Shreds of War. Vol. 2 E-Book

Ildikó Eperjesi

• Herausgeber: ibidem
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Serie: Ukrainian Voices
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 361

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

After their Shreds of War: Fates from the Donbas Frontline 2015–2019, Eperjesi and Kachura uncover in this second volume effects of the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia. Oleksandr managed to visit the peninsula not long after its occupation by Russian troops. While doing interviews with local people, he was threatened by the authorities yet managed to escape with his exclusive stories of teachers and students, pensioners, children and their parents, market vendors and businessmen, homeless people, health care employees and their patients, the so called “cotton wool people,” and Ukrainian patriots. Many of them told him about how hopeful they were in early 2014, and how disappointed they have become as their expectations were not met by the “Russian world.” This concerns the banking system of Crimea, propaganda and censorship of the Russian state, and failed tourist seasons. People still living or somehow related to Crimea tell us about the dramatic days of the illegal annexation. They explain what led to the tragedy and what mistakes were made by the Ukrainian authorities. Ordinary people, soldiers, journalists, heroes and traitors, emigrants, Crimean Tatars, Russian soldiers, Cossacks and the members of the so called “Crimean Self-Defense” disclose how they contributed to the historic events on the peninsula. Finally, the famous Crimean film director Oleh Sentsov shares with us how he managed to survive his illegal imprisonment by Russia and what impact it has had on his life.

Leseprobe

Contents

PREFACE

PART 1 CRIMEA – TEN STEPS BACK

1 "WE ARE LIKE THE SOULS OF SELF-MURDERERS"

2 THE BANKS OF CRIMEA

3 "LONG LIVE PUTIN AND LET HIM OCCUPY HALF OF EUROPE"

4 "THIS IS THE END OF BUSINESS, LIVE HAPPILY THEREAFTER"

5 "SOMETIMES I JUST WANT TO KICK THE BUCKET"

6 CHILDHOOD IN CRIMEA – MEDALS AND GARBAGE LANDFILL

7 "THEY TREAT US HARSHLY AND ALL THIS IS UNDER PUTIN'S PORTRAIT AND RUSSIA'S ANTHEM"

8 I'M LOOKING FOR A MARKET OR HOW TO DO THE SHOPPING AT A LOWER PRICE IN CRIMEA

9 THE LIVES OF OTHERS. WHAT IS LIFE LIKE IN CRIMEA

10 CRIMEA SCHOOLS ARE SECRETLY TURNING THE CHILDREN INTO ZOMBIES

11 YOU BECOME HOMELESS WITHOUT A RUSSIAN PASSPORT

12 THE SPECTER OF UKRAINE IS HUNTING CRIMEA

13 HOW MUCH DOES AN OATH COST IN CRIMEA?

14 THE COMPLETE LACK OF THE UKRAINIAN LANGUAGE AND FAKE HISTORY BOOKS

15 CENSORSHIP IN CRIMEA BLOCKS EVERYTHING THAT IS UKRAINIAN

16 WHAT IS MEMORABLE ABOUT "CRIMEA-IS-OURS-2015"?

PART 2 CRIMEA TODAY

17 "WE DIDN'T EVEN WARM UP THE HELICOPTER'S ENGINE, WE IMMEDIATELY TURNED OVER THE SEA"

18 "THEY WANT TO DESTROY US COMPLETELY"

19 "CRIMEA IS THE LAND WHERE I WANT TO BE BURIED"

20 "I WOULD RATHER SERVE MY PUNISHMENT THAN GIVE IN TO PUTIN"

21 "ALL ARTISTS AND JOURNALISTS IN CRIMEA AVOID COLLISION WITH THE RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES"

22 "UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS WERE SENT A TEXT MESSAGE ASKING TO SELL THEIR COUNTRY"

23 "WE ARE CONSTANTLY WAITING FOR THEM TO COME FOR US"

24 "I DID NOT KILL PEOPLE BUT DESTROYED THE ENEMY"

25 "TORTURE WITH ELECTRIC SHOCKS IS USED TO EXTRACT TESTIMONY IN CRIMEA"

26 "OUR DATA WAS LEAKED BY THE RUSSIAN SECRET SERVICES SO WE CAN'T GO TO UKRAINE TO TESTIFY"

27 “I DIDN'T THINK I WOULD MANGE TO GET OUT FROM CRIMEA"

28 "I NEVER THOUGHT THAT A SIMPLE NYLON BAG COULD BE USED TO SUFFOCATE SO EFFECTIVELY "

ibidem Press, Suttgart

PREFACE

Immediately after publishing our book entitled Shreds of War. Fates From the Donbas Frontline 2015-2019, I and my co-author, Oleksandr Kachura, were planning to start writing our next book. The pandemic, however, prevented us from working for a long time.

