Arthur Nedashkovsky

Artem Berman: I have three types of questionnaire. Let’s call them questionnaires. The first questionnaire I have is called: ‘I have never worked’. This is for those who have a university education and have a disability or something like this associated with illness, trauma, and who have never worked. The second one is ‘I worked, but I don’t work now, or I don’t plan to work anymore’. And the third, ‘I work now’.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Third, third variant.

Artem Berman: I am opening it, I… I’m just opening this questionnaire on the website at the same time, in order to have it in front of me. It will be easier for me; I will just follow it and ask those questions that are…

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Did you draw up the questions yourself?

Artem Berman: Yes, of course, I composed all these questions myself. Actually, that’s the point. Just one second, I will open it. Well, let’s start. I have it in English, but I will translate it into Russian. The first question we have… First, we have several formal questions. So, the first one, “Do you allow this interview to be used for scientific and research purposes?”

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Yes.

Artem Berman: That is what is called “informed consent”. Then, “Do you allow us to publish this interview on the website?” You can answer, ‘I do not know yet, I’ll think about it and answer later.’ It’s up to you.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: In principle, there is no problem. I don’t mind.

Artem Berman: Okay. By the way, it will be publicity. Publicity is useful. The third one, ‘Would you like the interview to be published under your name or under a pseudonym?’

Arthur Nedashkovsky: I don’t have any pseudonym, so let’s keep my name.

Artem Berman: Then the fourth question, actually, is your name.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: My name is Arthur.

Artem Berman: Very nice. Well… And the surname?

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Nedashkovsky.

Artem Berman: Yes, very nice. So, contact information can simply be sent to me either by e-mail, or by phone, or by Skype later, so that we don’t waste time now.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Yes.

Artem Berman: And the sixth question is, ‘How old are you?’

Arthur Nedashkovsky: I am 31 years old.

Artem Berman: The seventh question is very difficult. It’s about sex. It seems that it’s male.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Yes.

Artem Berman: Yes, the eighth question, ‘Do you live independently, well, I mean, alone, or with parents, relatives, or someone else?’

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Yes, I live alone, well, in another city.

Artem Berman: I see.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: The distance between me and my parents is approximately 700 km.

Artem Berman: So, the ninth question, actually, is, “What kind of disability or what kind of health problem, trauma or something else do you have?” You provide the information that you think is necessary to provide and which is okay for you to provide, namely: what happened, how old you were, how it affected your life in social, family, personal, professional aspects. It is a detailed question.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: I get it. Well, it has turned out that according to Ukrainian legislation, I have the second group of disability. At the age of 17, I was hit by a car, had an accident. Well, I was crossing the road with my father in Dnepropetrovsk, and an officer of the SBU hit us on the motorway, in the middle of the road. My father died immediately, and me, I was a student at the Chemical Technological University at that time, and they saved me, let’s say, in the Mechnikov regional hospital. Well, there were about ten operations there: the spleen, a ruptured abdomen, a broken leg, the larynx, well, a full set, a full mix. My left hand is 90% paralyzed now; well, one and a half lungs are functioning. Well, the main thing is, of course, the paralysis of the hand for now.

Artem Berman: Accordingly, this is part of the question that is related to social, family, and professional life. You were only 17 years old, and you had probably just finished school. Am I right?

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Yes, I had finished school. I was a freshman at the university (full-time), and of course, yes, after the accident happened, there was a month in intensive care. Well, it turns out that my father died immediately, my sister was three years old, and my mother and, of course, well, the support of my educational institution. Well, first of all, the dean’s office, well, the support came from parents, relatives. Well… Can you hear me?

Artem Berman: Yes, yes, I can hear everything.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Well, first, there was a long recovery period, because there was a tracheostomy, that is, a tube in my throat.

Artem Berman: Yes, yes.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Then there were different nuances, operations periodically. They tried to fix my hand by suturing the nerves. There was occupational therapy for about two years. It’s obvious that I didn’t work, I was at home. However, thanks to my university, I was transferred to correspondence courses; I didn’t even have any academic leave or anything like that. I finished my university and after five years became a chemical technologist, in the specialty I had planned. Well, during this time there were some moral things, well, like probably everyone, when a person’s life changes radically, this transition period is some kind of comprehension: how to live on, what to do. Well, it was like this. However, despite the fact that a disability pension was granted according to the legislation, I was already working after approximately three years. Yes, it was less than $100. There were attempts to find myself in terms of work. I had all kinds of jobs. I worked as a watchman, and in Ukraine, maybe this is, of course, a minus, and on the one hand, it’s a plus, that as for employing people with disabilities, by quota, every enterprise where the number of employees exceeds 25 people…

Artem Berman: must…

Arthur Nedashkovsky: should employ people. So, I started to look for work, taking this opportunity. Well, my first job was… I was a watchman at a pharmacy.

