Breaking Video: Obama Bashes Maidan Revolution In Ukraine
During one of Obama’s speeches he passionately suggested that if someone doesn’t like ‘a particular policy – or a particular president’ to do something about it, like ‘win an election’ but no matter the case, he pleaded that you shouldn’t ‘break it’.
I understand this video was not originally intended for what happened in Ukraine or in the Maidan revolution, but, if President Obama want’s to defend principles here in the US of civil obedience, then how could he defend civil unrest in Ukraine and other countries? Wouldn’t Obama’s support of the forceful overthrow of other governments mean he supports that here in the US as well? Or is it a double-standard which is plain to see for anyone, especially when you watch this video and apply it to Ukraine.
Why is it OK for people in other countries, especially those backed by the US government to attempt revolutions and violence against their governments and how can the United States defend this practice while aggressively hunting down any militant opposition here? What if people in the US felt that their frustration has reached a critical point and that their elected officials were too corrupt to help them? Could we draw our vision and support from Syrian rebels, or Ukrainian Maidan protesters? The more likely answer is that, going back to Obama’s frustration here at home with the opposition, the proper way to engage a civil society and government is to petition for votes, win elections, create debates and progress your values in the marketplace of ideas. Which makes Obama against anything which undermines a government or it’s leadership. That is, unless the country at hand has a strategic importance which can be exploited during a massive run of unrest.
Which brings me to my final point. US credibility is seriously undermined and tarnished on the world stage. The invasion of Iraq under the supervision of faulty pretexts, the pro-longed war in Afghanistan, the support of radicals, jihadists, and fascists around the world, and many other violations of trust in the world structure has taken away any moral premise on which the US can defend it’s actions and also shun others for theirs. The recent example with Crimea is another episode of waning US soft power. This, is quantified, each and every time our president, be it a republican or democrat allows senators and heads of state to visit revolutionaries abroad and assist in overthrowing governments and then turn around to the US people and educate us on proper behavior and loving your government no matter how bad things get.
It is already a sad reality that the term ‘exporting democracy’ has become synonymous with ‘exporting regime change’.
Then there’s John Kerry
Luckily we at least have some pure reasoning from Secretary of State John Kerry who finally broke the deadlock and explained why the US has lost it’s reputation in the world when it comes to invasions.
Why The Main Focus Shouldn’t Always Be The Main Focus
I was lucky to be released from work early this past Wednesday and decided to grab a drink before heading home. When I entered the sports bar Champions I was excited to see soccer on the TV screens. Excellent I thought, my favorite past time is to relax and watch some great soccer. However this was no simple soccer match, it was the second leg of a Champions League match between Manchester United and Olympiakos. Manchester United were down by aggregate 2-0 from the previous game and the score was still 0-0 in the first half. This time around Manchester Untied were playing at home and I was confident my favorite team in the EPL can score the required 3 goals to advance to the quarter finals of the most prestigious soccer tournament known to the sport. I cannot deny that I am a big Man Utd fan and so my particular interest in the outcome of this game was quantified.
It’s important to give a slight back story to Manchester United and how it will relate to my main theme. Manchester United changed managers for the first time in over twenty years this past season, replacing Sir Alex Ferguson with Everton’s manager David Moyes. It is also no question that the most dominant and celebrated club in the world is Manchester United – leaving a legacy with no comparison for Moyes to fill. And as if that was bound to happen one day or another, Man Utd began to struggle under Moyes. David Moyes has up until this point seemed to be largely mismanaging a team that only last season won the league. Questions have been raised and all options, including sacking David Moyes were probably discussed among the faithful. With a rocky and questionable start to the season this year and Moyes management abilities under serious doubt this specific game was being watched for more than just entertainment – he simply had to deliver nothing less than a decisive victory.
The game progressed and goal after goal Manchester United were able to put the scoreboard at 3-0. Scoring 3 goals may have been impressive, but the real game only began after the third goal. It is then that I realized that Moyes true management skills will be proven in his ability to guide his team with the proper mentality and strategy to maintain the lead and see the game through.
Why Is That Difficult?
