July 04, 2024

The Roof Will Be Yellow and Blue Again


The Roof Will Be Yellow and Blue Again
Road in Reshetikha, the town where Alexander Gorelov lives. Евгений Катышев, Wikimedia Commons.

In a rural town near Nizhny Novgorod, Alexander Gorelov made himself known by painting "No to War" on his car and then his roof in the Ukrainian Flag colors. OVD-Info interviewed Gorelov on police persecution he faced, including a terrorism charge.

Gorelov has lived his entire life in the village of Reshetikha. He worked as a furniture assembler and now renovates apartments. He defined himself as a former "vatnik," a pejorative word used for supporters of the Russian government. Gorelov told OVD-Info, "I even supported raising the retirement age, like a fool." But his political views shifted after encountering the legal system in 2019.

Gorelov was fed up with seeing cars, including police vehicles, parked on the sidewalk. He walked into the Reshetikha police station asking for a solution to the problem. The policeman on duty began arguing with him, so the apartment renovator began recording the altercation. In response, the policeman shouted, "You are a blogger, that is forbidden here." Gorelov won his battle and the cars were removed, but his war with the legal system had just begun.

Three days later, Gorelov returned to the police station to complete paperwork on his complaint. The policeman he had argued with recognized him and charged him with disobedience. Gorelov was forced to spend the night in a bedbug-infested cell and pay a thousand rubles (less than $12) in fines. He told OVD-Info, "I was just trying to change my village for the better, but faced with indifference and aggression." After the incident, he started following opposition politicians.

When Russia's War on Ukraine began, Gorelov joined anti-war protests. He spraypainted "No to War" on his car and later added an image of the Russian president with crossed bones with  "Putin is a Killer" written under it. Gorelov drove the anti-war-mobile to the main square and stood beside it for half an hour. After returning from buying some bread, he saw eight to ten policemen surrounding the vehicle. His car was confiscated and he was charged with defamation for writing "No to War." According to Gorelov, the policemen considered the "Putin is a killer" to be a legal statement. When he came to pick up the car a month later, he was again forced to spend a night in jail and fined for "organizing a rally."

In the spring of 2022, Gorelov bought blue and yellow paint and turned the roof of his home into the flag of Ukraine. He first painted the roof blue and then added the yellow, allowing the painting to go undetected for months. When a policeman asked him about it, Gorelov told him, "I wanted it and I painted it."

In August 2023, police carried out a search warrant on Gorelov's home. In December 2022, the Reshetikha administration received an email that there were bombs in the town. In July 2023, the police chief told the Ministry of Internal Affairs that Gorelov was involved. No bombs were found in the search, but the "terrorism suspect" was taken to the police station. When he left, strangers broke into his home and repainted his roof.

During the interrogation, the police chief asked Gorelov, "Why are you doing this? Our soldiers are dying there, after all, there are Nazis there." The furniture assembler responded that he had been to Ukraine and had not seen any Nazis there. Gorelov added that his grandparents, who survived the Second World War, "always told me that war is just hunger and death."

Gorelov's friends told him to emigrate. But he refuses to leave the town where his father is buried and says, "If everyone leaves, who will stay here?" Despite being persecuted, Gorelov feels proud of how he "offended all the bosses." He said, "I have no high position, title, or authority, in fact, I'm just a spikelet in the field." The Reshetikha native told OVD-Info, "I will definitely repaint the roof. First yellow, and then we'll see."

You Might Also Like

Make Fairy Tales, not War
  • June 05, 2024

Make Fairy Tales, not War

Russian authorities are spending more on the production of fantasy films than on war films, according to a recent study.
A Photographer's Empathy
  • February 23, 2024

A Photographer's Empathy

Documentary photographer Dmitry Markov, renowned for his heartfelt portrayal of authentic Russia, has passed away.
A QR Crackdown
  • December 14, 2023

A QR Crackdown

Moscow bans QR codes on billboards in response to the Russian political opposition.
One Country, Two Wars
  • September 16, 2023

One Country, Two Wars

The Kremlin is currently conducting not one, but two horrific wars.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

Frogs Who Begged...
November 01, 2010

Frogs Who Begged...

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
May 01, 2013

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

Fish
February 01, 2010

Fish

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.

At the Circus
January 01, 2013

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955