Artem Berman: Look, meanwhile, we have answered the tenth question, that is, ‘How did your social rehabilitation begin, what was the process of returning to active life and to society, did anyone help, and who or what interfered, and how?’ You said that, in fact, the university helped.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Yes, yes. The help of the so-called sections for people with disabilities in the city of Pavlograd made an immense contribution. I was fortunate enough to meet Shevchenko Vasily Vasilevich. This is a coach who is engaged in the rehabilitation of people with disabilities. He seemed to instill something moral, or some kind of self-confidence. We took part in various competitions: swimming, tennis, and track and field. That was not professional sport, but just some kind of activity, which gave strength, and at some stage I decided, I wanted, well, I first had a desire to get to the Paralympics, to participate; at that time it was 2002, China, I think, I don’t remember anymore. First, there were the Olympic Games, then the Paralympic Games, but since the Paralympic athletes, they were huge and strong, I realized that I would not get to the Paralympic Games, but I wanted to get somewhere. And then, at some point, I decided that I wanted to run a marathon, it was a long time ago. I began trying to run. After 100 meters of running, I felt bad. The ambulance took me away because there were lingering effects of the illness, there is intracranial pressure. Well, in general, it was serious. However, the desire was to run a marathon. Well, at first, I did not run, at first, I moved, then I walked quickly, then, well, by various methods, I kept working toward my goal. Then, in addition to the fact that I wanted some sports self-actualization, my environment, that is, my close friends, they moved to the capital, to Kiev, for their self-realization. I had to earn some money, and I also had a desire to try: here they all go, and I want to as well. And for more than two years now, I have been in the Kiev region, well, let’s say, I live there, I also work in search of such self-realization, and in this, I was helped a lot by that same running. I noticed that when you set such goals, you strive, and in parallel in all spheres (health, work, and the social sphere) everything gets pulled up. Therefore, I have now been working in Irpin near Kiev for more than a year. Who would have thought: by education I am a chemist-technologist, but by occupation, I’m a programmer. At some point, I got interested in the IT sphere. But since I do not know English, and I wanted to program, I found 1C programming for myself. Little by little I’m digging into it, figuring things out, and I don’t stop. Taking advantage of the moment, being in Kiev, there are a lot of companies, many spheres, and although I have been working for more than a year at the moment, I regularly go to interviews. It is interesting to me, in some way a challenge, to come to a company, to see their opportunities, their services. There are a lot of different areas where I interviewed, such as international companies, trade and hotels, agro-holdings, and the Antonov plant where I worked in my specialty. In general, there are a lot of spheres, it is very interesting; despite the fact that there was, as it were, a trauma, I get acquainted with a lot of people, strong, interesting ones. I’ve gotten a little off course, lost my thread.

Artem Berman: No, no, this is very interesting what you are talking about.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Regarding people with disabilities, I also concluded that everyone has their own choice. Someone is just happy with what he/she has, and someone wants more. Maybe it is ambition, healthy ego, call it whatever you want. But I am sure that if a person does something, he/she will have a result.

Artem Berman: I would very much like to comment, just because you are telling us very interesting things and we are a lot alike,
but since my function here is that of an interviewer, I am just mooing instead of saying something meaningful. It’s very interesting and, in fact, we are a lot alike. Actually, we have answered the tenth question, ‘who and what helped you and what prevented you?’

Аrthur Nedashkovsky: In fact, I had a clear path, probably; as opposed to the support of loved ones, well, what got in the way were small problems, like those same health issues.

Artem Berman: Well, yes.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: The ambulance came to take me away. They treated me, and then I came back from the hospital. Well, yes, of course, I had depression, but this is normal practice, that’s just how it goes!

Artem Berman: It’s also logical and I agree with it 100 percent. Look, the eleventh question! We will have a quick overview. We have 21 questions, and we are already on the eleventh one. So, in principle, we have answered half in half an hour, so, answering your question about how long the interview will last, I can say that it will last one hour.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: We can do it as a ‘blitz’ poll.