Since it made it impossible to travel, we used the achievements of modern technology and often established contact via Internet with the characters of the second part of our new volume. They told us about the changes the "Russian world" had brought to Crimea since its illegal annexation by Moscow in 2014.

I was extremely anxious while working. While compiling the book, one could feel the forewind of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched in February 2022. We finished work literally on the eve of this extremely evil act. While doing the interviews, the thought was always reoccurring deep inside me, "What will happen if a bigger war breaks out? Are we going to talk to or meet these people again?"

I had this anxiety first back in 2008, when Russia attacked the tiny Caucasus country of Georgia. It was then that the current Russian president first tested the foreign deployment of his resurgent army, after he had already "introduced order" in Chechnya, where Russian soldiers massacred hundreds of thousands of civilians, and the capital, Grozny, was razed to the ground.

The world, however, remained silent so Putin went on. Georgia followed, then Crimea, the Donbas, Syria, and finally the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian president came to power in 2000 on the wings of a war he provoked, thereby gaining notoriety and popularity. If his support at home dwindles, you can count on him trying to solve the situation by starting a war. Therefore, the brutal invasion launched against Ukraine, was no surprise to me.

Ever since I visited the Donbas, I have been talking about the need to do everything in order to avoid another massacre, genocide, and a bigger war. My words didn't go far. History repeats itself, and contrary to what the communists claimed, tragedy repeats itself not as a comedy but as a greater disaster. That's why Oleksandr and I consider it important to present the events faithfully, even if we are voices crying out in the wilderness.

Ildi Eperjesi

Budapest, February 2022

Dear reader,

I am very glad that you are holding our book in your hands. Without the second part, which is about the Crimean peninsula, our series of Shreds of War would be incomplete.

After reading our first volume, Fates from the Donbas Frontline 2015-2019, you may have had the feeling that we haven't said everything yet so we decided to fill in this gap and give a snappy answer to the Russian propaganda that has been raging on the occupied Ukrainian peninsula for more than eight years now.

I have many ties to Crimea. I spent every summer vacation there when I was a child. My family sent me to the peninsula to get healed. I learned to swim there, I saw mountains for the first time there, I traveled around and visited Sevastopol. I remember the pre-occupation peninsula with nostalgia because it was fixed in my memory just like that.

In 2015, I decided to travel to Crimea as a reporter without obtaining Russian accreditation. I had to work in secret, which was risky for me. During the interviews done at a school, the security guards caught me and when they found out that I had come from mainland Ukraine, they wanted to hand me over to the police. Fortunately, I managed to escape and continue my work.

All my coverages were published in Ukrainian online newspapers. I presented the real situation in the occupied territory to the Ukrainian audience pulling back the curtain of Russian propaganda and lies.

The people I've been able to talk to have surprised me with their perspective when telling their stories. They were initially enthusiastic about "Crimea-is-ours", fueled by Russian propaganda but then they turned melancholic and even hopeless. The ever-increasing prices experienced since the illegal annexation have taken the last bit from the locals, and inflation is gradually eating away at incomes. The redistribution of power, unsuccessful holiday seasons, empty luxury hotels and restaurants – this is what has characterized the occupied peninsula ever since.

What’s more, Crimea has turned into a large security facility, a kind of Russian Alcatraz, with a separate section for fans of the Russian world.

Ildi and I were also interested in the current situation and opinions of the Crimean people, so the book consists of two parts – first the reports from 2015 and then recent interviews with the emblematic characters of the historic events that have taken place in Crimea.

The history of the annexation of Crimea is full of betrayals and lies, as the soldiers of the Ukrainian army and the so-called "we-weren't-there" told us.

Ukraine, however, sooner or later will get Crimea back so all Ukrainian patriots and the Crimean Tatar people will return home.

Oleksandr Kachura

Kramatorsk, February 2022

PART 1 CRIMEA – TEN STEPS BACK

CHAPTER ONE"WE ARE LIKE THE SOULS OF SELF-MURDERERS"

Oleksandr managed to travel to Crimea shortly after the illegal annexation by Russia. He tried to get involved in the life of Crimeans in order to obtain the most in-depth information about the changes. He only shares the most exclusive information with the readers.

