By Diane Gee, The Wild Wild Left
SPECIAL DISPATCH

Russian flag waving in Donetsk 
© Kostyantyn Chernichkin
.

_One would hope by now, that anyone paying attention has garnered a better understanding of the issues in the Ukraine than it being “freedom fighting rebels” standing up against an “oppressive government,” as originally propagandized by the American Press Transcribers. That they would see that was always a lie.Even some of the US media mouthpieces now grudgingly admit what I reported in Postcards From the Ukraine a full month ago:  That there is more than an ideological split there, it is one of culture and language and grave historical precedent.  It is exceedingly important to understand these basics, the mistrust of the Eastern people, primarily of Russian descent for their Western counterparts whose Parents and Grandparents took part in the slaughter of their own under a Nazi flag. For those in the West, they have been breast-fed on post Austria nationalism, and feel that anything short of pure Ukrainian is a threat – the Russians, the Polish, and yes, the Jewish – to their autonomy.

This?  This is the fabric upon which the Maidan uprising was painted, aided heartily by US planners and CIA monies, a fabric loosely but peacefully tied together in coexistence for decades, but fragile nonetheless. Fragile, and soon rent asunder.

To be sure the last government, though legitimately elected, was corrupt.  Wages were going down, while costs were being driven up, much like here in the Unites States, by their own Oligarchs, the Robber Baron class.  It wasn’t hard to take that general anger and ignite it into a frenzy of far right-wing, even fascist and neo-nazi movement that could scapegoat minorities and look to the Capitalist West to save them (which is where the far-right libertarians and infantile leftist anarchists meet in the US as well).

Those important facts cannot be denied as the start of the Ukrainian troubles, yet as things metamorphosize of their own volition – it is just as important to understand there are far more variables at play now.  More factions on the ground, more anger, and more international subversion than ever.

The face of bravery – Ukrainian women stops line of tanks.

First and foremost, the far-right, the Nazis that originally took the power, roving bands of violent skinheads screaming of “Ukraine only for the Ukrainians” and hoping to make the Russian language illegal no longer hold the power, though they are still on the streets. Aleksandr Muzychko, whose claim of “I’ll be fighting Jews and Russians till I die,” has in fact met that death. This has made the right wing militias feel angry and betrayed by the slightly less right-wing leadership.

•
I can only offer to the US audiences, that this would be akin to the Tea Party joining forces with the Aryan Nation to overthrow Washington… then upon taking power, killing David Duke and then telling the white supremists that they no longer have “Killing Blacks and Jewish” on their agenda.  This faction will not be satisfied with less than a racially pure state, an enforced national language, and loyalty tests for employment in their new Nation.

Ironically, when these extremist militants claimed to have purged the most extremist of them, and created their own party to challenge interim President Olexander Turchynov’s legitimacy in office – Turchynov claimed it was a Russian backed challenge to him.  Suuuure, cousin, we believe you, because if the KKK’s political branch tried to overthrow the new Tea Party government in a post-coup US, it would be the Blacks who made it happen.  These people hate Russians. Pravy Sektor (the extremists) may not be in power, but they still wield considerable power in Kyiv, and are still roaming the streets in packs, terrorizing people who seem less than their version of Perfect Ukrainians.

The West/East divide is simplistic, for both are a melting pot of many differing peoples, right up to the languages they speak.  While the East speaks primarily Russian, in Kiev people speak Ukrainian, Russian, and often a hybrid of each; in local dialect and a simple borrowing of words from both languages slipping back and forth without notice.

The West of the country is still firmly in the hands of rightwingers, from the Government to the disgruntled extremists.  Things are far from settled there, but that threat is basically internal.  As Dmitri Kolesnik who we met in my last Postcard from the Ukraine reported yesterday, there are videos of them making these claims:

17.04.2014 Odessa – march of Right Sector Neonazis.
The speaker: “[We want] into that kind of Europe that crusaders fought for, into that Europe – the European nationalists were fighting for – into Europe of white people, but not into Europe where now live Muslims and ousting native population: they seize their lands and restrict their rights. We will be fighting for Europe – white Europe of traditions and national states – for Europe of free nations. Glory to the nation! Death to enemies!”

Moving to the West, earlier this week it seemed that the Donetsk region protected themselves from the attack by the new Government’s military forces, without a shot being fired or a drop of blood spilled. The Saker reported:

Something really amazing happened today in Kramatorsk. It appears that a column of Ukrainian paratroopers entered the city unopposed, some of them put Russian flags on their Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFV), others Saint George ribbons. When they made it to the city center they were greeted by the civilians who brought them flowers and food.

Both Betty, and Dmitri reported the military forces were on their way to the West last week, hearing ordnance in the distance. By the 7th Kharkovwas still under the people’s control. By the 12th, the miners had come to the defense of their area as reported in the Guardian, though those on the ground said they vastly underestimated the number of protestors there.

The crowd parted as a group of a dozen or so burly men in orange work helmets marched past barbed-wire and tyre barricades into the 11-storey administration building, which protesters seized last weekend as they demanded greater independence from Kiev.”Glory to the miners!” the crowd began chanting. “Glory to Donbass!” they shouted

::snip::

“It’s hard to arouse the miners, but when you do, there will be trouble,” said Artyom, a former miner who was guarding the administration building on Friday night. “If the miners all rise up, it will be an economic, physical and moral blow. It will be hard for everyone.”

By the 13th the attack had come to the Donbass area, whose central city is Donetsk. The area is a heavy industrial area, mainly mining.

Betty reported:

Donbass is the name of the province, the industrial region of Ukraine where many people work in the coal mines. Donetsk is the main city of Donbass. The new fascist gov is beginning its military attack against protesters in Donetsk tonight.

