Short URL: https://bit.ly/shtandart-answer
On June 15, 2022, Vladimir Martus, Captain of a russian frigate, posted a comment under the article detailing the numerous issues raised by the frequent presence of his ship in the French harbour of La Rochelle. Here below is the answer made to him. It is reminded that, because of the russian war in Ukraine, showing off such a russian flag is an outrage to humanity, regardless any sincere or fabricated speech. A solution is proposed to him, taking into account his personal interest and the one of his ship.
Dear Captain Martus,
Thank you for your answer of June 15, 2022, to my article dated June 13, 2022. I am a former French Navy officer. I am a sailor and I love maritime heritage. I am a skipper. I took part to races and to long-distance cruises. I also sailed on tall ships. I know pretty well St Petersburg where I went several times and staid for weeks. I also gave a lecture in St Petersburg State University of Economics. I travelled all over russia, including some extremely remote places of Siberia. I published in Russia Beyond, a russian state media. Anti-putin activist since 2014, I was a strong Russophile until February 24, 2022. I am a man of peace. With « No Mistrals for Putin », I made possible, today, that France has not to stand the shame of two monstruous invasion vessels ravaging southern Ukraine, as part of the current war. I recently took a decisive part into the cancellation of the annexionist russian Film Festival in Nantes: « From Lviv to the Urals », with the help of Andriy Sadovyi, the Lviv Mayor, with the support of Ukrainian culture recognized names or institutions, within a team of wonderful Ukrainian activists of Nantes. Some researchers give credit to my early russian propaganda expertise. I contributed to the Geopolitics book from Laurent Chamontin: « Ukraine et Russie, pour comprendre » on Diploweb.
Based on what you and your ship accomplished, I came to the conclusion you are not a real activist fighting putin’s regime. This observation is detailed and supported in the following article.
Sorry, Captain Martus, the « Shtandart » frigate is not an anti-putin ship.
Captain Martus, I have nothing personal against you. I loved your ship. But the country Shtandart vessel is representing wages the most horrible war on European ground since World War Two. As long as Ukraine did not recover peace and its territorial integrity, as long as forced deportations to russia are not repatriated, as long kids illegally adopted are not returned to their legitimate parents, as long as Ukrainian orphans illegally adopted are not back in Ukraine, as long as russia did not recognize its guilt and did not proceed to acceptable compensations, I will consider that the russian flag is promoting all these inhuman horrors, all this Rashism. I am not the only one. However, taking aside the personal considerations exposed above, there is the fifth package of sanctions. Since April 17, 2022, russian vessels are prohibited to enter any European ports. There are no reasons to make an exception for the commercial activities of the russian Shtandart ship in European waters.
Except for his miscellaneous threats and blackmails against Ukrainian (complaints reached as far as Ukrainian MP’s) or French citizens, your agent, Ludovic Pacciarella, built a glamorous маскировка able to deceived naive French people and all maritime heritage fans. Let’s be serious. Don’t get fooled. Peace « blabla » on a La Rochelle pier will not stop the extermination war your country is waging in Ukraine. Meanwhile, as intended, the small June 12, 2022, flashmob went viral in Ukraine. It is already a diplomatic issue. There is, now, an international Shtandart’s scandal. You will learn very soon about it. And this is not the time for such a scandal. You are, I guess, perfectly aware about how France is challenged because of our President confused messages regarding russia and Ukraine since May 9, 2022. Emmanuel Macron is today in Kyiv, with Olaf Scholz and Mario Draghi, trying to rebuild confidence between our nations. There will be no more diplomatic grey zone that Shtandart could enjoy.
There is no moral grey zone, either. This war is just black or white. There is an aggressor and there is a victim. You are on the side of the aggressor or on the side of the victim. There is no in between. Ridiculous soviet-like brotherhood invocations or a tea towel, in the lower shrouds, with yellow and blue colours, contrary to all maritime rules and etiquettes, are seen as a despicable farce by Navy men and as an outrageous insult by Ukrainians. Of course you know this is a complete bullshit. However, you may have considered it was working. It is not. You were deceived. Your local agent paid attention to take aside or to silence any negative local feedback with highly questionable methods. I am currently writing to the Charente-Maritime Préfet about these FSB style procedures. Whatever, the outraged anger, inside and outside La Rochelle, is quickly growing and spreading across extremely long distance.
If Shtandart vessel sides with the aggressor, she must go back to russia with you or with another captain. It is possible since 2020. See: « Легендарный фрегат «Штандарт» может вернуться в Санкт-Петербург из изгнания ». Meanwhile if you decide to claim for asylum in France because of your very recent, late and weak position against putin, I am sure French administration might pay attention to it due, to your status.
In my opinion, if Shtandart vessel sides with Ukraine, she must be registered in Ukraine, getting rid of the russian flag, and showing a Ukrainian national flag. This would be the strongest denial to all of those claiming your sympathy for Ukraine is just business opportunism in a country like France, massively against russian war. It will allow Shtandart to attend all the maritime European festivals granting its durable revenues.
I would be delighted to help you and to use my Ukrainian network for supporting you in your quest for a relevant and fair solution.
Sincerely yours,
Bernard Grua, Nantes.
Other articles in Ukrainian and English about Shtandart’s scandal in La Rochelle
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Exhibit
Captain Martus comment under the article: « L’affaire du Shtandart, navire russe, à La Rochelle »
Vladimir Martus Dear Bernard ,
« Mon frère, peut-être avez-vous raison; je suis convaincu du bien que vous voulez me faire; mais ne pourrais-je pas être sauvé sans tout cela? »
Il est vrai que ces horreurs absurdes ne souillent pas tous les jours la face de la terre; mais elles ont été fréquentes, et on en composerait aisément un volume beaucoup plus gros que les évangiles qui les réprouvent. Non seulement il est bien cruel de persécuter dans cette courte vie ceux qui ne pensent pas comme nous, mais je ne sais s’il n’est pas bien hardi de prononcer leur damnation éternelle. Il me semble qu’il n’appartient guère à des atomes d’un moment, tels que nous sommes, de prévenir ainsi les arrêts du Créateur. Je suis bien loin de combattre cette sentence: « Hors de l’Eglise point de salut »; je la respecte, ainsi que tout ce qu’elle enseigne, mais, en vérité, connaissons-nous toutes les voies de Dieu et toute l’étendue de ses miséricordes? N’est-il pas permis d’espérer en lui autant que de le craindre? N’est-ce pas assez d’être fidèles à l’Eglise? Faudra-t-il que chaque particulier usurpe les droits de la Divinité, et décide avant elle du sort éternel de tous les hommes? »
/ Le “Traité sur la tolérance”, VOLTAIRE /
I would like to be able to address to my compatriots from Ukraine who has proposed this material to you. I see your Blog as very good platform for discussion about ways to fight Putin’s regime, and I here want to make a proposal of uniting efforts for that. But before I send my comments, I would like to be certain that they would be published, and thus will achieve the ears of the audience, unchanged. Could you please kindly confirm (or reject) this request. You have a risk of offering your media as a tribune to the person thinking differently. Please study my instagram (for instance this https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca4RX9oj6JU/ ) before you answer.
Sincerely yours
Vladimir Martus
15 June 2022, 02:00 AM
No Shtandart In Europe 
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