Traveling from Dzhankoy to Evpatoria, I accidentally came across an elderly woman who expressed her dissatisfaction with the high cost of tickets and the poor quality service at the bus station. Then the woman took the next seat to me on the bus, that's how we get acquainted by chance. Then I didn’t know yet that Zinaida Klochko (this is how the woman introduced herself and even offered to become friends with me in the social media platform Odnoklassniki) is very closely connected to the so-called Crimean “self-defense” forces and was an active participant in the fake referendum on March 16, 2014.

Where are you from? How did you end up in Crimea?

Back in 1983, my husband and I decided to leave Donetsk. I myself am from Donetsk, and my husband is from Selidovo, a small town in the north-west of the Donetsk region, Ukraine. We moved to Crimea shortly. At that time, the Crimean authorities were handing out plots of land in the Krasnogvardeisky district. We received a small plot and began to build a house. Our children, who had been living here, helped us a lot. I and my husband just wanted to be closer to them. So I'm almost considered as local.

Has your life changed as a result of the fact that you participated in the “referendum” on 16 March 2014?

Yes, and you can't even imagine what way… (laughs). Not for the better, as it turned out later on. At first, I was watching the helicopters flying without markings with joy. I understood perfectly well that Russia came for us. Ukraine for some reason did not want to believe it at all. Just like when Stalin couldn’t believe that Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941. Later on, it became clear that Russia came for me just like death – with a scythe... Yes, in theory, these two things are almost the same. If once the first has come it means the second is not far off.

But you are an active member of the Crimean “self-defense” forces…

I used to be... In fact, I used to be closely connected with the Self-Defense of Crimea. This movement began to take shape immediately after the flight of Yanukovych. Although I had really believed in former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych and I always voted for him, later I became disappointed with him. So, immediately after pro-American people came to power in Kyiv, people in Crimea began to set up groups of 15 to 20 people. Then, we had no weapons – everyone brought only sticks, shields, and bats with themselves. Each group had its own curator, who was also their commander. People did not know them at all. Our commander was Boris Ivanovich by name. We knew he was either an active or retired captain of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia. Before the arrival of the "polite people", our men received weapons from him. Basically, these were Kalashnikovs and pistols.

They were given weapons by presenting their passports and inserting their signature. We agreed with them that should we fail and the Ukrainians put pressure on us, they didn’t give us these weapons but we found them for ourselves, and what’s more, we don’t know each other.

On February 28, 2014, a guy in a black Lada “eight” came to pick me and two other women from my village up and we started our first “special operation”. Well, this is what they called what was happening. Back then, I simply believed in bringing about historical justice.

We arrived at the military airfield in Novofedorivka to military unit A1100.

Russian troops without insignia were standing behind. The only person to maintain contact with them was our curator. We were strictly forbidden to communicate with the “little green men”.

The Self-Defense of Crimea had taken control of the runway by that time whereas armed Ukrainian soldiers were still guarding the towers and strongholds. We had information about a possible landing of planes carrying soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at this particular airfield. Fortunately, no landing of the Ukrainian forces followed. What’s more, the Ukrainian pilots and the attendants left the unit. Referring to the usual maintenance procedure, Ukrainian aviators took all the equipment that they could lift to the air. Shooting upwards from machine guns did not bring any results for the Russian troops, so the Ukrainians managed to reach Odesa. Only scrap metal remained at the army base.

Were you paid for participating in these missions?

No, I for one wasn’t. They paid only for meals and they took us around by their vehicles. I can say for sure, however, that my friend received money in rubles when she covered the military air defense unit near Evpatoria with her chest when it was surrounded. There, women blocked the entrances and exits thus preventing Ukrainian soldiers from passing while people from the Self-Defense, together with a GRU detachment, took the strategic points of the military base. I was also invited there but I got sick and therefore refused to go.

Why did the "Russian world" suddenly become a panacea for all ills?

You won't believe it but I've never been to Russia. I and my husband had traveled around Ukraine, and we were abroad. I only heard about the Russian Federation one thing: that people live well there, and they have high pensions. So I decided to support Putin’s intention aimed at returning Crimea. I supported him and what did I get in exchange in the end? I live worse than I used to under Ukraine. I openly admit that it is unrealistic for a pensioner to live on 8,000 rubles a month. Medicines have become very expensive. I ask my relatives living in Ukraine to get me medicines from Kherson. Over here, they are three or even four times more expensive than there. The pharmacy takes about 3,500 rubles from me. The communal services are not cheap, either – they cost 1,500 rubles. How can you live on the 3,000 rubles that is left for a whole month? I deprive myself of everything. Just look at me to check how much weight I’ve lost. I need to economize where I can. The last time I ate pork was last winter. I can only afford chicken twice a month. Potatoes will soon become a delicacy – 30 rubles a kilo! I'm living basically on some pasta but what is the use of it?