But later, was disappointed:

The miners are not very active, the owners warned about mass dismissals if they go out to support the rebels. [The pro-Russia separatists—Eds.]

Note, these mines are privately owned, and pay has stagnated, if not gone down.  Some weeks their wages are not met.  Picture being owed $100 for a week’s work, and getting a paycheck for $67.85 with no explanation other than, “That’s what we have right now.”  But thus made hungry, they are less likely to strike, all while knowing full well their Russian counterparts across the border, a few miles away, are making 3x, 5x, up to 8x the pay scale they are being given. It’s hard to endure.

Yet, as I pointed out this ended up not being a bloody confrontation.  Many soldiers walked away, many flipped sides, while they ended up surrounded, nominally by the new Ukrainian forces – mostly, the whole thing fizzled out.  People went back to doing their business, with a few protestors here and there.

Were this really a divide between Russian sycophants in the East as they say, and hardline nationalist Westerners, were it all-encompassing and pervasive as all that, it simply would have come to bloodshed. But in between all the propagandist rhetoric, in between the wonks working furiously to decipher what is happening and why, and create predictive models for outcomes, lies the real people. They don’t want a civil war, they don’t want to kill one another.

Save a few?  Most do not want to see their country broken up.  They want a unified Ukraine, with the social tolerance of all her citizens as in their recent past.  But they want it with less corruption, they want it with an economy that lets them not hunger.

Dimitri:

(on desertions)

Ordinary soldiers and officers do not desire a war and we see even a kind of sabotage in the army.

(on the extremists)

We see the rise of young neo-nazis – a kind of storm-troopers (especially from provinical western towns where children were indoctrinated for many years by nationalist ideas) that expect nothing from life and just want to die at least for something – for something like ‘government’, ‘race’, ‘state’, ‘nation’ – they are being used very well by oligarchs – they use them as a ready-made army to crush dissenters for free.

(lastly on why fewer extremists join – then sometimes desert as they did when sent to Donetsk)

Too many young people have no job – we refused last year also from army recruiting – many young people (boys) see no prospects except a career of a militarymen. You should remember that in Germany (where army was forbidden after 1918 WWI defeat) there was a great number of unemployed young people – they became the core of Nazi-storm-troopers.

Overall, it is the desperation of economic stress driving people and they are torn between wanting a united Ukraine, wanting and or resisting a strong federal presence in their lives (which at the moment is highly oppressive to ethnic Russians) and wanting local autonomy.

Dmitri, from the West sees the East as marginalized by both Russians and Ukrainians:

As for eastern Ukraine – not the same way – the pro-Russian sentiments are present there – but you should understand that eastern Ukraine – is a melting pot of nations – there live predominantly people of mixed ethnic groups. They are considered as ‘Russians’ by western Ukrainians, but at the same time as ‘Ukrainians’ – by ethnic Russians. Eastern Ukraine – is a mix and the language spoken there is ‘surzhik’ – a mix of both languages

Betty, from the East feels a deeper Russian kinship and defends their language:

As for the language I disagree. The most awful dialect is in Kiev region. Poor children. In comparison – our surzhik is an example of aristocrat’s speech.  In Donetsk only teachers of Ukrainian language can speak it. Yes. But anti-fascism is closely connected with Russia which inherited the values of the Soviet Union.

She would like to see her area more closely tied to Russia, and would prefer local control to Ukrainian Nationalist control (they call that federalization – the opposite of what we would call it) local control loosely affiliated with either Russia or the Ukraine.  She feels Russian values would be better for her people, than the Fascists now in power.

Dmitri defines it:

they demand mostly federalisation – the right to elect own governors (instead of appointed oligarchs) and decide own cultural and language policy in regions…

The KEY thing, that most need to understand is this… most in the East have 3 primary motivations, I have paraphrased and expanded both of my Ukrainian friends’ comments.

A kind of local patriotism (on the level of a town or region) – they are loyal to their own, and want their local interests served.  The next motivation is antifascism – they do not accept far-right policy of Kiev, with all its inherent racism.

Lastly, comes a kind of pro-Russian sentiment, born not only of tradition and ties of language, but the concrete fact that Russian workers working mirror mines a few miles hither are making a wonderful wage by comparison.

So enter the Geneva agreement, loosely binding both the right wing contingent in Kiev and the resistance in Donetsk (and all factions in between) to lay down their arms and negotiate. Here is the actual wording:

“The Geneva meeting on the situation in Ukraine agreed on initial concrete steps to de-escalate tensions and restore security for all citizens.  All sides must refrain from any violence, intimidation or provocative actions. The participants strongly condemned and rejected all expressions of extremism, racism and religious intolerance, including anti-semitism.

All illegal armed groups must be disarmed; all illegally-seized buildings must be returned to legitimate owners; all illegally occupied streets, squares and other public places in Ukrainian cities and towns must be vacated.  [But how can an illegal government in Kiev speak of illegality anywhere in the nation?]

Amnesty will be granted to protestors and to those who have left buildings and other public places and surrendered weapons, with the exception of those found guilty of capital crimes.

It was agreed that the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission should play a leading role in assisting Ukrainian authorities and local communities in the immediate implementation of these de-escalation measures wherever they are needed most, beginning in the coming days. The U.S., E.U. and Russia commit to support this mission, including by providing monitors.

The announced constitutional process will be inclusive, transparent and accountable. It will include the immediate establishment of a broad national dialogue, with outreach to all of Ukraine’s regions and political constituencies, and allow for the consideration of public comments and proposed amendments.

The participants underlined the importance of economic and financial stability in Ukraine and would be ready to discuss additional support as the above steps are implemented.”

