Ukrainians Speak Out in Santa Barbara
Relief Efforts Ramp Up & Russian-American Talks About Putin’s War
By Nick Welsh and Nicholas Lui | March 17, 2022
Santa Barbara is a notoriously small town. But it’s an even smaller world. Nothing illustrates this more than the sudden emergence of Tatyana Taruta as a public figure. Every night during the city’s film festival, Taruta — tall, elegant, and articulate — stood vigil in front of The Arlington Theatre, dressed in the yellow and blue of the Ukrainian flag. Taruta is a Ukrainian, trapped by Russia’s war on Ukraine, in Santa Barbara. Her husband, Christo Artusio, a former diplomat with the State Department, is a Santa Barbara native and Supervisor Das Williams’s best friend from childhood. Taruta also happens to be the daughter of a member of the Ukrainian parliament who happened to run for president in the 2019 election that brought to power the onetime stand-up comedian and TV actor Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Taruta’s hometown of Mariupol has been all but obliterated by Russian missiles. Taruta’s childhood home has been wiped off the Google map. This Saturday, Taruta — the daughter of an oligarch — sold bread at a bake sale by Paseo Nuevo to raise funds and awareness of Ukraine’s plight.
In Santa Barbara, there are no six degrees of separation. Just one. For the world right now, the same is true. As we struggle as a nation seeking ways to end the Russian invasion while trying to prevent World War III and nuclear war, Taruta and other Ukrainians living here struggle with our struggles. In so doing, they attempt to impress upon our reality the cold horrors of their own. The following articles attempt to illuminate this in some ways while offering choices for those seeking to help.
Raising Money and Awareness in Santa Barbara
Tatyana Taruta Appeals for More Weapons to Be Sent to Ukrainian Army
By Nick Welsh | March 17, 2022
The following interview with Tatyana Taruta has been edited for length and clarity.
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