Under Ukraine, I lived much better. I am ashamed of my actions, and I would apologize to all Ukrainians if I could – the soldiers and pilots whom I helped to block and expel from Crimea.

Our curator recently called me and delighted me with great news. Guess what, the FSB included all participants of Crimean “Self-Defense” forces in the black list called "Active unreliable population." Previously, few people knew about it or even guessed what had happened, now let them know. We are needed neither in Ukraine nor here. We are like the soul of a self-murderer – the road to heaven is closed, and there is no place for us in hell anymore.

Zinaida, is the disappointment in the Russian authorities in Crimea really that deep?

I would say it this way – it is limitless and my friends are of the same opinion. We’ve ended up in a bad version of the Soviet Union, in the period of rotten stagnation. My old age ends exactly where my youth began. I don't even care which country I die in. It is for sure I will die in poverty. I was standing there in the winter cold, and covered up these polite cowards in order to only struggle later ... We didn’t fight and vote for this bright future in the referendum. If we had known what was going to happen, we would not have gone there at all. And I also voted for all my friends who did not come as I thought it would help even more.

What are you planning to do next?

To live, or rather to survive in disappointment and resentment. I no longer hope that Ukraine will return. In addition, the attitude of Ukraine toward us will change according to our deeds. After joining Russia, the vineyards dried up in Crimea, and the North Crimean Canal almost dried up. There is nothing to water fruits and vegetables with, they are gone. This year we expect the lowest harvest ever so prices will go up again. No, there will be no hunger but there will be malnutrition.

Whose is Crimea?

Crimea is ours but it would be better if it belonged to Ukraine ...

September 2015

CHAPTER TWOTHE BANKS OF CRIMEA

After the Ukrainian banks withdrew from Crimea, the banking system on the peninsula became similar to the former Soviet savings banks. All the achievements of civilization, from online banking to paying by phone or QR code, have fallen into oblivion. Businesses which were re-registered according to Russian laws, switched to cash, and money changers appeared on the streets and busy squares – just like in the nineteen-nineties. We are dealing with the banking system in more detail because it is one of the most important topics, along with the curtailment of freedom of speech, political repression and the deterioration of the health care situation.

Who are the weakest in the minefield of sanctions?

It is not surprising that the Russian Sberbank, VTB, Alfabank and other market-leading banks cannot be seen in Crimea. None of the major players risks getting punitive measures against them and thus tarnish their reputation.

Pawns were thrown into the minefield of sanctions thus testing the ground and the reactions of the West. However, there was no reaction so the subsidiaries of the largest banks continued their activities in the occupied territory. The RNKB and the Genbank in Moscow were the first to step in and start work. The former was quickly taken under the wing of the state – it was acquired by the Voda Kryma state enterprise. The money for the transaction was allocated by the original owner – Moskva Bank.

The largest bank, Rossiya, entered Crimea without a currency circulation license after the introduction of sanctions when Visa and MasterCard no longer accepted their banking cards. The Simferopol-based Black Sea Development and Reconstruction Bank (CHBRR) became state-owned during the annexation so all state payments fell on its shoulders. At the moment, this bank has the most developed branch network.

Unsecured deposits and loans only for the selected

In the Crimean banks, it is sometimes not even possible to get basic consumer loans, which we are so used to in Ukraine, where we buy household appliances, expensive telephones and plasma televisions in installments "without a penny in our pocket" with such loans in supermarkets.

Rossiya Bank does not even attract money from private individuals. Deposits can be opened at the Verkhnevolzhsky Bank based in Rybinsk, Krayinvest, Volga-Kredit Bank based in Samara. If someone wants to make money by depositing their money in these banks, it can only be compared to roulette. These financial institutions are not members of the fund that insures bank deposits in Russia. If the bank were to be penalized or liquidated, the customer risks losing all their money and having no chance of ever getting it back. Of course, the bankers know this, which is why they try to lure depositors there with various tricks. For smaller Russian and now Crimean banks, the only sources of income are currency transactions and bank transfers.

We get the impression that they were introduced in Crimea for the purpose of an economic experiment. The owners have nothing to lose – they have not invested a penny here, and they do not deal with problematic loans.

You cannot pay by Crimean bank card abroad

Although the "newcomers" manage to conduct foreign economic activities, it should also be noted that transfers and payments are made at the same time. It may be due to sanctions imposed on the sender's or recipient's bank.

