Many victims are not ready to speak publicly about the violence they have experienced. Fear, shame, guilt, or a lack of trust in others often stand in the way. But it is equally important that many people, when hearing such stories for the first time, simply do not know how to recognize the signals a victim may give — her cautious hints, hesitation, inner distress. Because of this, they are unable to respond properly or take steps that could genuinely help. As a result, the victim remains alone with her pain, and society loses the chance to protect a person and stop the cycle of violence.
This autumn, a young woman from an Indigenous community suggested that we have a call to discuss ideas and opportunities for Indigenous writers. But at the end of our conversation, she unexpectedly shared with me a story that had happened in Georgia in 2022, beginning with the words: “I want you to know …”
She was referring to one of my colleagues from the Indigenous organization ICIPR, Mark Zdor (his name is already mentioned everywhere), whom she and another young woman accuse of committing violence in Georgia.
I heard this story, I repeat, only recently, and as something very personal and confidential — something that, as it seemed to me at the time, was already in the past. Moreover, the woman herself continued to communicate freely with Mark up until 2025. What confused me most was that she had taken part in group calls with Mark as late as 2024, discussing joint Indigenous youth initiatives and messaging together.
I never shared what she told me with any third parties. Even my husband did not know about it. And even now, I am not mentioning her name, because she did not authorize me to do so — what she told me, and the way she told it, was shared in confidence. To the extent that my resources and time allowed, I tried to support her with messages, looked for translators for her possible book, and sincerely rejoiced at her successes.
I took the information about Mark from her primarily as a warning, since we are both members of the same organization, and I was supposed to meet Mark for the first time in person at a conference on November 27, 2025, in Berlin.
As for the incident on Orcas Island (where, according to Victoria Maladaeva’s post, the woman had a panic attack upon seeing Mark participating online in the meeting), I learned about it for the first time from Maria Vyushkova’s letter of December 2, 2025, which she sent to our organization’s email address, addressed to my colleagues Pavel Sulyandziga and Dmitry Berezhkov, and later also from Maria Vyushkova’s Facebook post.
A dozen emotions and questions mixed inside me.
ICIPR expresses its position openly — we condemn violence. The Committee has published a statement on its zero-tolerance policy toward sexualized violence and is beginning work on creating an anti-harassment policy. We are consulting with specialists in preventing violence against women and supporting survivors. Mark Zdor is currently excluded from the organization.
I want to say clearly and openly: violence is terrifying, unacceptable, and cannot be justified.
I also want to express my sincere sympathy to the young women who experienced this, and to everyone who has ever encountered violence. No one should have to go through that. I am truly sorry that this happened. I wish you healing, strength, and peace.