Here is where I began to understand something about management in general, especially on a scale where different players are all attributing to one main goal. In soccer, the point of the game is to get the ball into the net. Accumulating goals means your more likely to win. Being a team that dribbles like no other, or having amazing long passes or even doing shocking tricks will be vain without a goal (Arsenal – take note). So we play to win, and to win is to score. What happens however when your 3 goals ahead and you simply cannot allow the other team to score. Is your main objective to score? Well if you score – your odd’s just significantly increased again. But what happens on a team level needs to be ignored for what happens on the individual level. Meaning the individual goal of each player must be specific to what contributes to an overall goal. However this goal cannot be the same as the main goal – to score.
Allow me to clarify. Say Moyes was aggressive and wanted to score a fourth goal to put the game ‘away’. So he calls over the goalie and tells him that the main point of the game was to score. He pulls over the defensive men, and midfielders and tells them the same thing. We must score a goal. Is this objective feasible for a goalie or defensive player? If each player focused on scoring a goal, they would all approach the ball in the same way, by trying to get to it first and playing it down field. Positions would be comprimised, sound judgement in defense would be substituted to flamboyant run’s down the wings and sprints to get into position. Sooner or later the entire team structure would be broken down where each player is trying to do the same job. The job of the striker. In the end, the striker will not get the space or width to score, neither would the other players be able to do a job designed for someone else with the same results. And so here is where management needs to come in and focus in each moving part to the clear objective of the moment. You see, the teams objective is to score, but the goalies objective is to save every ball that comes it’s way. The midfielders to keep possession and find the downfield pass and the defense to above all else, first focus on defending against break-aways, crosses and attacks. The goalie cannot be thinking about scoring a goal. He must be focused 100% on stopping every shot that comes his way. The striker on the other hand, must understand that his position should always reflect a potential run at the opposite goal.
And so when your team is winning and it’s easy to lose focus and the pressure is mounting the management has to be spot on. And to be honest I was worried about the result. I was not sure Moyes could pull it off considering past experiences as my grounds. I watched carefully as he would signal and mimic to the players. I watched the players move around in different positions. And then you wait. You wait until the last whistle blows and you can finally say that the team has officially won and that Moyes has done his job.
The main focus in your venture shouldn’t always be your main focus. Your main focus should be what the task at hand is, whatever it may be. When having a team of players with one vision, each player or worker has to have their own separate job specific goal. A janitors job is to keep a building clean, but the best way for that to happen is for him to focus on properly tying bags, sweeping in a specific pattern and other – job specific tasks. Eventually, mastering the job requirements the objective will be reached.
And so when you tell the goalie to save goals, he will save them. If you tell a goalie to score goals, he will not only fail to score goals, but he also won’t defend his net properly.
MAP – RUSSIA 2014: Crimea Votes For Russia On March 16th Referendum
When all is said and done, perhaps only a map can show what everything means. The new Russia (were 75% sure).
Ukraine: Revolutions, Freedom and Politics
The Great Game
It is important to give a great deal of attention to the powers at hand in the west and east and compare the situation in Ukraine to other movements/revolutions around the world. After all it was not that long ago when the Arab spring rocked the Middle East and saw the violent overthrow of rulers in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia. In the case of Libya, NATO had lead a no-fly campaign and the US largely sponsored the rebels who eventually captured, tortured and violently killed Omar Gaddafi, leaving his dead body on the floor of a building where people would come and mock the deposed leader. These rebels were the freedom-fighters of the western news outlets. They had supposedly supported some kind of democracy, although it was not certain what kind. It’s arguable these revolutionaries were nothing more than Islamic fronts who deposed of a secular ruler with the help of Western money. Eventually the chicken’s hatched and on the anniversary of 9/11 we saw the absolutely despicable murder of the Ambassador of Libya as well as other, defenseless diplomats. This same money and support eventually struck down Mr. Mubarak in Egypt, causing a sensational revolution of what was reported to be freedom-loving democracy supporting college students and intellectuals – very far from the group that eventually took power and had the backing of the US – the Muslim Brotherhood headed by Morsi. It is not shocking to learn that the revolutionary government has since been banished once more and outlawed and put on trial for their mishandling of Egyptian affairs and the revolution. In each scenario we have had Western hands at play, and a more subtle and careful Eastern approach which verbally disapproved of outside meddling but nonetheless stayed out of the events.