When issuing banking cards, bank employees warn customers regardless of the status of the card – it is unlikely that you can use it abroad. The foreign bank can even block the card.

Incidentally, among all the Crimean financial institutions, only RNKB suffered losses after falling under the scope of the international sanctions imposed on the peninsula's banks. In this case, the punitive measures mean freezing the accounts of Russian and Crimean persons and organizations added to the sanctions list, which also includes companies confiscated from Ukraine, as well as companies that changed hands after the seizure of Crimea.

They just took it away

Smaller Russian banks sitting on the ruins of Ukrainian financial institutions, divided the inheritance among themselves. Privatized institutions called Oshchadbank, Privatbank, and PUMB transferred to the Russian National Commercial Bank (RNKB) for free. The ATMs and terminals worth more than five thousand dollars each were transferred to the "customers".

Converting software to rubles did not cost much money or time. After a week, Privatbank's green terminals with the Russian flag issued only rubles. Rossiya bank did not even bother to remove the stickers from the cash machines so no one should be surprised if you come across Raiffeisenbank machines on the streets of Simferopol and Yalta.

It would be incorrect to call the Crimean banking system newly created – the bankers sat in ready-made banks. All they had to do was reprogram the abandoned ATMs and replace the signs in the branches.

The owners of the Ukrainian Privatbank are planning to file a lawsuit at the European Court of Justice in order to recover seized assets, funds, and material assets, as well as to collect compensation against banks that carry out their activities using violent methods. At the same time, they trust the honesty of the citizens, especially when it comes to repaying the problematic loans taken under Ukraine.

September 2015

CHAPTER THREE"LONG LIVE PUTIN AND LET HIM OCCUPY HALF OF EUROPE"

Crimean correspondents usually write a lot about the Tatars, the pro-Ukrainian population, and the condition of the roads. One issue, however, rarely occurs in coverages – the wildest "cotton wool people", who are completely devoid of critical thinking. Tatiana Vladimirovna, for example, mutters under her breath all the time as she is always dissatisfied with something. When other people say: "Thank you!", "Thank God it worked out!", she shouts, "Thanks to Putin!" There are such people in every town, in some places they represent a higher proportion, which is the source of many problems. Here is Tatiana, the former Russian language teacher who has now become a big fan of the "Russian world" and referenda.

In Ukraine, you would be called cotton wool. Can you guess why?

Is it because I have white skin and a soft body? No, this term was invented by the Maidanists, who can only kill! And what did they achieve? The price of gas has risen sevenfold in Ukraine, that of electricity has doubled, and the price of food has tripled. Both sugar and buckwheat are more expensive in Kyiv! Prices are also rising in Crimea but not as much. What’s more, salaries and pensions have also multiplied, which is not the case in Ukraine! Our lives have become better, we have overtaken the Soviet Union in terms of purchasing power.

By the way, the Ukrainians should catch up with Russia first, and then they can give people nicknames.

Banderovists will never live like we do in this great country. All they know is "Glory to Ukraine, glory to the heroes!" For those who don't know, fascists used to greet each other this way. Now glory to Ukraine, but what kind of glory? I'd rather say it's a shame – Crimea has been lost, Donbas has also seceded and created Novorossiya. I will not be surprised if the entire eastern part of the country secedes and enters the newly created state. People live much better in the "People's Republic of Donetsk" than in Ukraine.

Just watch what ordinary people are saying on television. It wouldn't make sense for them to lie.

What does Putin's multi-step plan mean?

You know that our president is a genius. The West has understood this by now. Everyone is afraid of him. From his actions to his policies, Putin uses everything to his advantage, which also benefits the country. Only a fool goes head-on with the tank.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, on the other hand, is such an excellent strategist that he can find the point in the tank that, if pressed with one finger, will stop it. He foresees everything with pinpoint accuracy.

He can only be compared to the highest-capacity computer, which gives up a pawn for longer-term considerations and wins the game after twenty moves.

This time, Putin caught everyone – crude oil has become cheaper, and the price of medicine is rising but I am convinced that this is just part of a secret plan, which is necessary for him to win again, and then everything will fall into place.

Why is Santa Claus called "Russian winter" and Putin is the "Russian spring"?

Putin can be called upon for help in any difficult situations of our lives, just like God. He comes and helps.

For example, when I am faced with an important decision, I think about what Putin would do in my place.

You won't believe it – the solution comes by itself. You can feel the power of the great man. No one would figure out his thoughts as his subconscious ideas are so deep.