Artem Berman: No, no. It’s okay. In principle, the more you tell me, the more interesting. What you say in such detail is more than wonderful and I’m very grateful.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: I also wanted … I could have missed something important… This is the word “community”, that is, socialization with people who have the same problems, who found themselves in the same situation. It is very important. I miss my guys who are in Pavlograd; this is a huge point of involvement.

Artem Berman: Yes, psychological support. People who understand you and are ready to listen. Yes, really, now I’m doing shit, I shouldn’t put my words like this, so I did not say that. Let’s ask the eleventh question, your education, again the information you think is necessary to give. Maybe it is a story, maybe it is just an answer, namely: did you have an education before your accident, but we have already found out, you were 17 years old, you were a freshman at university, you had completed secondary school. You did get an education after the thing that happened to you, right?

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Yes.

Artem Berman: Why did you choose exactly this specialization, a chemist-technologist? Well, there was a family tradition or some pieces of advice…

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Yes, it’s a family tradition. Initially, they wanted me to be a pharmacist, but when I came to the Admission Board, the girls told me that it would be difficult to obtain free education because of the competition. Let’s enter the “rubber” one, the technology of polymers. You can enter there without any problems. We have fun, we have a lot of girls. I bought all of that, I mean processing technologies, the tire industry, gum, and rubber. So, that was my choice.
In principle, I did not regret it, because when I arrived in Kiev after completing my studies, my first job was at the ‘Antonov’ plant. It is a world-famous aircraft-building plant, and I was exactly in the shop where all the polymer structures are made, I mean all the parts. I was very proud that I had studied specifically to be a chemist-technologist, polymer processing.

Artem Berman: The famous Internet meme ‘to blow off all the polymers’ is clear to you, then.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Yes, we probably still have a bit of polymer left.

Artem Berman: I think, thanks to the current leadership of the country, we will blow them off successfully. Let’s not talk about sad things though. So, you have already told us what influenced your choice. You said it was a family tradition. What level did you have after graduating from the university: bachelor, specialist, master, etc.?

Arthur Nedashkovsky: That was back then; everything has changed now. Specialists have become the same as masters. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree and then as a specialist.

Artem Berman: So, you are a master now. The next question is whether you receive any kind of support or special treatment connected with your disability from the organization you are currently working in? Do you have some special support?

Arthur Nedashkovsky: No financial help.

Artem Berman: Maybe, flexible schedule? Maybe, other kinds of support?

Arthur Nedashkovsky: No. Same as for everyone.

Artem Berman: Ok, I see. The thirteenth question is whether you have ever been promoted in your career, whether you see career development for yourself within your current organization or within any other organization? What career path do you want for yourself?

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Well, I have been working in the organization for more than a year and everything seems to be fine, but at the same time I’m constantly on the lookout. When I take another one or two days of vacation, I say that I’m going for an interview. At first, everyone was a little surprised or indignant, but now they have already gotten used to it. Well, I will answer your question: since I go to interviews, then I want some …

Artem Berman: Further development?

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Yes, or at the place where I work. In any case, I want some self-realization. As for me, self-realization is the continuous acquisition of new skills and knowledge. I just compare: when a person gets some new knowledge and skills, his/her material comfort grows simultaneously. So it’s impossible to separate these things. All of us want to earn a lot, all of us want to be involved in interesting work, to bring some benefit. These are my principal ambitions, aspirations. I want to go about my own business, to be useful.

Artem Berman: I get it. The fourteenth question. Are there any difficulties or problems related to your disability at your work? For example, if you worked as a loader, then you would definitely have some difficulties. It would be difficult for you to pick up sacks of potatoes. Is there something like that in your work? What can be a problem for you because of your disability?

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Well, since my left hand is completely paralyzed, it seems to be in my jeans pocket, so, to some extent, there are some limitations. I cannot take a large empty paper box. It is light but bulky and large; I would take it with two hands, but you have to start improvising with just one of them.

Artem Berman: How can you cope with a computer mouse and a keyboard?

Arthur Nedashkovsky: A mouse, a keyboard… I can type, there are no problems. There are no things that cause me difficulties. If it’s necessary to move a cupboard and a table, I can move both the cupboard and the table.