It has left many here on the left wondering if Putin has lost his mind; right now the interim (and quite illegal) government is in control and likely will not disarm in the name of security… and by bedding with the US/EU in monitoring the constitutional process is bending over for the big fat capitalist gift that never stops giving.

Or perhaps, as happened in Syria – Putin is again outmastering the chessmaster by appearing to be calm and reasonable, and setting up the West to have to show their overt face of conquest and colonization – something that did not play well last time, and is increasingly damned by the Global Community.

If, as part of the process, the West shares power with the East, has to allow languages other than Ukrainian to be spoken, they risk being overthrown yet again by the extremists of Maidan, who will see this as an ultimate betrayal.

I put this question to my dear friends, and asked the general reaction of left-leaning Ukrainians to this latest development.

Betty responds what the West is after from her POV with regards to the accord:

in general it will be the following: try to calm protesters, give them promise and push through own agenda but not so quickly

Dmitri:

I don’t know all the political secrets (behind the scene) – but I hear contradictory opinions – some say that Putin bowed, some – that in fact- not. But it’s difficult to judge – actually we see what’s happening in Ukraine – and our authorities stated that they will not follow the agreement and continue crackdown on rebellious regions.  Yes, they play their own game – and can easily come to an agreement, but inside Ukraine the conflict is nevertheless being escalated.

Putin plays his own game and those rebellious regions are not so pro-Putin (or pro-Russian) as media present it – they are mostly Ukrainians too – those that do not recognise new unelected government – they demand mostly federalisation – the right to elect own governors (instead of appointed oligarchs) and decide own cultural and language policy in regions…

I countered that both sides have claimed they will ignore the agreement, which they  confirmed and was in turn confirmed by other sources throughout the day.  I asked if there was any hope of this making a difference there.

Betty:

There isn’t much hope for this part.  Europe supports the new govt and they will hide the facts I am sure and blame Russia for backing up the East.

Dmitri:

No, I think it’s not hopeful – the authorities understand that they can destruct people only by a war hysteria and moving militants to wage war somewhere (in other case they will crush them) – so, they already refuse to fulfill the Geneva agreements.

All in all, I am glad that both of these lovely people feel safe enough to still be traveling and going about their lives.  Dmitri’s blog has come under attack several times, but neither feel in imminent danger from violence.

Neither feels any more, nor any less hopeful about the Geneva accord, because they know their countrymen, and they know the levels of distrust and anger…they KNOW that it will bring no concrete change to what is happening there on the ground.  It is constantly escalating as rents increase, wages stagnate, and prices of everything else goes up.  It is also transforming, as troops bearing down on them defect to their side over a sandwich, being maltreated by the Kiev junta military leaders.  It lies in impatient wait, as the steadfast miners try to remain gainfully employed and almost-but-not-quite neutral for the moment until pushed.  It bubbles as deals are made between the rich, as they divvy up appointments between cronies of slightly differing ideologies just to concretize the Oligarchs grip on power.  It seethes as the neo-nazis scream from ethnic purity.

To them, what Putin is doing in Geneva is mostly irrelevant.  His troops are at the border, and they know he will not let them be slaughtered.  [The new agreement] is words on paper to people worried about heat and food. They do worry, that with Europe as their biggest gas customer, Russia may not be as honest about their welfare as he once seemed.  It is Russia for the Russians, in a way.

Betty, though she says the East will never give up to those now in power:

Russia is in isolation and although they try to be optimistic in fact business interests are stronger than their love of the Ukraine.

I am not sure what Putin was thinking, but I certainly know what the reports would be had he not come to the table, or refused to denounce violence.  The passion play of public opinion matters.  I am not sure this is capitulation, though it may be. I am not sure he did not find some upper hand to play in the background.  It is too soon to tell.

I still predict a divided nation, watching this play out, there are just too many factions demanding to have ultimate control, which is painting the people into the farthest corners of hell.  People in corners are more unpredictable than rattlesnakes, and twice as deadly.

I look and listen to their stories, an outsider wonk, trying to decipher something still primordial in its making.  Its shape or form has not yet presented itself.

And the only thing I could say to them, the only pearl of dubious wisdom I could utter, was one with which they BOTH heartily agreed:

Not to be crude, but it seems the regular people are fucked in every direction right now….

And that they are, my friends, that they are.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Diane Gee has been causing trouble for the 0.1% for some time, as she takes living in a democracy seriously.  Besides her main blog, The Wild Wild Left, she runs the most vibrant left political discussion group on Facebook, Links for the Wildly Left. 

https://www.greanvillepost.com/videos/ProRussian_protesters_seize_govt_buildings.flv
THIS REPORT BROUGHT TO TGP BY COLLEGIAL EDITOR STEVEN JONAS

_Protesters in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk have seized the regional department building of Ukraine’s Security Service, local media reported, as cited by ITAR-TASS. It’s after pro-Russian rallies happened across Ukraine during the weekend.

“The people’s militia seized Ukraine’s Security Service in 15 minutes, at 3:32 in the morning,” the activists told the website of the Ukrainian Vesti newspaper.

For once we see the people moving with lucid determination in a direction that displeases the global plutocrats and their shills in Washington, and with a fair chance of success…The Russian masses again deserve the admiration and support of peace loving, democratic humanity.—Eds”

Currently, the perimeter of the building is being blocked to ensure protection from security forces.

On Sunday, thousands of people waving Russian flags flooded the streets of eastern Ukraine on Sunday. Demonstrators in the cities of Donetsk, Lugansk, and Kharkov seized state offices, while in Donetsk they also demanded an independence referendum.

