Bogart owner Michael Vulich regularly transfers part of the profit to Pristanište.
We asked Mikhail why he was doing this, and how he managed to create a place of strength for Russian-speaking expats in Podgorica.
I’ve never been in the restaurant or bar and coffee business. He lived in Rostov-on-Don for all of his 48 years. I had a recreation center on the shore of the Sea of Azov, on the Pavlo-Ochakov Spit. Not some glamorous, just houses, barbecue area, about 100 beds. I was its owner, director, administrator, plumber, locksmith, carpenter – in short, everything. It was all functioning normally, people came and had a rest, and we had enough to live on with our family.
Back in the 2000s, I stopped liking what was happening in my country. I’m meticulous, I love reading, I love history. Once I got my hands on books that described the mechanism of Russian propaganda. A lot of things cleared up in my head then. And with the words of Novodvorskaya – ‘ Vertukhai will never build a state governed by the rule of law. Vertukhai can only build a zone’ – I completely agreed.
We sometimes went to our campsite with my father, who helped me with the housework. We talked on the road, mostly about politics. Father: ‘Putin is right about everything”’ I: ‘No, I’m wrong, you can’t run the country like that”’ Argued, in short. And once he says to me: ‘Misha, come on, you don’t tell your friends your thoughts…’ I said to him: ‘Dad, and you think that this is a normal country where you can’t tell your friends what you think?..’
On February 24, 2022, early in the morning, I was driving my wife and daughter to the airport, they had to fly to Moscow. I dropped him off, drove back, just entered Rostov – my wife calls: ‘Pick us up, the airport is closed, no one is flying anywhere.’ I turn around, turn on the radio, Russia is bombing Kiev, tears are flowing, understanding how to live on is about 0. In the evening we sat down with friends, everyone has one question-where to go. I did not consider the option of ‘staying’, although I understood that if there was a sudden mobilization-well, it is unlikely that I, a 48-year-old grandfather, will be called up. But I don’t know how, I don’t like it, and I don’t want to keep my mouth shut. So no, they won’t mobilize me – they’ll just put me in jail. So-so option. What children. This is even more important. The eldest daughter is already grown up, okay. But the youngest is 16. I wanted her to try living in a free country. So that our grandchildren can live in free countries.
In the end, I managed to leave only in January 2023. Montenegro was chosen by my wife. I think she just pointed at the map. We’ve never been here before. Before leaving, I made a list of what I can actually earn. There are a lot of items there: manage a hotel, repair electrics, make meat and sausage, brew moonshine… In short, I listed all my skills so as not to forget them. But I had no idea what I was really going to do.
It was funny with the Bogart . We were planning a vacation here once, and I Googled something about Montenegro. Googled that in Podgorica there is a bar ‘Bogart’, where cool beer, and behind the counter is the owner himself, with whom you can talk in Montenegrin, he is happy to communicate. When I arrived in 2023, I immediately started learning the language. I think: I’ll go talk, or something. When I arrived, it turned out that the owner had not been behind the counter for a long time, there were two Russian-speaking bartenders. Well, I started coming here a couple of times a week anyway. Then it turned out that the owner was selling the place. The bar is failing, with two customers on a Saturday night. Bartenders are looking for new places. I thought about it and said: guys, I’ll buy it, but on the condition that you stay. After the purchase, for three months, I just came every evening, sat at the counter, and entered the process. Only then did I begin to close some processes on myself. But without our bartenders, Sergey and Alexey, I wouldn’t have made it. They did as much as I did to create the community of our bar. Thanks, guys.
At the beginning of 2023, the thirst for communication among Russian speakers who found themselves in Podgorica was huge. Many arrived without friends, without families. They arranged everything here themselves – discos on Fridays, apartment parties on Saturdays, Mafia, something else. I decided: the main thing is not to interfere. Make people feel at home. Especially since no one has a home. On the eve of 2024, a married couple – regulars-wanted to decorate the bar for the holiday. I said fine, go ahead. I think it’s cool that they have such a desire. By and large, this is not my bar. This is the bar of the people who come here. If they don’t exist, nothing will. That’s why I don’t take money from event organizers. My revenue is just drinks. In general, I hope that Montenegrins will start coming to the bar, that they will understand that craft beer with the taste of conditional peaches is cool.
I can’t check all clients on the detector at the entrance, whose Crimea they have and whether they are for the war or against. But for me it is important that those who are interested – they, at least, have to be silent here. Just as those who don’t know have to remain silent in Russia right now. They usually feel like strangers and don’t come back. I don’t miss them. On the day of Navalny’s death, we had a spontaneous meeting here. The monument to Vysotsky, where everyone was gathering at that time, is not far from us. Maybe that’s why people came here, cried, and hugged. It’s good that you came.
By and large, I believe that all of us who disagree and leave are cowards. The brave go out and fight for their country. And cowards – either keep silent, or run away, like us. At least I admit to myself: yes, I am a coward. But to make up for it in some way, I help those who have suffered from it. Yes, the Ukrainians suffered precisely because of our cowardice. They expected that millions of Russians who did not agree with the war would take to the streets in the first few days. And when they came out, how much? dozens? hundreds?.. The others went home in terror. Eh. Well, at least here I can do something for the Ukrainians, including through Pristanište. I’ve heard about Pristanište for a long time, and some of our clients used to stay in your shelter. Therefore, I know that this fund really helps Ukrainians and fugitives from the Russian Federation.
All in all, I’m a coward, but at least I hope I’m not a scoundrel.’