Scientists have compared the brains of great geniuses. Einstein took first place, Putin came second. I am convinced that they are so eager to blame Russia and put a stick in the spokes. There are such contradictions. We conquered the West with its physicists. What do their laws mean to us? We live by our own ones! If we want, we can even turn the rivers back so that our enemies will drown in them. Or we can generate a huge cyclone! Russian scientists are capable of that. You don't know what we have yet. And all this is thanks to Putin, who is the savior of the land of Crimea.

How often do you go to referendums?

I wish I could go every day.

Although we already know for whom to vote – for the Russian world in all directions.

This reminds me of the fact that the result of the Crimean referendum was falsified by America. The people voted one hundred percent, without exception, for the annexation of the peninsula by Russia but in the end it was announced that only 93 or 94 percent voted for it, which is impossible! But that didn't save them either!

Tell us about how your everyday life has improved!

My pension used to be 1,000 hryvnias, and now it is 8,000 rubles, which is an eight-fold increase, even though the price tags have one or even two more zeros. All in all, my life has gotten better, though! Maybe the Russian flag warms my soul. As they say – at home, even the walls help. We are home now.

As they say, every Banderovist has a piece of land and two servants. What do you have?

Where is that piece of land? I wouldn't turn it down, either! I have a goat, a rooster, six dogs, and 18 cats, three of them are pregnant. I don't need two servants because I don't have anything to feed this livestock with, nor can I clean up after them. It’s a good thing I'm retired now. I have more free time.

Who does Crimea belong to?

Crimea is ours or do you still doubt it? We will never again return it to Ukraine. She had the opportunity to feed us but she did not keep us well. She always fed us on the same dishwater. On the other hand, we expect pickles from Russia. I'll share a secret with you – Crimea will belong to whoever invests more in it. Although I like the Russians, my pension is still low. If Turkey offers a pension of 1,000 euros, I will gladly go to another referendum. I love going there so much.

What will happen if Ukraine does take Crimea back?

Then the Banderovists will come, they will pin the rag of the Right Sector and set up a statue of Bandera in place of the Lenin monument. After that, they will go from house to house killing the local residents one by one. People will wait at home for the Ukrainians to knock on their doors. They clearly talk about it on the LifeNews Russian channel or do you not even watch it? I guess you’re just looking for where the naked women are, and you don't turn on the real news so you don't know what's going on. However, I do not believe in this scenario.

What do you think about Africans?

They make me vomit especially when I see Obama, and then doubly so. We live badly because of him. The Americans have organizations whose mission is to figure out how to bully Russia. They buy the best minds and use them to make hellish machines. It's not that new combines or tractors are being created...

So Russia has enemies?

Yes! And how many! Overseas, there is the United States, next to us there is Ukraine, the Baltic states, the Jews, and the Japanese, the slant-eyed. We are surrounded by enemies! All of them want to destroy Russia!

The one who doesn't jump is... (The rhyme that became popular at Euromaidan: The one who doesn't jump is a Moskal.)

He is a fool... The Khokhols have already jumped enough. Now they should jump to avoid freezing.

If Maidan breaks out in Russia as well, what will it be called?

The Russian brother will never rise up against Putin. We should rather pray to him to take us home! I light a candle every night for his health! May he live long! Let him occupy half of Europe!

September 2015

CHAPTER FOUR"THIS IS THE END OF BUSINESS, LIVE HAPPILY THEREAFTER"

After Crimea was annexed by Russia, things did not get easier for small and medium-sized entrepreneurs – there were constant checks, then a lot of different taxes imposed, as well as legal blackmail in the form of forced donations to various Crimean foundations. Oleksandr managed to talk to a businessman from Sevastopol, who explained in detail how to do business in Crimea. Anatoly Gaiduk has Internet cafes in the famous city of sailors. Before Crimea was invaded, the entrepreneur did not have a bad life. In 15 years, he opened four new Internet cafes. However, his business failed – there is only one coffee shop left, and it has only eleven old computers. Due to liquidity problems, the administrator had to be dismissed. Only children are now knocking on the window of the cash register with the request to let them use the Internet for one more hour.

Two years ago, you were a successful entrepreneur, already planning to open your fifth Internet cafe. What caused the plan to fail?

You also know very well where the roots of problems and all bad things are...

Where exactly?

In Moscow. After Ukraine lost control over the peninsula, it became extremely difficult running a business, and what’s more, in some cases impossible. At first, everyone including me, was in a state of euphoria because "Crimea-is-ours", so to speak. A better life is coming, we will live like Northern Russia. We, however, live like Dagestan in the mid-2000s.

