are no restrictions on the opening of accounts for Russians (the editorial screenshots are at the disposal of the editorial office. - Note “cold” ).

"I do not want to say that I work for someone"

Only a week later, there were so many responses to talk about my problems abroad that it was already difficult to cope with them manually. Then some developer from Twitter, with whom I am not familiar with personally, volunteered and made a bot. And the last few days we have accepted applications with its help: during this time, about 90 responses have come. People talk about the fact that they are refused to rent apartments and cars because of the Russian passport, do not issue medical insurance and residence permit and much more.

For their processing, requests, communication began to leave for 8-10 hours a day. Since mid -September, this is my full work. I wake up, I begin to answer someone and instruct how to do it-and so I work until I fall asleep. Also on the basis of answers from the banks that we receive, we drew up instructions on how to open an account.

I believe that in any country the law should work in accordance with what is written in it. I am trying to achieve this now, sending requests to different European organizations. Now the EU has imposed sanctions against Russia - it turns out that the Russian woman is seeking the implementation of sanctions imposed against Russians. But I want these sanctions to not be overflowed and the institutions should follow the written rules, and not invent their own.

I think that discrimination arises not because of hatred of the Russians, but due to the fact that employees in individual organizations have read news and think that Russians are prohibited. But they themselves did not read carefully, apparently, neither sanctions nor laws. At the same time, if the authorities say such employees that Russians can provide services, open the same bank accounts, they are happy to help.

After requests to the banks, I decided to collect a list of airlines that the Russians have ever refused to land on a flight: now there are 11 and 52 cases when people were not put on the plane. I plan to send them requests in the near future so that they comment on their actions.

Some users on Twitter write: “But who will answer you,” be referring to the fact that I am a big face. I don't understand such comments. You make a request - people who work in these organizations answer. It just works like that, there is nothing supernatural in this.

They began to write about me that I supposedly do the work that opposition politicians should do. I also disagree with this: I am doing what I wanted to do, no one asked me about it. Hate, which can be divided into three categories, comes. The first is Ukrainians or people who introduce them: they write, they say, drive where they came from. The second is when they write that there are no similar problems that I am talking about in Europe. And the third - from the Russians who remain in Russia and write: "You have left, try to arrange a normal life for yourself, and we live here in terrible conditions."

In less than a month, that I am engaged in all this, my blog on Twitter has grown almost seven times. Every day there are a lot of comments, personal messages, requests for help. Politicians, activists and journalists, whom I had read and watched, signed on me. For example, Maxim Katz was recently contacted and offered help, and then they told about me on the channel “lens”. From this I feel some unreality of what is happening.

I have already been invited to participate in the conference of the anti -war committee , which will be held in October. Proposals are received to unite with any of the existing political forces, but I do not plan this yet. Not because I am against joint work, but because I do not want me to tell me that I am working for someone.

I posted on Twitter the numbers of my accounts and asked people who want to help, send money so that I could continue to work. In a couple of days, the amount was gathered for which it will be possible to rent housing and live a couple of months. I hope that this will go on this, that different people will be financially supported by me and my work.