Over 2,000 people gathered in Lenin Square in the center of Donetsk to petition for the Berkut officers, who – they believe – are falsely accused of using fire arms against the rioters during the Maidan standoff.

The participants in the event called on the “illegal junta in Kiev” to end political repressions and persecution of dissidents, the Itar-Tass news agency reports.

They demanded their right for self-determination to be respected, pushing for a Crimea-style referendum on independence from Ukraine.

The protesters carried Russian national flags, chanted “Russia! Russia!” and displayed banners urging the new Donetsk Region governor, Sergey Taruta, who was recently appointed by Kiev, “to get out.”

An effigy of a Nazi zealot was also burnt in the square, with the action labeled “an act of annihilation of fascism” by the protesters in view of neo-Nazi radicals playing a key role in the Ukrainian coup this February.

The people then moved out towards the regional administration’s headquarters, carrying a giant Russian flag.

The confrontation with the police broke out on the porch of the government building, with the pro-Russian protesters depriving a dozen officers of their riot shields.

The demonstrators used the confiscated shields to make their way through the main entrance of the building and occupied the balcony. The Ukrainian flag in front of the administration was replaced by a Russian standard.

Eventually, police blocked the demonstrators inside.

The violence in Donetsk might’ve been provoked by a banner saying “Goodbye, Russia,” which was placed on the administration, Life-News reports.

The administration headquarters were empty, with only guards inside, as Government officials don’t work on Sundays.

“The situation is pretty tense. The demonstrators are occupying the city council building and are demanding that an independence referendum be held to determine the future of the region of Donetsk,” activist Aleksandr Borodin told RT.

“The protesters are calling on officials to conduct a special session over the referendum situation. If it doesn’t take place, the demonstrators say they will organize an initiative group to settle the issue. The protesters say they will not acknowledge the Kiev-appointed authorities and are also demanding freedom for the recently elected so-called “public governor.”

Lugansk

The events evolved in a similar way in Lugansk where around a thousand people rallied in front of the local Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) office.

They demanded the release of protest leader, Aleksandr Kharitonov, who has been in detention since mid-march, as well as 15 pro-Russian activists detained on Saturday.

The people carried Russian flags and chanted “Shame on the SBU!” and “Freedom to political prisoners.”

Up to eight people were injured as demonstrators stormed the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) office, Ukraine’s Channel 5 reported. According to the Russian Spring website, a policeman was injured and hospitalized.

The governor of Lugansk region and the local Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) chief went out to talk to the demonstrators, which resulted in six of the detained anti-Maidan activists being released from custody.

For more on building seizure in Lugansk watch Ruptly video

Kharkov

Violence also broke out in the city of Kharkov where pro-Russian protesters clashed with alleged activists from the far-right Right Sector movement.

Fireworks were used as weapons during the scuffle, with several explosions heard. However, there were no reports of injuries as the police managed to quickly separate the sides.

Following the incident, the Maidan activists had to crawl inside the corridor, erected by police for their protection, as the crowd threw foreign objects at them.

Following the rally, around 1,500 pro-Russian activists have made their way to Kharkov’s regional administration headquarters, UNIAN news agency reports.

Despite the administration being guarded by police in riot gear, a group of protesters have managed to penetrate the building.

The storm began after the organizers of the protests urged participants “to support Donetsk and Lugansk where government buildings were seized earlier in the day.”

According to anti-Maidan activists, around 10,000 people participated in the protest in Kharkov on Sunday.

Pro-Russian rallies are taking place almost every weekend in major cities in the Russian-speaking part of Ukraine since the nationalist coup ousted Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovich, in late February.

One of the first laws the new government revoked was the regional status of the Russian language, which sent a clear message to the people in the country’s east.

The Republic of Crimea refused to recognize the change of power in Kiev and declared its independence from Ukraine, following the March-16 referendum, in which 96.77 percent of the voters chose to rejoin Russia.

Derek Monroe from Foreign Policy in Focus described the situation in Ukraine as politically chaotic.

“There are a lot of political plays taking place in Kiev itself, specifically when it comes to positioning certain groups within the government itself,” Monroe said.

He added that the oligarchs that were places as governors in eastern Ukraine are not very popular with the people. “They have little following in popularity among the people, so the issue is simply to maintain some type of degree of nominal control, where in fact there is very limited control whatsoever.”

“The situation is very fluid, so it is very hard to say where the government itself has particular strong control in the region or not. All the evidence looks like they don’t have much control unfortunately.”

Monroe described the Maidan movement as an “absolute disaster.” He argued that it was the provisional government which was selected, not elected, that made the schisms within Ukrainian society very visible.

“This resulted not only in the loss for Ukraine, but loss of credibility among the people of the East,” he stated.

By Diane Gee, The Wild Wild Left
SPECIAL CORESPONDENT TO THE GREANVILLE POST

Veterans of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) a fascist, ultranationalist formation, hold portrait of Stepan Bandera.

Three interactions, two from the belly of the Ukraine, one from a recent immigrant to the US.  This is the story from their perspectives.

Irina:  “Ukraine is for Ukrainian only.  I am from there, I know how all those others ruin everything…”
______________
“I liked Irina.  Nearly every Wednesday of the year, I stop in the CVS drugstore to pick up prescriptions and sundries in Ann Arbor for my elderly friends who live nearby.  She is always sweet and funny, her Ukrainian accent sounding like home to me, having a Father for whom English was a second language to his native Polish.  His people were from the far eastern part of Poland; their dialect so close to Ukrainian that his brother bought a cottage in the exclusive Ukrainian community at Lake Dibrova in Brighton Michigan and it was years before they found out we all weren’t really Ukes.