Was there any positive development in the business sphere?

Yes, there was (laughs). Cars are cheaper in Russia. After closing down three internet cafes, I bought a nice little foreign car that was ferried here from Japan. Gasoline has become cheaper. When it comes to my business, the Internet just got a lot faster. The optical cables were replaced in the city.

Then it's not so bad, is it?

There are a lot of negatives. Have you ever read the Russian laws? They can be interpreted however they want. There are laws that are created just to trap people and then fine them. And the penalties are not small around here. For example, in order for someone to be able to access the Internet, I need to file their ID number especially if they use Wi-Fi. If I didn't register someone, and by the way it has already happened, the fine is 100,000 rubles first, and twice as much the second time.

Taxation has also become much more complicated and unpleasant. Under Ukraine, I came under the scope of unified taxation. Here, however, you have to go through countless checks. For example, I wait seven months for the company to be registered. The license costs 17,000 rubles for one year... In Crimea, the average salary is ten to fourteen thousand rubles. Even for vacationers, my services are not too cheap. And if I lowered the prices dramatically, I would be in the deep red in the ledger. Previously, a smaller penalty had to be paid for using Windows without permission. Several computers had a free Linux program installed.

This year, on the other hand, I was forced to install the Russian licensed version separately on each computer, in addition to issuing the documents for renting out the software. Multiply 11 computers by nine thousand rubles per disk with any program. It costs almost a hundred thousand rubles. Where can I get such a sum? They came out last week from Roskomsviaz. I pay 1.2 percent of gross profit per month to some obscure Crimean Welfare Fund. It is clear that this is robbery except that it is under the auspices of the law. I calculated that my income dropped by a third last year! That's why I decided to close part of the premises and simply rent out the rest. It used to be easier – if one of the gaming machines broke down, I ordered the necessary parts at any computer store, and after 2-3 days, Novaya Poshta delivered them for a ridiculously low fee. However, there is currently no courier service. Everything is transported through the Kerch crossing, which takes weeks. Last time I waited more than a week for a video card and some motherboards from Krasnodar, it still costs 25-30 percent less than if I bought them here. Communication with mainland Ukraine is currently being blocked. Previously, I brought the optical cable and power supplies from Kherson by my own car. I don't know how it will be now.

Do you think the blockade of Crimea also affects you?

Yes, and extremely negatively. First of all, the prices of fixture have gone up. Second, food became more expensive. People are already much poorer anyway, so no one will be interested in my services in the future. Someone might pop in to photocopy or scan their passport but that's about it. From October, they plan to raise the price of computer services, which will be included in the costs of my services.

I see that you have Russian flags displayed everywhere – the flags of the party of United Russia, and the stickers "My father also fought". Is all this out of conviction?

Of course not. Before the May 9th Victory Day, they visited me from the United Russia party. They brought flags and stickers and obliged me to display them. I didn't actually hang them all. If I covered the walls with flags and "My father also fought" stickers, it would be crazy, a sign that I'm a cotton wool person. By the way, those who display all this, have they visited even a single war veteran to ask how he gets by on his beggar's pension? Did they buy him a kilo of bread? No way! But they plastered their apartment and car with free stickers that read, "Thank you dad for the victory!" Your father doesn't need your thanks, he needs you to shop for him, to buy him the expensive medicine.

Maybe even the old veteran himself is not happy about this victory. If it were up to me, I would display the Ukrainian flag with the three-pronged trident. Let them know that Crimea is not ours but Ukrainian. Crimeans are gradually realizing this, although they are afraid to talk about it.

They scare everyone with inspections and house searches. A day later, the corrupt cops came to me, looking for right-wingers and terrorists. They looked at what the guests searched for in the browser.

Every month, I send the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs the invoices and search records, as well as video camera footage. These traitors of Christ are looking for stolen notebooks, phones and deserters. As for deserters, believe me, there are quite a few. Especially after the first soldiers were taken to Syria by ship, and a week later they came home as Cargo 200 (in coffins). When I was going to work, I saw the coffins were being unpacked at the Grafsky quay. It was explained to the local blockheads that fishermen got stuck in the seine net and died. Of course, I looked it up. A separate landing craft was sent as a charter flight to bring the bodies home. When the ship arrived, undertakers were helping the Marines, who were horribly defoliated by the loss of their brave and good countrymen. Ridiculous? This is what they say in the zombie box (on television), and people believe it. I understand a lot now, I can separate the seed from the chaff, so I am not afraid of Russian spiritual zombification. I am still a progressive thinker and I am pro-European. There are still such people in Crimea, although unfortunately there are very few of us. I myself am sometimes very afraid when uninvited guests come.

