21.09.2015 www.delfi.lv
Myths are very sustainable, especially when a person ignores the facts. If a myth sets in human consciousness, it is difficult to change anything.
There exists one very popular, but erroneous myth, created in advance with the aim to manipulate politically the people’s consciousness: “Donbas is not really Ukraine, because all its residents are Russians.” Even now I sometimes here these words pronounced by some of my acquaintances from Kiev and Lviv.
They say to me: “So, why is your region not given away to Russia, since everybody in this area desires that? Why are our boys dying there?!”
“They don’t desire!” I constantly try to make them change their opinion. “Don’t repeat this nonsense! Look – you already use the division of “our ones” and “your ones”, and it means that the political manipulation has succeeded, the erroneous myth has penetrated your consciousness. This is our United Ukraine! And that was announced in Donetsk right after the start of playing here the separatist scenario by Russian “brothers” together with our former felonious authorities.
Donbas in general and Donetsk in particular is a multiethnic and multi-denominational region. Over the last hundred years, for example, the ethnic membership of Donetsk has been predominated by Ukrainians (above 50%, although most of them are Russian-speakers), and Russians are only runner-ups (below 40%), followed by Belarusians, Tatars, Jews, Greeks, Armenians, Azerbaijani, Georgians, Moldovans, Bulgarians, Germans, Poles, Gypsies, Lithuanians, etc. For me as the native resident of Donetsk, even in my childhood it was no wonder that one of my friends was Bulgarian, the other one was Jew and the third one was Russian, and a Gypsy village was situated just few bus stops from my home.
While living together, people of different nationalities and religions gradually became tolerant toward each other’s peculiarities even in their everyday life. And I am proud to mention that it was a characteristic feature of my City. We were used to that, and nobody would start killing people just because of differences in opinions or beliefs.
Same as the friendly relations maintained by citizens of different nationalities, mutual cooperation was conducted also by various regional religious and public organizations, occasionally joining their efforts in social works and in arranging some shared celebrations. And all those activities were peaceful!
But then the war came, and separatism was forced on us.
Even the Donetsk Euro-Maidan (in the winter of 2013-2014) took place with the participation on the part of Orthodox members of Kiev Patriarchate, Greek-Catholics, members of Church of Christ and Muslims. And in February 2014, representatives of various religious and public organizations joined their efforts for stabilizing the situation in the country.
On March 4, 2014, an Interfaith Prayer Marathon “Pray for Ukraine” was initiated in Ukraine in support for peace and harmony. In the Constitution Square in Donetsk, every day from 6 p.m. till 7 p.m., believers of various denominations and average people of good intention were praying for peace and territorial integrity of Ukraine. It started as the 40-days long Lent period before Easter. At the beginning, it seemed as if it would be all over prior to Easter. But the situation was rapidly aggravating from day to day.
All “fake” formations always repeat as a reflection the actions of the centre against which their activities are directed. So, there appeared also a reflection of the Prayer Marathon for the unity, peace and harmony in Ukraine – each morning and night, walks around the building of Regional Administration was performed by a group of praying strange people with flags of the so called “Russian Orthodox Army”. It should be mentioned that the expression on their faces was not too peaceful, disregarding the fact that those persons were seeming worshipers.
Since the mid-March 2014, a prayer tent was available twenty four hours in the Constitution Square, and representatives of various churches were constantly present there. In the course of a day, the tent hosts were visited also by people who did not regard themselves as believers, but who needed some support in that chaos of separatism and aggression which had overrun the City. They came there because then it was the only place in Donetsk where the flag of Ukraine remained mounted.
Nearly since the very beginning of the Prayer Marathon, the participants were threatened by their “neighbours” – pro-Russia separatists who had installed their camp of tents in the Lenin Square, at a distance of just ten minutes walk from our prayer tent. And on March 22, 2014, unidentified persons shot at the truck of participants of the Prayer Marathon when the tent and equipment were loaded in it. The attackers were acting cowardly and meanly – they had waited till all the participants left the area in order not to have any witnesses on the spot. After that day, it was decided not to disperse while the organizers were loading the tent in the truck, and till they were ready to drive away. All the other participants were advised to leave the place only in groups, accompanying one another. It became really dangerous.