I asked my Dad once, if Russian, Polish, and Ukrainian were the same language, listening to him slip in an out of each and English as a young child.  He smiled, and said, “No, Diny, but we came from a border town.  That border changed so many times through the years, my grandparents said they could never tell where they were.  We got all the leftover dialects of all of them,” and laughed heartily.  I asked if that was confusing.  He said, they couldn’t care less.  Their farm was their farm, and until the Nazis came, they didn’t give a shiesta. (phonetic – roughly “shit” – oddly there is nothing comparable in the Polish dictionary for it… dialects, indeed.)  Then his parents left.

Irina lamented last summer, her tiny apartment, how she missed gardening… how she hated not having a car, and having to rely on the buses.  An older single woman living on cashier wages, I had a soft spot for her, so used to bring her tomatoes and cucumbers when my garden came in.  I loved her accent.  She loved that I was Slavic. We always made small talk with a smile for one another.

Imagine my surprise when this Wednesday past I found out she really is a Nazi sympathizer. And thinks it is Russia, not the US who is the aggressor here.

 :: Postcards From the Ukraine

I was in line behind a tall, grey haired man, still strong of build despite his well past retirement age. He was saying how the US should stay the hell out of the Ukraine, and that Russia was right.  Never one to pass a random public political discussion, I heartily agreed.  She started to say, “No, no, the US does good…” When he brought up our aggression vs Russia’s, I cited the number of forward bases we maintain to support him.  We have over a thousand not on US soil, they have 7.  He was on his way out and said, “Fuck the US,” by way of leave.  As I approached, she said, “You don’t understand.  Russia plans on taking everything over again,” going on to name countries, mostly in the West.  I said, but the new, illegal government are Nazis, they want to outlaw speaking Russian and perhaps deport anyone who is ethnically Russian.  She sneered, “Is Ukraine!  They should be only Ukrainians!  They should speak our language or get out!  The new leaders are good and right.  Ukraine for Ukrainians!”   I asked, pointedly, “If the Crimeans want to be independent and allied with Russia, why should the US interfere?  I mean, look at all the places we have invaded and made war on, and Russia hasn’t to anyone.”   She looked up defiantly, “The US only does war for GOOD!  Everywhere, they bring freedom.”

Bandera (center) with friends.

I was now staring open-jawed and aghast.  “You really don’t believe that do you?  So we should back Nazis who want to deny Jews and Russians their freedom in their own country and that is for good?”

By now, another customer had walked up, my order was paid for and bagged, so we couldn’t politely continue.  She just curled her lip and whispered with a growl, “The Nationalists are good.  Ukraine is for Ukrainian only.  I am from there, I know how all those others ruin everything.”  She spit ‘others’ with a venom that made me shudder. Her hatred of Russians, Poles, and Jews so palpable as to my picturing her slamming the door on a gas chamber.  So much for that sweet old Uke lady.

***
Betty:  “Yes, we are fighting on the streets and on the net – some special groups “Antimaydan” and others. The new govern gave Ukraine to oligarchs. People gave their lives and giving to make them richer. Neonazis organised detachments to suppress rebellion in the Eastern and Southern provinces. But they lost the Crimea.”

I had reached out through Facebook, looking for anyone who could translate Ukrainian into English for a friend of mine who said he had a source who might send him some sensitive information.  Through a friend of a friend, I met Betty (not her real name).  We have been corresponding for a while now.

I want to quote her directly for the most part, editing the typos only.

I have just come from Kiev. I saw how the main square of the country looks like and its people. Very much shocking.

This was right after the main fighting – she was appalled at the brutality of the Nationalists.  She explained her view of the documented divide in culture there:

You know Ukraine is roughly divided into two parts – eastern where I live and western one where people come from who took part in the rebellion. We have different mentality and outlook. We consider ourselves Russian people and very close to Russia geographically and spiritually. I respect Ukrainian traditions and culture but i was brought up on Russian literature, history and arts. And the majority of people in the east. We are different. But we live peacefully until someone introduced the scenario of dividing people and therefore the country. We faced with the nationalism – Ukraine for Ukrainians! Svoboda. Once they said that the people who were not born in Ukraine can’t be its citizens – my son and the husband were born in Russia..

This message was very obvious in the speeches of protesters on the square, even when I was last listening to them yesterday. What mood? Depressing. In a corruptive state a revolution is the tool to change one mafia for the other one. The new governors are the owners of corporations – we will be their slaves. The tension is great when nationalists tried to break into eastern provinces and establish their rules. They were resisted and fought. But it concerns only ordinary people who resist. The local authorities are frightened – they have much $$ to lose.

In fact Ukraine is multinational country but Russians account about 30 per cent of the population and nationalists want to prohibit Russian Language in all walks of life!! It’s not fair. By the way Poland is against nationalism in Ukraine. They suffered a lot during the World war II.

Polish Monument “If I forget, let The Sky forget about me ” – engraved in stone. The monument was created on the basis of the real pictures of violence against children, killed by screwing wire to the posts to save on cartridges, by Svoboda’s hero Stepan Bandera.  The Poles hate him and the Nazis to this day.  This is why they support Putin in this dispute, and won’t recognize the new government.This is what the people fear.  Even their opponents are now bowing to them, in fear. Fear, and perhaps raw opportunism.  Rich people only have loyalty to gold.

You can begin to see how the members of the former government began to be coopted.  If they didn’t work with the Rich now in Power, they stood to lose their position and their money.

I asked for clarification of Svoboda and the Nationalists, to verify what I have read.