Syria
The battle between the east and west was finally openly revealed to the world stage with Syria. Bashir Assad has been battling rebel Islamic groups in his country for a number of years now in what has become an open-armed rebellion against his rule. Originally the narrative in the west was the same, the usual references of democracy and liberty and cries of dictatorship. Assad was branded a dead man in the west, with Hillary Clinton openly stating it’s not a matter of ‘if’, but ‘when’ Assad will be eventually overthrown. It went as far as Obama foolishly drawing a hypothetical ‘red line’ against Syria. After that red line was crossed the US had even begun talking up military invasion. This was all averted perhaps by one single power block other than the US left in the world in the likes of Russia & China. The Russians had finally flexed their political and diplomatic muscles and openly backed the Assad regime, stating that no military invasion of any kind will be tolerated. With the neutralizing effect in place, the Americans decided to back down resorting to threats, but the money still kept coming, funding what in a large porportion was discovered to be radical Islamic fronts. Press Secretary Carey during a typical press conference himself stated that only about 15-25% of the insurgency was “radicalized”, which in itself left many questions, predominately, how could the US support a movement that was a quarter radical and would have been branded as terrorists in typical US rhetoric during the Iraqi and Afghanistan wars. Regardless of this, the US had other interests, and knit-picking the fine intricacies of US affairs was a moot point – on whom it bestows favor has favor, and whom it shuns shall be shunned, simply put. These examples are meant to show a brief history of US backed revolutions in the past few years which were also known to be democratic and independent, but turned out to be radical fronts supported by the west. Is this a war by proxy? Why keep spending money all over the world to topple leaders? Simply put, the tendency in US foreign policy is to use force to dispose of leaders hostile to US interests, and all of this can be tied down to the control of resources, geopolitical strategy, and power lust. US foreign policy has been imperialistic in nature. With a politically understandable invasion of Afghanistan, to a completely illegitimate invasion of Iraq, and threats against Iran, Syria and North Korea it is becoming a thing of nature to perceive that the US believes itself to be a uni-lateral superpower hellbent on forcing subjection to it’s national interests. It is my great belief that there is no benevolence in politics. Self-interest can be the only motive for actions taken by both the east and the west alike. I have only summarized all the overwhelming events that have befallen the Middle East and in no way want to simplify it to what I’ve explained here. There are many more factors, and I understand that. I’ve mentioned the important factors which apply to the situation in Ukraine.
The Spark That Lit The Barrel
And now the question of Ukraine is before us like never before. There is no real purpose to write extensive work on the history of Ukraine and all the preceding events which have happened on its territory. However it is important to look at recent history to draw our conclusions. We know that the beginning of the “EuroMaidan” camp was one predominant action – Yanakovich’s acceptance of a 15 billion dollar bailout from Russia instead of a previously expected European Agreement, the content of which has not been expressed publicly neither here nor in Russia or by the opposition. I suspect most of the opposition cannot point out the key aspects of the European Agreements, and I also do not expect Europe or the West to want it’s content to be widely presented either. However this one, visible and tangible action can be ascribed to the spark which began the first wave of protests. It cannot be doubted that Europe first and American second could not have been upset by this turn of events. A European Agreement was meant to further the sphere of influence of Ukraine into Western control. With a 15 billion dollar package from Russia, which comes with it’s own terms, this influence would be seriously limited. It is not to say that Ukrainians didn’t want the EU agreement, or that they didn’t know about it. It’s important to understand that there was ample support for the EU move within Ukraine. However, this support for further European influence is not shared equally throughout the country. And accepting a deal with Russia was also equally supported by a completely different segment of the population who prefer Russian influence over any Western/NATO bloc. This visible division has been blatantly ignored by Western media in an attempt to marginalize pro-Russian sentiments and make the appearance of one main pro-European movement in Ukraine. This couldn’t possibly be the case however as I will explain in just a bit.
