Gudauskas Konstantin

Konstantin Gudauskas is a Kazakh activist of diverse origins – his grandmother was Ukrainian, his mother Jewish and his father Lithuanian. His family was exiled to Kazakhstan in 1947. In Kazakhstan, Gudauskas built a successful logistics business. Subsequently, he became actively involved in the defence of human rights and participated in the 2019 elections. Due to political pressure after the elections, he had to leave Kazakhstan with the help of human rights organisations. His identification number was added to an extremist register. He arrived in Ukraine with the status of a political refugee.
In Ukraine, he rebuilt his life by setting up a network of charging stations for electric cars. The Russian invasion in February 2022 took him by surprise. Thanks to his Kazakh passport, considered a ‘friendly’ country by Russia, he was asked to help evacuate a family of intelligence officers from occupied territories.
Using his passport and cars, he undertook rescue missions, managing to save around 200 lives.
Today, Konstantin Gudauskas continues his efforts through his charitable foundation, Bucha Help, leading a team of volunteers. He intends to build a rehabilitation centre for military personnel by 2025. His story and experiences inspired the film ‘Bucha’. Gudauskas humbly describes himself as ‘the hands of God’ and believes that the important thing during war is to maintain one’s humanity.