“Among the Ukrainian rebels – mostly radical nationalists from Galicia – three provinces: Lviv , Ivano- Frankivsk and Ternopil south . During the Great Patriotic War [the Russian name for World War II—Eds] an entire division of Ukrainian volunteers of these places – it was called ” SS – Galicia” – fought on the side of the Third Reich.  Today the guys from the same region – also against Russia . What is happening in Ukraine now, needs to be clarified with the help of historical examples. One March morning in 1942 in a village in the north of Belarus Velevschina SS troops entered . His men talked, however, not in German [but] in Ukrainian . 201st Police Battalion commanded by the then little-known future hero of Ukraine Shukhevych. Punishers, coming immediately got down to business . ” They shot both children and adults. Some were thrown alive into the pit.”

Then added her own perspective:

“This political party won 11 percent at the last election to the parliament. Now they are supposed to win about 20 or more.  Like in Germany of 30s people here are charmed with the ideas of nationalists.”

1941, when the nationalists together with facists persecuted Judes in Lviv.  They did the same with the Ukrainian soldiers who safeguarded presidential administration near Maydan.A few days later, she sent me a video from there, with the explanation:

“Ukrainian nationalists in Ukraine and Russia. They fought in Chechnya on the side of terrorists. They earned $3000 per month. Real bandits! The last shot is in Ukrainian procurator’s office where Sashko Byely is threatening the procurator with the gun. It was two weeks ago. He’s one of the leading participants of rebellion.”

It reiterated the new Government is seen widely there as criminals.

She went on to express concerns for the people’s safety, that the new government was creating their own police/military and keeping activists opposed to them, like mine workers and unions, away at gunpoint.

When Crimea changed hands, she explained that some (the rich) were sad, they wanted a NATO base there and more money.  She thought it for the best though.  Mostly, as Ukrainian citizen, she mourned the loss of a beautiful and restful vacation spot.  Travel between the two would no longer be seamless, if at all possible.

But Russia is building a bridge to Crimea, that will be ready by fall.  If they can travel to Russia, that is, they can get there that way. She is happy for the Crimean people though, very happy.

By early this week, she reported from her hometown:

Governor of Donetsk region Taruta paid the cost of the fifty aircrafts to dig trench 4 m wide, 2.5 deep shaft and top two meters along the border of Donetsk with Russia, “Therefore our border will be secured enough to resist.”

I asked why the Eastern town of Donetsk, so very Russian in culture would do this.

The governor was appointed by the new government – non elective position. It was his personal together with govenment decision to dig a trench for blocking Russians tanks to interfere the city. The majority of people here support Putin although it’s threatening.

Here is a you tube of that trench:

Of course, with a little humor, she also posted Russia’s likely resolution to that problem, with a disclaimer.  Quite genius.

“They could but wouldn’t. Putin declared about ending up military actions against Ukraine. He took over Crimea as a strategic [area] for Russia’s security. He explained his doings by the historical reference – it has always been Russian land. Truth.”

It gets more serious as the week unfolded though…

Yesterday 50 NATO militaries were seen in the supermarket in Donetsk, eastern hot spot of Ukraine.

This is not the only report I have had as such, as I will show with my 3rd and final vignette.

She added:

Diane, I don’t know about this incident but the American militaries have been seen in my city – it’s a real fact.

Mostly, she is a hard working, married Mom, who has to travel from Donetsk to Kiev to work.  She thinks the people are mostly good, and misses the Ukraine that was, for all its flaws… a place where ethnic differences mattered not, in a unified Ukraine.  We agreed all governments are corrupt at most levels, and that the rich, the “oligarchs” if you will, frequently, if not always, line their pockets more at the expense of the poor.

Most of the people were happy that the EU agreement wasn’t signed, because that would only lead to MORE oligarchs stealing from them. But?  There were legitimate protests too, before the Nazis took over.  Between deals with the East and deals with the West, the people deserve more.  The West-backed takeover by the Nazis, and the ensuing paramilitary state will never do that for them, and they are well aware of it.

Picture David Duke overthrowing the US government.  The US government is corrupt, but a Nazi extremist is not the answer, and we on the left, and those not of white ethnicity would be shaking in our boots.  That is how [thinking] Ukrainians feel for the most part.  Tense, wary, afraid of their future… all while trying to go about the business of earning a wage, going to college, feeding their families, taking care of their kids and marriage.

And they have NO DOUBT that this is CIA backed.

There are pockets of resistance everywhere, at great risk to themselves.  Some are even guarding weapons caches against the new government accessing them.

Our activists are blocking the stores with arms in salt mines here in Artemovsk. They are taking risks and [for themselves and their] families.  These arms are considered to use against population and to equip the new National Army made of neo nazi. As I know.  A lot, a lot of mines here and miners are very serious people.

We spoke of why there were caches in abandoned mines, and about guns on general.

I have never taken the arm in hands. It’s prohibited here only hunters can buy it after a lot of checking. Medical check and other.  You are lucky – if we have it [could legally own guns] here they couldn’t treat us like that.

I was told, during the writing of this essay about breaking news.  So far, they have arrested close to 1000 separatists, and in the replacing of the local authorities some were former Governors.  Some Governors escaped. This is an ongoing process to purge and replace the entire Ukraine with only appointed lackeys of the neo-nazi nationalists.

Today the leader of Svoboda Tyagnibok told that they need to start lustration among all who work.  Checking if they support Russia and repress them – firing and other

As we chatted, she explained, as a teacher she could be lustrated.  Essentially, in order to work there anywhere, you have to pass a political purity test!  You can even lie and swear allegiance to the party, but they will background check you, and see if you have written or spoken against them in the past.  You would be fired at least, arrested at worst.  This is going to begin with a MASS LUSTRATION starting in 2 weeks.

For the most part, she feels there are far, far, too many of them in the Donetsk area for that to happen, but worries about friends back west.  She thinks they would not provoke Russia by mass-ejecting so many from the workforce at once in the East.  But cannot be sure of that, either.

