10.08.2015. www.delfi.lv, www.lsm.lv

That warm calm morning of June was filled with birds’ singing, water rustling in a fountain and a soft aroma of blossoming roses for which Donetsk has always been well-known. I was walking along Lenin Square. It was empty, there was nobody even around the monument of Lenin. Just occasionally rare passers-by were crossing the deserted space. That picture looked deceptively peaceful, only the dreary flags of “DPR” (Donetsk People’s Republic) instead of the Ukrainian ones, and “DPR” police patrol car being on duty for twenty-four hours in front of the Musical Drama Theatre did not allow anybody to be mislead and forced one to return to the reality of military occupation. I was walking, involuntarily remembering the previous looks of that place.

In pre-war Donetsk, the silence of early morning was not so frozen: janitors were sweeping the Square, cleaning it of the remains of celebration of the previous night, the first wave of hasty citizens heading for their work places were rapidly crossing the Square in various directions. It was similar to morning of a bee swarm – lively and busy. But in June of the last year, the city was already full of madness of separatism, and many of its residents refused to believe that even while seeing it.

Donetsk has never been the city of separatists, which is now a quite popular opinion. I remember the referendum of 1991, when absolute majority of citizens (not only in Western regions of the country, but also here, in the always considered as “pro-Russia” Donbas) expressed their wish to live in independent Ukraine. Of course, the attitude towards Stepan Bandera was quite tense, nobody would listen anything about OUN (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists) and UIA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army), nobody knew anything about the battle at Kruti as well as about the deporting of Tartars from Crimea, but the local people chose to live in a United Ukraine, peacefully stating that “they have their heroes, but we have our own ones, that’s all right, all of us have the right to it”.

Most of very Donetsk residents speak Russian (in villages, the Ukrainian language is more usual), so there has never been repression against the Russian-speaking part of population, which is the myth purposefully created as a pretext for Russia’s invasion in Ukraine for saving the so called “Russian World” the existence of which was explained to us just recently by the Russian mass media. It was the Ukrainian language that has rather been oppressed. During the whole period of Ukraine’s independence, students in the region’s schools were taught in the Russian language; the first and only Ukrainian school in Donetsk was opened just in 1990, and far not all interested persons had the possibility to enter it – there was a competition of twelve applicants for one place. But the school was closed in early 2000s. Of course, over the last years, local politicians have stealthily made repeated attempts to spread separatist ideas, but they did not succeed.

During the period of Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity, Donetsk was nearly calm. A small group of communists and supporting pensioners gathered at the monument to Lenin on the central square. Many citizens were quite tolerant towards them, considering them as the city loonies, the others did not pay any attention to them at all. Not too numerous Euromaidan of Donetsk gathered at the monument to T.G.Shevchenko, opposite to Donetsk Regional Administration building (they were just 200 – 300 metres far from the communists, and everything was peaceful). Some people supported it openly, attending regular night meetings, delivering some money, food and medicine through volunteers to Kiev Maidan; some others supported it secretly; many others were sympathizers. There were also indifferent ones there who did not understand: “Who are these people? Why so many of them are standing here?” Some of the citizens were ill-disposed, but the supporters still were the majority however often being quite inactive. One of the students admitted to me that his whole family were observing the ongoing events and guessing when the Donetsk Maidan would be scattered.

–          “Why? Do you wish them to be scattered?” – I asked being surprised.

–          “No, not at all. We support them and sympathize with them.”

–          “Then join the meeting which takes place each evening at 18.00.”

–          “No, we won’t. They will be scattered anyway,” – he refused with fatality.

Right after the success of Maidan, the situation was developing rapidly in Donetsk. Even on February 21, 2014, the windows of the ground floor of Donetsk Regional Administration building were welded with metal sheets. I asked myself in perplexity: “Why have they suddenly built the protection for themselves?” But later on that night, one of my acquaintances, aged lady, “explained” everything to me, canting:

–          “Awful things are happening! The windows of Regional Administration building have been welded to protect themselves from attack.”

–          “What attack? Who would care for them?” – I asked being unable to conceal my surprise.

–          “They will come from Kiev to make up a massacre.”

–          “What nonsense”, I tried to persuade my acquaintance, “They are the people who have just succeeded in Kiev, and after the three months of fighting, they will be establishing order now.”

–          “No. Shishatsky (Chairman of Regional Administration) himself spoke on the local television and told us that buses with Bandera supporters have left Kiev and are heading for our city. They will make up massacre, killing us and our children. But the city Administration is ready to beat back, sentries have been stationed at the city border, and the Regional Administration building has been reinforced.”

I was trying to convince her, explaining that it was absurd, it would never happen, and somebody was spreading absolutely untruthful information. But she insisted that she herself had heard the speech of the Chairman of the Administration. And there was a real horror in her eyes. So, it was the person whom I had known for many years, sharing opinions on various topics, but who had suddenly become the frightened stranger with unseeing eyes and disconnected mind. Where had that nice lady whom I had known prior to that unfortunate broadcasting of local news, gone? It was that horrifying transforming effect, for which everybody would soon call the TV set as “Zombi-box”, especially regarding the Russian channels LifeNews and Rossiya 24.

Only few days were necessary to turn the city’s life into hell. Many busses had brought “Titushki” (young men acting as agents provocateurs) equipped with bats and metal bars who performed as aggressive “Bandera supporters” and “Right Sector supporters”; numerous colliers were brought for protecting peace in Donetsk; meetings of communists had suddenly become more active and well attended; a strange “Russian Orthodox Army” appeared, and, all in all, there appeared many people speaking Russian in a manner not characteristic for the local residents, especially in the locations of various meetings and demonstrations. And even on March 1, 2014 (!), Ukrainian flag was removed from the building of Donetsk Regional Administration and replaced by Russian one, and on March 3 and 5, the building of that state institution was attacked and captured. Militia and Ministry of the Interior troops did not offer any resistance. The situation was shocking – those who had to keep order and oppose criminal activities, were indifferently observing the happening. Then Donetsk people themselves rose to protect their city and country – on March 4, the first meeting was held gathering more than two thousand of participants; on March 5, a meeting against separatism and for United Ukraine was attended already by five thousand people. During that meeting a huge flag of Ukraine was spread out covering nearly the whole Lenin Square. That really national protest was so annoying for the supporters of “Russian World” that the evening culminated in bloody beating. No help from militia officers who were “guarding” the meeting, came. The next meeting of March 13, 2014, against separatism and war ended tragically – Ukrainian activist, student Dima Chernyavsky was killed (according to unofficial information, three persons died). Beginning with March 4, marathon of interdenominational prayer for the unity, peace and understanding in Ukraine “Pray for Ukraine” was initiated by the Council of Christian Churches of Donetsk City and Donetsk Region. The city rose for a peaceful protest, but it seemed that the administration and security institutions gave it voluntarily away for laceration…

I was walking along the deserted Lenin Square on a calm June morning, listening to the birds’ singing and water rustling in a fountain, but the hell, started more than a year ago, would not end, however having now a different appearance. While crossing that place, I would always remember that the Square had been sprinkled with blood of peaceful people who refused to play the criminal Russian scenario of destroying Ukraine.

Veronica

This article is the second one 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.