Russian Americans face misdirected blame for war in Ukraine
As the smell of beef stroganoff swells before a lunch-hour rush, Halina Yatskevich reads recent reviews off a smartphone. Behind the counter of her cozy Masha and the Bear Russian Cafe, she revisits a few one-star posts that say “the whole world is against Russia” along with a call to “go home.”
The posts don’t even mention Belarus, her actual home country, which has sided with Russia in its war against Ukraine.
Though customers are largely supportive, the posts leave her “disappointed, upset,” she says softly, finding the right words in English with the aid of a Ukrainian worker. A small blue-and-yellow flag stands nearby. “I support Ukraina,” says Ms. Yatskevich.
Alona Kolesnyk, a