In another humorous quip, she informed me they went door to door all over the country to raise money for their new military, and only raised enough for 1/2 of a tank… and that the majority of that money came from one Psychiatric hospital.  Even under all this stress, we laughed at the poetry of psycho neo nazi supporters.

Mostly we talk of husbands and work, her PHD defense, the weather and our kids.  She has a soft spot for animals.  She is just like me in so many ways.

***Dmitri: “Yes, there is actually a war between two clans – and one group of oligarchs tries to take over business of others and they use nazi paramilitaries for this purpose. People are certainly frightened and it actually led to the secession of Crimea.”

Another friend, Dmitri Kolesnik, is a leftist in a very dangerous time for leftists. His communications with me are far more pointed and political.  His blog is here, and the English translator works quite well.

http://liva.com.ua/translate.html

He often cites this website, the heart of the Leftist resistance in the Ukraine and a very worthy resource.

http://borotba.org/newsen.html

Note, his spelling of Maydan/Maidan differs from hers, in their translations to English… he is referring not to the park in Kiev where the protests took place, so much as what they are now calling the group that took over illegally there.  The Nationalists, the Nazis, Svoboda.

From the 14th:

It means that we had a kind of riot of oligarchs too – they left ruling party (after government suspended to sign free-trade agreement) and joined opposition. Almost all the media were under their control and the Maidan protests were inspired by western NGOs and media (TV) as well. As usual our billionaires try to support different parties at once. Now many oligarchs were appointed by new government as regional governors (and that also contributed to the people’s anger that inspired new – counter-rebellion against Maidan). Yesterday in the counter-rebellion in Donetsk 3 men were killed (members of Maidan). So, actually it’s oligarchic neoliberal coup where nazis were used as paramilitary forces to overthrow government. Although now they in fact went out of control…

He lives near Kiev, and as I expressed my worry about his personal safety, he replied:

I know – some comrades have already went underground or moved somewhere. It’s not good time for the lefts here

We spoke about the expulsion rhetoric, and the banning of any language but Ukrainian.

I don’t think that they can expel all of them. But the total situation is rather uncertain as far as many nazi-gangs roaming the streets and they are not under smb’s control at all. Still nobody knows here what will be the next. Ukraine can be another Syria. But nobody knows exactly…

Note, this was prior to the Lustration decree.

To the oil angle:

Yes Immanuel Wallerstein have written just about it recently – they need gas- pipeline net so that both EU and Russia will be more dependent. But they can use for this purpose only nazi-teenagers as those who are ready to die – as they think for the nation, though in reality just for big business profit. As for ‘Europe as promise land’ – it’s difficult even to explain something to people – media can raise a real hysteria – too many people in result are convinced that they will be rich in Europe and somebody just prevent it. Although joining EU was even not the agenda (EU doesn’t offer it – only free-trade agreement – like that the US has with Mexico)

I offered a local comparison, from that agreement…

Which, ultimately closed all the car plants in Detroit (the general area I am from) and poisoned whole cities in Mexico to the point no one can live there. They did that to get around pollution law here. And paid them miserable wages to get cancer.

He expounded, brilliantly.

In Ukraine it is going to be the same as in Mexico – one of the first orders of the new government (junta) was to lift the ban for transporting to Ukraine nuclear waste. And encircling russia (and seizing its military base in Crimea) – is also one of the reasons. There are some others too: to get new market for EU goods (and that would kill local industry), to get large steel-industry in Ukraine

About possible civil war and splitting…

It’s rather possible. The country was actually split – there is a big difference (cultural, language, religious) between eastern and western parts. The whole problem – attempts to impose the will of one part to another and nepotism (or crony capitalism) – when people from one part of the country hold most official positions. It leads to a split inevitably. Either the country is multicultural or it splits and then both parts will split further. In result each small part will be dependent from external forces

By the 16th I was asking about the veracity of the story about a US drone being brought down from Crimean airspace.  He confirmed claims that our military presence on the ground as well.  Both Betty and Dmitri have claimed Blackwater, UN and other Western forces have been at play all along….

Yes, it was reported about US drone brought down here too. And about blackwater mercenaries and other western militaries in Ukrainian cities too. moreover, we have military training of NATO held on Ukrainian borders and Russian troops that are being concentrated on another border.

Today, I asked about the mood and lustration.

Yes, there is actually a war between two clans – and one group of oligarchs tries to take over business of others and they use nazi paramilitaries for this purpose. People are certainly frightened and it actually led to the secession of Crimea. Especially, when nazi-paramilitaries behave like that (yesterday in city of Lvov)

This is the now viral video:

Their “Freedom of Speech Minister” made the actual attack.

Svoboda MPs stormed the offices of Ukraine’s state television, NTU, after NTU broadcast the Russian parliament signing a treaty with Crimea. They broke into the office of NTU President Aleksandr Panteleymonov and forced him to sign a resignation letter.

“Write your resignation! Sit down! I told you, sit down!” they shout. When Panteleymonov refuses, they drag him through the room, punch him in the face and threaten: “Here is a paper, pen, write the resignation now quickly, you animal… You Russian piece of shit. Write your resignation now. You bloody Muscovite, do it.”

When Panteleymonov replies, “I am not a Muscovite, I am a Ukrainian,” they hit him again and yell: “You are Ukrainian? You are a piece of shit, not a Ukrainian. You fucking dirtbag. You are a traitor.”

The Svoboda party is employing the worst type of McCarthyism, at the point end of gun barrels on their citizens.  Having agreed to another election, when as noted above, they previously got only 11% and most generous projections last week only said 20% tops? They are trying to beat, fire, and bully the election, as Dmitri explains.