What kind of guests?

They came from FSB once and offered cooperation. They even offered money but I'm not for sale. Now they are forcing me to install expensive equipment in order to get information about each user directly to them – login, password, records of bank transfers and bank cards. For example, someone pops into an internet cafe, rents a computer, goes online, starts exchanging messages with a girl and writes that Putin is an asshole, and the FSB immediately sees this. They check the footage of the security camera, compare it to the ID information that must be entered for registration. They want me to close.

What will you do next?

I might open a business in Ukraine. Everything is simpler and easier there. It also has its drawbacks but there is no total chaos as in Putin's Russia and "our Crimea". Or maybe I'll buy an apiary and work with bees. That's my favorite hobby. My wife just laughs at me. This is the end of business, live happily thereafter!

October 2015

CHAPTER FIVE"SOMETIMES I JUST WANT TO KICK THE BUCKET"

The transition period to compulsory health insurance in Crimea ended in winter. Now, if someone has a health issue, the doctor will not see anyone without a Russian passport and mandatory insurance, which for some reason is called SNYLS (the insurance number of the individual account).

If someone gets sick in Crimea, they first go to a health facility, where they are registered and queued up electronically. If the person managed to log in, they have a chance to get to the doctor and receive professional care. Then arises the most important question – how much will it cost? If you have a Russian passport, it is free but only to the extent of the medicines in stock. As usual, these are the cheapest and most basic pills. On the other hand, if the patient does not have a Russian passport, or if the treatment does not suit him, see you at the pharmacy where you have to pay.

In addition, there is another interesting fact – if a person calls an ambulance but for some reason the health insurance policy is not at hand, it will cost two thousand rubles or even more. Who cares about the Hippocratic oath! If you don't have money or have lost SNYILS, that's your problem.

Just for comparison, all citizens of Ukraine and all foreigners staying in the country are entitled to free medical care. We all know of what quality it is, though. Most of the medicines are full price but then at least you can be sure that you will definitely receive first aid.

It may seem that if one has a mandatory insurance policy, then all residents of Crimea can feel safe. And if not, there is still a narrower list of health services to be provided free of charge. The poorer a region is (everyone knows that Crimea needs state subsidies), the shorter this list is.

Foreign medicines, and even those manufactured in Ukraine, are not always available in pharmacies. If you do find them, the prices are unbelievably high. While waiting in line, local resident Irina Guyvanyuk complains to me: "Instead of real medicines, placebos are brought to Crimea. I bought Corvalol sedative yesterday. Half of it is water, you can barely taste the alcohol. It was just the same if I didn't take it! And it's the same with all drugs! The prices have increased several times. There is no trace of German medicine. Everything is just counterfeit, an import. And now we have to treat ourselves with this chalk because of Russia. Foreign medicine cannot be brought in due to the international sanctions. And we can't produce it because either we don't have the brains to make it or because we're dumb."

The situation is even more difficult with rural pharmacies. For example, in the village of Karierne in the Saksky district, "expensive medicine can only be bought by order. The most important medicines are often out of stock and must be purchased from the city pharmacies in Saki or Yevpatoriya. Moreover, rural pharmacies are full of counterfeit medicine. Older people don't complain, and young people have found out about the fraud so they don't shop there anymore. There is another "joyful" innovation: you can no longer buy a sheet of tablets, only a box. But why do I need a whole package? Honey, I don't have enough money for that!," says Emil.

The lack of certain medicines affects the health of diabetics, cancer patients and HIV-positive Crimeans. Stocks left over from the time of Ukraine are melting before our eyes, and everything cannot be brought in via the Kerch ferry.

Larissa, a cancer patient, is fighting for her life in the conditions of a complete lack of medicine. "I have a clearly visible tumor that requires immediate surgical intervention. I have insurance, there are medicines but the doctors don't want to do it! One of the surgeons blurted out to me: doctors earn less, and accepting gratuities is forbidden. The doctor does not receive anything for the operation, moreover, they are afraid of making a mistake in the case of a serious disease. Chemotherapy is considered rehabilitation, which is not covered by the insurance, so the patient pays for it separately. This gives the doctor more income and less trouble. In principle, the medicine is free but they ask for money for it. I’ll take courage and travel with my husband to Moscow, waiting in line to get into a clinic. I have no other choice because they don't want to heal me here. Honestly, you might not believe it but sometimes I'd love to kick the bucket!"