Marbella’s Casa Rusia vandalised with swastikas and the 'Z' symbol used by Russian troops invading Ukraine

Casa Rusia, the centre for Russian people in Marbella, was vandalised on Sunday with graffiti appearing on its façade showing swastikas and the letter "s" of the word ‘Rusia’ had been replaced by the characteristic Nazi symbol. The vandals had also drawn a number of 'Z's, the letter currently used to identify Russian troops involved in the invasion of Ukraine.

The Costa del Sol’s Russian associations have not wanted to make any statements. However, at the beginning of March, Irina Chistyakova, from the Union of Russian Compatriots' Organisations in Spain and Andorra, expressed her concern about the threats that some Russian citizens were receiving as a result of the war and said that they were afraid of the growing animosity towards the Russian people on the streets and in particular what could happen to the children, many of whom are children of mixed Russian-Ukrainian families.

The organisation reported its concerns to the media. It also sent a letter asking for the collaboration of the educational community to minimise the impact of the situation among the children and to maintain a climate of peace and tolerance in the classrooms. In the letter, teachers were urged to explain to pupils that "hatred, violence and intolerance leads nowhere and destroys coexistence."

Russians living in Marbella, including Veronika Ulkina, a businesswoman, member of the organisation and promoter of shows by the Russian Ballet School, based in Casa Rusia, have spoken out about the vandalism. Ulkina said, “It is a pity because this way problems are never solved, they can only cause more problems for the people who live here."

Although Ulkina played down the graffiti on Casa Rusia, she showed concern about the situation in Marbella. "I don't see bad relations between Russians and Ukrainians. I know many Ukrainians in Marbella and I don't have any problems with them. Each side understands what is going on and that we are not to blame for this situation," she said, adding, "Also many Russians are helping with the collection of food, clothes and basic necessities for the Ukrainians who are arriving.”

"What happened in Casa Rusia is vandalism. I don't think it's serious. It is young people trying to show that they have power. It's ugly, but I don't think it's dangerous. It's something that can happen in any situation like this with other nationalities," Ulkina said, pointing out that similar things happened with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. She also pointed out that "people go to embassies, protest and paint graffiti. These are inevitable things that I don't want to give too much importance to. I don't like it, and of course, people who have business in Casa Rusia suffer."

At the Russian Ballet School, which is based in the vandalised building, there are fifty students of different nationalities. "Girls who enjoy their passion and live together in harmony," says Ulkina. "In fact, most of them are not Russian now. There are Spaniards, English, Ukrainians, Russians, French and Italians."

Unfortunately, "you can't talk about normality and of course we are all going to lose out. Although we don't notice it right now, we will in a short time, in just a few months," warned Ulkina, who is worried about the future of her children who live in Russia. "The world is small and fragile and it is not at all clear to us what is going to happen," she said.

"It is so easy to destroy everything and so difficult to do anything good. It is important that no one makes brutal decisions. One president has already made a decision," she said, alluding to, but not directly mentioning Russian President Vladimir Putin. "I would not like others to follow the same path," she insisted, pointing out that there are consequences in the world of culture and sport. "It's easy to break up, but try to put it back together again," Ulkina concluded.