Yes, they want to have guarantees of own victory in next elections banning the participation of the ex-ruling party, of communists. It also assumes the changing of officials and (especially) in army and police – the appointing only those who are loyal to new government… loyal to new government.  The authors of the bill about lustration – are MPs from the far-right ‘Svoboda’ party too.Yes, actually the next elections will be most likely fraud. moreover, new government adopts new election law according to which the elections will be legitimate even if in most constituencies it failed. Thus, in principle even election in one village can determine the results if in all other they will be acknowledged as ‘irrelevant’

He explains, this is now a battle of the right, the left is not even in the equation anymore.

Yes, but the issue not only in them – there are other far-right parties. actually there will be contest among right and far-right parties.There are not only Svoboda, but current ruling party ‘Fatherland’ has many extreme rights (including Andriy Parubiy – the head of the Euromaidan paramilitaries)

Yes, there will be no communists (they had about 7-8%), no ex-ruling party of Regions – it had about 40%. And many others will be excluded too

Essentially, from the ground, they now have no hope of going back to normalcy. No hope of pre-coup sanity.  There will be a forced, repressive government, friendly to the West, but Nazi in ideology. He reminded me, that the former government was never left, either…

Actually it was not left government – (communists were included in ruling coalition as minor partners) – it was a corrupt government representing the interests of mostly of one clan of oligarchs. But now we have not only another clan of oligarchs in power but in coalition with hard-line nazis. As people say here – we had a corrupted policeman and we have another corrupted policeman but who is a nazi in addition.I compared earlier our protesters in euromaidan with the extreme right wing of Tea-party movement

Dmitri is just like me.  He is a political activist and writer, with a deep understanding of what is happening on every level.  We are both small minorities in our homelands, and both committed to empowering the actual people against the Oligarchies.

***So there you have my Postcards thus far, offered not as a dissertation on the geo-political chessboard of events within the Ukraine, but as snippets of what people on the ground are thinking.

The first, a nazi sympathizer.

The second, a working housewife who was pretty apolitical prior to the coup.

The third, a left leaning journalist and editor.

All, just living their lives, doing their jobs, going home to eat and sleep.  They, like us, have so little control over what the Oligarchs do, or how they use and divide us like pawns and cannon fodder, to see which Oligarch will be the last man standing when the dust settles.

But their thoughts should be considered.  The words should be heard.

I have promised to give them voice, now and in the future.

I will leave you with one last video, and while it won’t embed, if you watched none of the others, this is the one you should see!

Sometimes, you have no choice but to become political.

http://www.odnoklassniki.ru/vi…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DIANE GEE is a writer and political / social justice activist residing in Michigan, and a special correspondent for The Greanville Post and Cyrano’s Journal Today. She maintains a personal blog, The Wild Wild Left, and probably the most intelligent left discussion [anglophone] group on Facebook, Links for the Wildly Left.  A single mother now, after recently losing her spouse to cancer, she struggles bravely to keep her ship sailing against huge odds. Her essays are republished widely across the web.

Opinion & Analysis |  Citizens Voices

By Rick Staggenborg, Soldiers for Peace International

Dear readers:  I recalled correctly from my Russian studies a half century ago that Soviet leaders had stuck Russian territories into Ukraine, but I mistakenly attributed all of the transfers to Khrushchev.  The first gifts of Russian territory to Ukraine were made by Lenin.- Paul Craig Roberts

The “discovery” of famous dissidents like Solzhenitsyn was a boon for American anti-Soviet propaganda. But, being quirky and complex, Solzhenitsyn who was an old-fashioned Russian nationalist, eventually proved too difficult to exploit and even “counterproductive.” He was quietly dropped from the news.

The New Russia

An Interview With Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn,” by Paul Klebnikov, in the May 9, 1994, issue of Forbes magazine

With Russia in chaos, it does sound a bit far-fetched to see her as an aggressor.

Russia today is terribly sick. Her people are sick to the point of total exhaustion. But even so, have a conscience and don’t demand that–just to please America–Russia throw away the last vestiges of her concern for her security and her unprecedented collapse. After all, this concern in no way threatens the United States.

Former U.S. National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski disagrees. He argues that the U.S. must defend the independence of Ukraine.

In 1919, when he imposed his regime on Ukraine, Lenin gave her several Russian provinces to assuage her feelings. These provinces have never historically belonged to Ukraine. I am talking about the eastern and southern territories of today’s Ukraine.

Then, in 1954, Khrushchev, with the arbitrary capriciousness of a satrap, made a “gift” of the Crimea to Ukraine. But even he did not manage to make Ukraine a “gift” of Sevastopol, which remained a separate city under the jurisdiction of the U.S.S.R. central government. This was accomplished by the American State Department, first verbally through Ambassador Popadiuk in Kiev and later in a more official manner.

Why does the State Department decide who should get Sevastopol? If one recalls the tactless declaration of President Bush about supporting Ukrainian sovereignty even before the referendum on that matter, one must conclude that all this stems from a common aim: to use all means possible, no matter what the consequences, to weaken Russia.

Why does independence for Ukraine weaken Russia?

As a result of the sudden and crude fragmentation of the intermingled Slavic peoples, the borders have torn apart millions of ties of family and friendship. Is this acceptable? The recent elections in Ukraine, for instance, clearly show the [Russian] sympathies of the Crimean and Donets populations. And a democracy must respect this.

I myself am nearly half Ukrainian. I grew up with the sounds of Ukrainian speech. I love her culture and genuinely wish all kinds of success for Ukraine–but only within her real ethnic boundaries, without grabbing Russian provinces.