Afro-Bashkir blogger on racism, career and family
Sizaltina, an Afro-Bashkir woman
Sizaltina is an Afro-Bashkir woman born in Magnitogorsk, raised in the Bashkir village of Askarovo and now living in Moscow — an explosive mix, as she puts it. The native of Bashkortostan now acts in films and runs a blog where she highlights her unusual background. She spoke to UFA1.RU readers about racism, her childhood, self-acceptance and her love for Bashkortostan.
Sizaltina grew up in a Bashkir village
Childhood in Askarovo: calm, but not without problems
The blogger believes racism exists everywhere
Sizaltina was born in Magnitogorsk but spent almost her entire life in the village of Askarovo in the Abzelilovsky District (Bashkortostan, near Magnitogorsk). Her mother raised her alone: her father left the family when the girl was very small. There was no time for help, and her mother carried everything on her own shoulders — working to feed her daughter and give her an education.
Sizaltina with her husband
«My childhood was generally calm. Not without problems, because my mother raised me alone, we moved frequently and there was practically no help. My mother carried everything on her own, working to feed me and raise me. I studied diligently, tried to be a good student and to obey,» she recalls.
Sizaltina in Moscow
She played with other children in the yard, and by her account she was not often bullied. But she remembers the first episodes of bullying well: for instance, when a girl tore her dress, or when someone threw stones at her because of the color of her skin. Her mother always knew about the problems and never left them unaddressed.
The blogger learns she is pregnant
«If something happened at school, my mother would come to the school and talk to everyone — the administration, the class teachers, the children. She would sit at the back desks and make sure they stopped mocking and teasing me. There were such moments,» Sizaltina says.
The blogger in her home village with her daughter
The young woman admits she was not afraid to talk about problems, even if she was called a snitch. She understood that if she did not speak up right away, the situation could escalate into serious bullying.
Sizaltina in her home village
«I knew that if there were any problems or questions, my mother would solve them and help. I was a child who did not hide problems,» Sizaltina admits.
A verbal confrontation in a strawberry queue
«Racism and nationalism are everywhere»
The story of an Afro-Bashkir woman
According to the blogger, she has encountered racism everywhere, including in Bashkortostan.
But partly thanks to this, Sizaltina gained her first million views on her blog. In one video she showed an elderly woman in a market queue complaining that people «of her nationality» are coming to Russia. That video now has 2.7 million views.
«Racism and nationalism are everywhere, I would say. There is no country, no region where they do not exist at all. They are everywhere and always. In Bashkortostan I don«t think there is that much of it; it exists, but not so much. Because people are simple and kind, and if they see that a person is good and interesting, they always treat them calmly,» Sizaltina believes.
She notes that children«s attitudes toward differences are shaped by adults. A child is like a blank slate, and if you explain that the world is vast and people are different, the child will take it calmly.
«If you tell a child that people are different, that the world is vast and that different nationalities and races live in it, the child will absorb it and be calm. Because whatever parents teach, the child learns,» the blogger says.
«I live with the fact that some people may like me and others may not»
Sizaltina speaks with surprising ease about what many would perceive as trauma. She does not try to please everyone and does not spend energy on those who do not accept her.
«I have lived my whole life with the fact that some people may like me and others may not. I have this kind of appearance that, in general, there can be situations where I may appeal to some and not to others. I already live with the fact that some people may like me and others may not,» Sizaltina explains.
She has learned to joke her way out of situations that could hurt her. Understanding that not all people are interested in the world and ready to learn new things, she does not take offense but simply turns everything into a joke.
«Some people prefer to stay at the same level of development; they don«t explore the world, don»t travel, they have different values and different interests, and they know nothing. I simply understood over time that it is useless to explain things to everyone, and so I joke my way out of it,» the young woman says.
Soon Sizaltina found her native village too confining, with few opportunities for growth. So she moved to the capital.
«I left Bashkortostan because I needed new opportunities and further development. I understood that in the village it was too small a space for me to spread my wings. I went to fitness classes, dance classes, tried to go everywhere and develop somehow, but I understood that it was not enough for me. I wanted more,» the blogger recalls.
According to her, even if she had moved to Ufa, she would have left from there too. For her, the world is not limited to one region.
«Do I miss home? Sometimes, but probably rather not. I miss my childhood more, the time that has passed. Because when I come back now, it feels completely different. It«s as if everything has changed — either I have changed, or that place has changed, or everything has changed. And it feels not like your home anymore, but like your parents» home,» Sizaltina says.
Career: from modeling to a role in «Sled»
In Moscow, Sizaltina took up modeling and worked in that field for almost eight years.
«I got into film through modeling. At first I started appearing in music videos. Then there were acquaintances, and I was sent to various castings — for dance projects, for films,» the blogger says.
She emphasizes that she was always active: she often sent applications, went to auditions and appeared in professional circles. That is how she got an episodic role in the TV series «Sled» (The Trail).
Sizaltina is now on maternity leave: her daughter is one year and three months old. She has paused her acting work but not her creativity. The blog has become a new way of self-expression for her: «I decided to start a blog to pass the days, plus it«s like a hobby — I love editing and filming videos. Everything I see, I talk about and show.»
What is the family setup?
Sizaltina«s husband is a Tatar who grew up in Moscow. Their family speaks three languages: Russian, Bashkir and English.
«My husband and I communicate in Russian. My husband speaks to our daughter in English, and I speak to her in Russian and Bashkir. Everything is mixed up with us. Sometimes I can speak English too, but in general I try to speak Russian and Bashkir with my daughter, mixing the languages. We simply want our daughter to be a bilingual, even trilingual child,» Sizaltina says.
The young woman admits that she wants to pass on to her daughter a love for Bashkortostan — its nature, culture, food and traditions. And although it will not be easy, she intends to make every effort.
«We plan for her to go to her grandmother in the village in the future and soak up, so to speak, the Bashkir love for Bashkortostan, so that she has childhood memories of going there — that would be great,» Sizaltina shares.
What she would show a guest in Bashkortostan
Asked what she would show someone visiting Bashkortostan for the first time, Sizaltina answers without hesitation: «I would bring the person to my village and treat them to beshbarmak and kumis. We would go to the forest and the mountains. Then from our village we would head to Ufa: when you drive from Askarovo to Ufa, very beautiful views open up, and you can«t miss that. Also, it might be great to get out to some lake or river, pitch a tent and arrange some camping activities.»
