In the RBC-Ukraine podcast "TSE BAZA", blogger and author Emma Antonyuk discussed monthly fundraising for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, her thoughts on mobilization, daily life in Kyiv, and her new book. The conversation went beyond a typical interview: from literary ambitions and royalties to how the body reacts to ballistics and why, according to the guest, the public demonstration of financial contributions is "the direct duty of bloggers to form a systematic volunteer culture among the audience." Below is a shortened version of the conversation; the full episode is available on the "TSE BAZA" YouTube channel.
"Khalepa": a second book about personal mistakes
Antonyuk, responding to the question about the right to talk about literature without a professional degree, referred to her own experience: she has written a book, reads extensively, and communicates with publishers, especially after, as she stated, more than 13 million books were destroyed in Ukraine due to targeted Russian strikes on warehouses, publishing houses, and printing facilities. Her second work is an autobiographical non-fiction book titled "Khalepa" with the draft subtitle "How to make mistakes in a world of successful success." According to the author, the book is "entirely about personal troubles" and making sense of "adult mistakes." She dismisses the question of why, at 36, she considers herself qualified to write non-fiction by stating it is not a memoir, but an analysis of her own actions. Specifically, Antonyuk emphasized that she lives off the book's royalties: "If I didn't have other jobs, only this book, I would feel fine. I would have enough for bread and butter and to pay for utilities."
Life in Kyiv: logistics instead of fear
The blogger speaks about daily life under war conditions without drama: she is staying in Kyiv for the winter and does not feel fear, but rather "asks logistical questions — how to ensure Wi-Fi works at home when there is no electricity." "I don't know what kind of collapse there would have to be for me to leave Kyiv. As long as I can physically be here, I am certainly staying," she notes. At the same time, Antonyuk admits that she does not react emotionally to explosions, but "the body reacts": she wakes up with jaw pain, a clenched cheek, or a stiff back, and after a new explosion, she mentally "braces herself." "Somewhere in the background of the psyche, it remains, it builds up," she describes the cumulative effect, which, according to her, is revealed in the second book.
Donation culture: "bloggers should boast and compete"
The central thesis of the conversation concerns the volunteer culture. Antonyuk stated that she systematically donates to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and "Azov," is subscribed to the unit's leadership, and names the last large donation amount — 55,000 hryvnias, while the previous one, according to her, was also 55,000. When asked about guilt for going to restaurants in expensive dresses, she replied that she bought her last expensive dress a year ago, wears Ukrainian middle-segment brands, and "mostly eats in restaurants because I don't know how to cook." At the same time, she says, "a large part of her income" is donated, and "very often these donations are published via screenshots — in stories or posts." The justification is simple: "bloggers are responsible for the culture of donations," and "if you are to boast about something on your blog, it should be about donations."
Media experience and assessment of propaganda
Fifteen years of work in media, according to Antonyuk, allow her to see "how Russia successfully picks up on existing social problems and uses them within Ukraine," including through the discrediting of Ukrainian soldiers, which she called a "literally recent" example. "The most acute reaction is caused by how effective Russian propaganda is," she states, adding that it is a pity when "some of these Russian information operations do succeed." The blogger also described her level of "outrage" as having reached a limit where the psyche is "no longer capable" of reacting to new news, even though she continues to read it.