Artem Berman: I have understood that all the difficulties can be overcome. The fifteenth question is very interesting. I’ve already understood, but still, ‘What were the main reasons why you started working and what reasons motivate you to continue working?’ You have made it clear more than once.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Well, it sounds different. Well, the main reason is to be like everyone else, probably, to take responsibility. On the one hand, you can live off your parents, rely on the state or on someone else. Maybe selfishness, you can call it whatever you want. However, first of all, it’s a responsibility for yourself and, as a result, for your relatives, for your sister. It’s not like a challenge, it’s taken for granted. This is upbringing. Every person is brought up in order to support themselves and their loved ones.

Artem Berman: Great. Then, the provocative sixteenth question, ‘Can you imagine that you won’t work anymore? What would the consequences be?’

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Unfortunate consequences. However, not so unfortunate, because when that injury happened, I didn’t work at all. It depends on the way of thinking, positive or negative.

Artem Berman: Look, Arthur, it’s not a question of changing your job. It’s about the situation that you wouldn’t probably work at all.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: I’ll explain using my own example. Despite the fact that I am looking for a job, I also admit that I might leave this good job where I work now. Maybe they will say, ‘We are looking for someone else’. In this case, I can also be left without work.

Artem Berman: You see, it’s a bit different. You tell me about the situation when you are unemployed temporarily, but you immediately look for other opportunities. However, I am talking about a conscious decision: ‘I don’t want to work anymore, I have a pension, or it has turned out that a rich uncle left a $1 million inheritance, so I am not gonna work anymore. I will sleep till 10 a.m.’ Well, 1 million is a stupid example. However, ten million… You can easily imagine yourself without work. Picking your nose, scratching the back of your head, reading books… Can you imagine yourself without work? So, you have decided, consciously and as a matter of principle, not to work.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Well, many people strive for this. If there is any guarantee, some kind of confidence, then why not? I work in Irpin and live in Nemeshaevo. It’s up to 20 km to get to my work. I need to walk half an hour on foot, then it’s 25 minutes by train, and then I have to take a shuttle bus. It’s like this every day. Sometimes I have a desire to win the lottery. Then it would be that model that you have just proposed: to read books, pick your nose, waste your time, go on a trip somewhere.

Artem Berman: A month, three, six, nine… Then, I think, you will still go crazy.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Yes, or it will be necessary to look for some mojo. You will feel bored. Now I have my work and everything is fine. They ask me, ‘Why are you leaving?’ Anyway, it’s all boring and dull.
I have automated everything that needed to be automated, and that’s it. Initiative is not approved of. The rhythm is boring.

Artem Berman: I draw the conclusion that … The direct consequences of leaving work now … We leave these 10 million out of the brackets; the consequences would still be economic, money is still needed. It’s unlikely that you would be able to seriously think about not working and living on a pension, right?

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Yes, absolutely.

Artem Berman: In addition to this, we have those facts that you have mentioned before. I mean, mojo, self-esteem and self-realization. Leaving work would destroy everything.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Still, we want material wealth. Work is like a financial safety cushion. However, the fact that I am looking for a job, going for lots of interviews, won’t last forever. Now I understand that one day I will have to think about other things; I won’t run anywhere, I won’t rush anywhere. Like many Europeans.

Artem Berman: I know exactly what you are talking about.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: In my case, the advantage is that I don’t have a family, children, a soulmate; hence the attempts at different experiments, some actions. For example, some of my friends have two children. I have a friend who is a miner, he is the same age as me. Every day he thinks about how close he is to a pension. This is because miners have early retirement. He has been waiting for a stable state pension in order to relax, devote himself to his family, rest, and fishing.

Artem Berman: How would you like such a balanced life? Two mini questions at once: “Are you interested in this option? Or are you more a man of extremes?” Balance is good, but I want some kind of self-realization to the limit, “if it’s space, then it’s space.”

Arthur Nedashkovsky: The second option is more convenient for me. Stability is boring.

Artem Berman: Well the next question is, ‘Do you expect any support from the state?’

Arthur Nedashkovsky: No. This is also my vision. I try not to rely on anyone, as much as possible only on myself.

Artem Berman: Basically, you have answered the seventeenth question. It sounds like this, ‘What was your first job, or why did you leave the previous one if you had it?’ You’ve said that you are trying to find yourself.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Yes.

Artem Berman: The eighteenth question is what does your family think about your work? Well, what do your family and relatives say about the fact that you work?

Arthur Nedashkovsky: They support me as much as possible. To some extent, thanks to them, I have motivation. My sister was three years old when the car hit me. She has already grown up, she is already eighteen years old. She also lives near Kiev, she is studying to be a vet. To some extent, this also motivates me.
I want my sister to be safe, looked after, all of us together. Mum visits me, relatives support me.

