I was involved in scientific research for a long time and taught at a university. All biological species are bisexual, including humans. You can simply interact with someone of the same sex, and it’s not that they evoke sexual desire in you, but you enjoy talking to them. You want to communicate with them. You derive pleasure from it. This is also part of this world. And it’s normal. I have many friends in the LGBTQ+ community. Many of them are still afraid to come out and speak about themselves. In response, I constantly say to them: folks, there is a war in the country. Every day might be your last. And you live in fear. We are not afraid of Russia, but you are afraid to admit your queerness to yourselves, to tell your loved ones, to make a bold gesture, or even to write a post. You don’t need to be afraid. It’s not that scary. Sometimes it becomes absurd and even funny. 

When I created this persona of mine, Aura, I wanted the queen to be the primary focus.

Since I’m already over 30, I tried to portray a woman approaching her Balzacian age (around 40-45). Sophisticated, prosperous, independent, capable of achieving and doing anything on her own. 

There was even a moment when, while a was in character (it was at the club), a coat hanger collapsed, but I have my own tools at my workplace. I grabbed the screwdriver and started tightening those screws. Already in character, wearing the wig, with the hairstyle. Then some wires came down, something happened with the lights. I screwed everything back in place. Even when I’m in character, I still perceive myself as a man. Despite dressing up as a woman, performing, I still remain a man. Physiologically, I am male and I feel that way. And that’s good. Because there are people who intentionally dress up as women because they want to feel like women. That’s already a need for a gender transition.

People often ask me when that moment comes, when Arthur fades away and Aura appears. I say it’s the moment when, at the end of the transformation, I put on the wig. First, I do my makeup, then I dress up, put on accessories, and everything else, and at the very end, when I’m already wearing shoes, I put on the wig. At that moment, it’s just like someone flips a switch, and that’s it. And a completely different person emerges. If in my regular, everyday life I’m more reserved, tolerant, and polite, then when Aura emerges, she can be assertive, even confrontational, and she might make some inappropriate jokes or remarks.

After I publicly shared my creative work on social media, I felt that Aura made me stronger. Aura made me braver; I stopped being afraid. Before, I was afraid to admit  that I go to LGBTQ+ clubs. So now, thanks to her… It’s such a strong feminine side inside me. Women, as they say, are always the driving force; they are more assertive. Strong women inspire me.

I often go to clubs, usually once a week, mostly on Saturdays. And this constant movement, for several hours, just allows me to psychologically relax, recharge for the whole week. Especially now, when there is constant shelling, missiles, problems. You read the news…  And when you’re in the club, you have about 5-6 hours of psychological relief. It’s a kind of therapy in a way. Just to unwind a bit. You realize that there’s a war going on. That’s understandable, especially when there’s an air raid siren. It’s good that our club is located in the basement. And it often happens that during air raids and shelling, people join us downstairs to wait it out, to take shelter, and they’re like, “Oh, what’s this? Where have we ended up?” And there are people, sometimes couples, who just accidentally ended up with us during an air raid. They liked it, and now I often see them at our club. They keep coming back to relax and bring their friends. They like the atmosphere. It’s a place without barriers, even if just for a few hours. 

Psychological relief is necessary. If you constantly live under the burden of war, emotionally you just won’t hold up. You’ll experience breakdowns, disturbances, depressions. You need something to switch to.

We are subordinate to the military administration, ensuring the operation of the city of Kyiv’s air defense forces. In the areas where the military is stationed, we need to assist them with servicing, setting up bunkers, shelters, and other facilities. In the summer, we need to pay more attention to fire defense to prevent any fires, especially during shelling. Downed rockets often fall in wooded areas around Kyiv’s perimeter, igniting forest fires. We go there to extinguish them. We are involved in ensuring the critical infrastructure of the city of Kyiv. And providing direct assistance to the defense forces. Currently, if we talk about Kyiv, it’s about air defense.

What was your service before the war?

Forestry. Since 2012, I’ve been in public service, in a subordinate enterprise of the Kyiv City State Administration, which is engaged in greening the city of Kyiv. We were involved in all of this: forests, parks, squares, green areas, their improvement, and the protection of designated areas. Because Kyiv is surrounded by forests, which need to be protected from illegal logging and fires. And sanitary clearings are necessary to prevent the forest from becoming overgrown; after all, it’s a living organism. When Kyiv was surrounded in 2022, some of the businesses that made coffins stopped operating, as some people had left. Some enterprises involved in wood processing were burned down. There was work to be done. People were dying. And the soldiers who were defending us were also dying. They needed to be properly buried, in humane conditions.

And since I work with wood, and make beehives and everything myself, I have various hand tools. And we received instructions at the enterprise. Whoever could, whoever wanted to, it was all voluntary, no one was forced. Of course, I agreed.

And some of my colleagues who stayed in the city. We all gathered and made coffins from March to the end of May, for two months. We made them daily, trucks would arrive, and they would take them away. They told us how many we needed to make, how many more were needed. We hammered them together. And these coffins were later used for the burial of both military personnel and civilians. And the reburials of civilians in Bucha, in Irpin. Where there were mass graves. There were so many bodies. You just can’t leave them lying in a pit.

Exhumation and identification were carried out. DNA testing and various tests were conducted to identify those who couldn’t be identified otherwise. And there were moments when they showed on television the reburials from mass graves taking place, and you see these people being buried in those coffins that my colleagues and I made. It was a very terrible feeling. Two years have passed, and it’s not clear when it will all end. Well, we’ll keep living.

Is your drag queen persona more of a political gesture or a personal matter, a form of creativity?

It does have more of a political aspect to it. My life is public. Since the full-scale war began, various publications have started to emerge. My persona has come out in a wide public format. And in various interviews that I give, I speak not only for myself but also for the community I belong to, expressing their opinion. Because I often communicate with them, I hear what they say about the oppression they face. And we have such a political expression to push our state towards adopting these laws – on civil partnerships and against bullying and discrimination. Absolutely. Because there should be no violence. Particularly over issues of gender or gender identity. It’s absolutely wild to me, especially right now, in Ukraine, when there’s a war going on and everything else.