In March 2014, information was spread that approximately 100 aggressive pro-Russia “neighbours” from the Lenin Square had approached the prayer tent before the night invocation, demanding to remove the tent, the flag of Ukraine and interrupt praying, because it caused inconvenience for them, and they could not stand our prayers. Just imagine: they were disturbed by prayer for peace and integrity!
Such provocations and attacks became regular. The situation still aggravated.
On May 16, representatives of the self-proclaimed “DPR” (“Donetsk People’s Republic”) adopted their own “constitution”. Paragraph 9 of the document states that, in “DPR”, “Orthodoxy is the primary and leading faith…, professed by Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)”. The so called constitution of “DPR” also said: “The historical experience and role of Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) are acknowledged and respected, inter alia, as the system forming basis of Russian World”.[1] Therefore, persecution of all denominations increased, except the Orthodox Church, Moscow Patriarchate.
On May 23, 2014, at about 2 p.m., 15 armed persons in masks arrived, they dismantled the prayer tent and threw it in the Kalmius River, the equipment was taken away, and the Marathon participants were threatened, saying that they would be shot in case they gathered for praying again. In the 21st century, in the centre of Europe, people faced threats of being shot for the prayer for peace! Pastor Sergey Kosyak, one of the organizers of the Prayer Marathon, arrived in the captured by separatists premises of Regional Administration in order to resolve the conflict. He was taken captive. And he was released after being interrogated and beaten.
On May 27, 2014, combatants of “DPR” captured the Catholic priest Pavel Vytek for his attempt to join the Prayer Marathon. It was possible to liberate him thanks to the efforts on the part of Consul of Poland in Donetsk and his negotiations with the combatants. The priest was released only on the condition that he immediately (!), in one hour, left Donetsk. There exist a great number of such facts.
Many people in Donetsk who were afraid of joining the common prayer in the Constitution Square, were attentively following the course of events, and they were sympathetic and supportive. Sometimes, in mid-day, they cautiously approached the prayer tent to express their gratitude to the Marathon participants for their strength and courage, for the hope.
In June 2014, the Interfaith Prayer Marathon for peace and unity in Ukraine passed the mark of 90 days. And, according to the new law of the self-proclaimed “DPR”, prayers in the City centre began to be considered as crime.
Because of the risk of new attacks, it was necessary to transfer the location of prayer tent farther on along the bank of the Kalmius River. The Prayer Marathon activists provided support for injured former captives; they acted as volunteers who purchased medicine for low-income families and the Ukrainian activists who had undergone beating, and they supported their families; they partly covered the expenses related to organizing the all-City children drawings competition “My Home – Ukraine” (it was held in all secondary schools of the City), and they participated also in the project “Reconciliation” – they provided the people who did not share our position, with medicine. The latter one was the most difficult task – to visit in hospital those who had beaten our patriots, and bring them food and medicine (many of them had been abandoned, which was quite surprising for them). Not everybody was capable of doing that. But, at least some of the cared persons, after the mentioned visits, became aware of the real situation and the fact that they had taken the side of evil. Of course, that did not pass unnoticed, and separatists perceived it as danger. Pro-Russia combatants implemented still more persecution against the participants of the Prayer Marathon who prayed for peace and integrity, supported the needy – did good things. Because, as it is well known, the evil cannot stand the light of the good.
Cases of theft and capturing the priests and volunteers, beating the activists and torturing the prisoners became increasingly frequent, some of the churches and preaching-houses were seized. It was a terrible period of time. The City became empty, the number of the Prayer Marathon participants was also decreasing, since many of them left the City after their captivity because of the threats, trying to save their families, children. The situation became more and more dangerous.
After August 8, 2014, the growing pressure and number of arrests forced the Prayer Marathon to continue its functioning underground. After 270 days, police of “DPR”, being informed by “responsible citizens”, scattered the remaining participants who had arrived to the place of prayer illegally. But the prayer cannot be eliminated. It is still going on!
Veronica
This article is the eighth in the series “Letters from Donetsk”, within which some Donetsk resident (her real name is not disclosed because of security considerations) shares her on-scene views on the military conflict ongoing in Ukraine.
[1] It should be mentioned, though, that later on the definition in this Paragraph was changed, probably with the aim to remove the trace of „Russian Orthodox Army”. The text was altered completely: according to the new editing, „DPR” „recognizes ideological and political diversity, multi-party system”, „Religious associations are separated from the state authorities, and they are equal before the law” and „No religion or ideology can be proclaimed as the state and mandatory ones”.