Artem Berman: I see, super. And let me ask you the last three questions. The nineteenth question is whether your work is connected with your education. I mean, whether you work in your specialty or not. This question also has two subparagraphs. The first one is whether your higher education helps you in finding more opportunities for work. The second one is, ‘How do you maintain your level in your profession? Do you attend some courses? Maybe books?’ I mean, tell us about the relevance of your knowledge. So the question is whether you work in your specialty? Does higher education help in the search for interesting opportunities and work, and how do you maintain the current level of knowledge in the profession?

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Since I am a chemical technologist and work as a system programmer, they do not seem to overlap, but on the other hand, I work in a diagnostic clinic; people take tests there: blood, and there are various reagents, various substances. It’s also one of the advantages. For chemistry, imagine if I had studied to be a philologist or had some other education; this is just about the best possible result. But since I am a system programmer, a little bit of IT is also very interesting. As the sphere develops, you need to learn something new. Courses happen rarely, self-learning more often. YouTube channels are a permanent thing. Then something new, some new technologies, whenever possible, some kind of events… Sometimes in Kiev, if they are free.

Artem Berman: So, the twentieth question is whether you receive any financial support from the state. Since this question is about the amount of money, you can decide whether to answer or not. I also have two subquestions.
What percentage of your total income does this support make up? Are you satisfied with your level of income?

Arthur Nedashkovsky: The state pays a pension of about $70 every month. Another option is sanatorium treatment. However, I haven’t been anywhere for fifteen years. Then again, you have a huge advantage, which is subsidized transport in the metro and on the train. These incentives are very significant.

Well, I also have this as an option: in addition to the fact that I’m here full-time, I have a desire to start a business, well, say, clothes trading.
Artem Berman: Some kind of side work?

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Yes.

Artem Berman: Super. Well, the question about satisfaction with your income level is an idiotic one. I think that even Abramovich would say, ‘No, not really. Wish I could have a couple of billion more’.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: I wish I could say, “Yes, I’m happy”, but I’m not happy. So what? I should just be happy with what I have. However, I am not happy with it.

Artem Berman: It’s okay as a baseline, but you still have so much room to grow. Well, I have understood the answer. And the last, twenty-first question sounds like this, “Can you describe yourself however you can?” In order to do this, please finish the following sentences: “I ..” or “Before the trauma I was ..”, “I am capable of… “, ” I can .. “, ” I want ..” and ” I’m afraid that .. “. Again, you can finish as many sentences as you wish. How would you finish the sentence ‘I…’?

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Let’s finish the sentence “Before the injury …”

Artem Berman: Yes, let’s finish it.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: I was young before the injury… probably. I stopped being young after the injury. I became mature. What is next?

Artem Berman: “I am capable of …”

Arthur Nedashkovsky: I am capable of a lot of things. Well, this has a slight subtext.

Artem Berman: This is normal. Are you capable of what?

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Probably, I am capable of everything. “Everything” is spelled with a capital letter. What is next?

Artem Berman: “In the future, I …” and continue. How do you see yourself in the future?

Arthur Nedashkovsky: In the future… I am a good husband, a father of three children, a successful entrepreneur, a good son, a good brother, and just a happy person.

Artem Berman: Super. The last two phrases that we will continue are: “I want …” and so on.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Actually, everything I’ve just said to you can, as it were, exist without motivation. Probably, to the question of what I want: I want to be constantly motivated, to always have a source of motivation; this is probably a very important point.

Artem Berman: Super. The last two phrases which we will continue are: “I want …” and …

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Actually, all I’ve just told you. It’s like there is no motivation. Probably, I want to be constantly motivated, to always have a source of motivation. This is probably a very important point.

Artem Berman: And the last one, “I’m afraid of. ..”

Arthur Nedashkovsky: I’m afraid of falling and not getting up. Today, I walked the dog. So, I was walking down the stairs and thought that I could fall down and break my leg. I am just afraid of falling, and that’s it.

Artem Berman: Well, I understand what you mean. In fact, we have finished twenty-one questions. If there is something that you want to say, then I’m happy to listen to you. If you think that you have already said everything, it’s also fine. If you want to ask me something, just ask.

Arthur Nedashkovsky: Thank you very much, Artyom, what an experience! Although it’s nine o’clock here, I feel motivated. I am also very glad to have had an opportunity to talk to you.

Artem Berman: Thank you!