Today, September 28, 2026, marks four years since the members of the Essence of Time independent task force (OTG) lost their Commander, friend, and comrade – lieutenant colonel Yegor Ivanovich Gorshkov (call sign Volga), who did so much for the OTG, for the entire Essence of Time movement, for Donbass, and for the Motherland as well, of course.
When Volga fell in 2022 fell in the battlefield in Ukraine, it was a blow that probably cannot be compared with anything else at all. It is extremely difficult, almost impossible, to describe a loss of such magnitude. In human life, no matter how hard you try, there are always losses. And until that loss occurs, most often you are simply incapable of imagining what it will be like when you can no longer look someone in the eyes, shake their hand, hug them, ask their advice. Or get it in the neck if you have done something wrong, I am speaking specifically about the Commander here.
After all, in 2014, when we were all gathering in Donetsk at the call of Sergey Ervandovich and Volga came to us, absolutely nothing was clear. We did not even understand Russia’s policy toward the rebellious Donbass… None of us had any military experience. Only Pyatnitsa, may he rest in peace, and Mars had served in the army and had at least some understanding military service. But even military experience acquired in peacetime and war are two very different conditions.
The war, especially the proxy war that was taking place in Donbass (and in the form that emerged in 2014), and the state of consciousness and circumstances at that time are extremely difficult to describe. But the main characteristic was uncertainty, ambiguity: it was unclear what was happening. And Volga was precisely the person who seemed to know and understand clearly what needed to be done, how, why, and for what purpose. Although in reality, looking back now, you understand that this was, so to speak, not always the case, and often far from that… And, of course, he ended up with quite a group around him. That is many people with an inflated opinion of their own abilities. Yes, some abilities certainly existed, but they were not at all what people believed they possessed.
To cope with a situation of absolute uncertainty and extreme danger (because it could have ended in absolutely anything, including Ukrainian troops walking into Donetsk and hanging everyone they considered undesirable), with such a group of subordinates who also had to be looked after so that as many as possible would remain alive and suffer as little as possible, that was an almost impossible task.
The Commander not only coped with it, but did his best — it is very difficult to describe how… He navigated situations in which everything really could have ended extremely badly for everyone. And despite all the difficulties of the group that had assembled, it was Volga who managed to bring that group together, quite gently, without psychological trauma and without breaking people, to shape it and give it direction.
At certain moments, his condition and his work remind me very much of the legend of Danko and the legend of Prometheus. That is, a person abandoned everything and gave his heart to complete strangers. He left his family, left his children, left his friends and acquaintances, and settled in Donbass, which was completely opposite to him in terms of mentality. He himself was a northerner, loved the Russian North very much, and whenever he had the opportunity, he constantly talked about it, read to us about it, and told us stories. Nevertheless, he came here and, essentially, remained here, both physically and mentally.
This person truly, I am certain of it, saved the lives of everyone in the group he created, the group that exists today and continues the struggle, and he did so repeatedly. Even at times when we did not realize that we needed to be saved, primarily because of that same inflated opinion of ourselves. And also because we lacked any sense of the danger that was actually spread around us like a sea, an entire ocean. We lived constantly in a state of extreme danger; anything could happen at any moment. But the transition from a peaceful state (when a person is still living in a world that is familiar and understandable to him, where he has achieved something, understands something, and makes plans) into a completely different, military state, when there is an enemy all around and that enemy wants to kill you — and wants to kill you persistently, wants to kill you cunningly, and is constantly working toward that goal — such a transition from one state to another was extremely difficult for many of us. It required a great deal of time and a great deal of work on Volga’s part.
But Volga lived in that military state. Whether it was something instilled in him by nature, upbringing, training, or something else, it was his element. And he was able to guide, train, and unite the group that would later come to be called the Essence of Time unit. And we are not ashamed to live, because we are not some kind of gang of deserters or looters, but a unit that is capable of something, has achieved something, and has a history behind it that allows us to rely on it, develop, and move into the future.
Four years ago, we lost the person who guided us, trained us, and raised us. This person’s life itself was a burning flame. He was always burning, always living under tension. Living in this state of war, he never betrayed himself. He was constantly at war — wherever he was, whatever he was doing. He never forget of his duty to his Motherland, to Sergey Ervandovich, to the organization, to himself, to his comrades, to the OTG. And this continued for practically all eight years, from 2014 to 2022, when he was our Commander.
He was constantly in this state. And, of course, this could not fail to affect us. This becomes especially obvious when, so to speak, you see yourself “before” and yourself “after,” or a comrade “before” and a comrade “after.” Or when someone new arrives — and you see that the person behaves in the same way that I once behaved, or that a comrade once behaved. It was only because the Commander achieved a qualitative transformation that we became a unit — we did not scatter or fall apart.
And this duty that he carried, I am certain that he continues to carry it to this day. Despite his absence from the physical world, he stands in the same ranks with us, but in another world, on the other shore. And I have no desire to say goodbye to the Commander. He is invisibly always with us; he is in the heart of each one of us.
I want to say a great thank you for the fact that he crossed our path. A great thank to Sergey Ervandovich for sending us such a person, who was able to create a unit and endure those extremely difficult circumstances that are virtually impossible to describe in words.
Volga succeeded. And he continues to help us to this day. Therefore — thank you, Commander.
We see us in the USSR!
This is a translation of the article by the member of the Essence of Time independent task force call sign Kontrabas, first published on the Rossa Primavera News Agency web site.