Following the timeline of revolutions and uprising which the west has backed in previous examples it quickly became a serious question as to where the initial Ukrainian protests began. The timing and occasion could not have been better to lead the charge against a pro-Russian president in the likes of Yanakovich. It is also important to note that what at first was a response to not taking the European deal quickly became a general movement of protesters each with their own reasons. And the most level-headed view regarding the ‘EuroMaidan’ protests is that they too, were mostly genuine, which saw people from all different walks of life come out to protest against the government. Changes needed to be made, this was evident. Eventually visible and widely known leaders like Klitschko became largely obsolete as more radical and militant opposition movements/leaders, such as the Right Sector, set up barricades and progressed the the conflict to hostilities. It took 3 months of well-sponsored protesting to eventually lead to a breaking point. A key factor in these events is the fact that the opposition had broken all their own truces and agreements with the government. Even after the president had made all the concessions asked for, including the return of the 2004 constitution, giving opposition leaders key positions in government and granting a pardon for all protesters arrested it was decided that nothing short of a complete removal of Yanakovich would be accepted by the militant elements of the opposition, who happened to control it. Using the truce and peace agreements made on February 24th, the opposition, which had no clear public figures made their charges against the presidential offices. The chaos that unfolded left about 100 dead revolutionaries and nearly 500 injured as well as deaths within the anti-riot units, some who had died from gunshot wounds. Much speculation is still surrounding this unexpected bloodshed which saw Yanakovich flee the capital for fear of his own safety. The democratically elected leader of a sovereign country was overthrown by freedom loving European minded democrats. This rather numbing contradiction cannot go unnoticed. In fact, this scenario of revolutionaries is very akin to the western-backed movements in other countries.
Is Ukraine the object?
It is becoming clear that Ukraine in itself is not the main object of interest for US national interest. What Ukraine can one day become is an asset to use against Russia in the Great Game. You can calculate western interest in Ukraine by the sheer amount of attention and narrative writing which is surrounding the events in Ukraine (what happened to the Venezuelan revolution happening at the same time?). It has become very important in this propaganda war to control the image of the revolution and to make it another “freedom movement”. My argument is that the objective is to use Ukraine as a front against Russia. What we have is an unprecedented move into the heart of Russian national conscience and history, revealing Kiev as a spiritual and physical capital of the Russian Empire and it’s Slavic bloodline. This is where Russian interest in Ukraine becomes aggravated and exponential. If the only way to keep out America and more importantly NATO from invading the borders of Russia, and hence creating a real threat to Russian national interests, they have no choice but to influence the situation in Ukraine for a positive outcome in Russia’s strategic national interest. 
Russia’s behavior in this regard is not only expected to be fully understood, but any serious political analytic could have predicted this to be an absolute. Had the West not become so involved in this revolution (as well as in 2004), Russia wouldn’t find the threat tangible. But with Western meddling in Ukraine, Russia now must also exert it’s own power to confront an increasing presence of non-friendly movements at it’s borders. This threat is quantified by the possible entry of Ukraine into NATO, an organization which was founded to fight against Soviet expansion, and has remained a military threat even after the Soviet Union fell apart. This threat is seriously taken in Russia and high on the national security agenda. If the Ukrainians allow this hostile threat to become a reality towards Russia, then what reaction can the West and Ukraine expect in return? The Ukrainians must ultimately take a realistic approach to their domestic and foreign policy and account the interests of Russia if their fragile new revolutionary government is to stand any chance of surviving.
The Fruits of Labor
“Get your hands off of Crimea Bandera worshipers!”
The Russian Spring
This has lead to what is being referred to now as the “Russian Spring” or the push by ex-Soviet citizens to return their lands back under Russian rule or create much sharper pro-Russian positions within their respective countries. This Russian Spring has boiled over especially in the autonomous republic of Crimea where a referendum is underway to declare Crimea either independent or return it to Russia as was before 1954. This also was clear in Donetsk where massive pro-Russian rallies and protests even lead to deaths as clashes occurred between rivaling groups. The will of the people to self-determination is becoming one of the biggest challenges to the current powers in Kiev. Without any vote, or process behind law making, citizens in regions that elected Yanakovich cannot help but feel that Kiev is illegitimate and is progressively seeking to pass legislation against Russian populations in Ukraine while they still maintain power. The fear people have is that this power grab may not eventually transform into a stable and elected government but may in fact spiral further into a power block meant to level politicans from Western Ukraine over their rivaling east and south officials.
“Our brothers live in Russia, in Europe were just slaves”
Recommended Reading: http://jackmatlock.com/2014/03/ukraine-the-price-of-internal-division/#more-629
Crimea Referendum Posters For March 16th (English/Russian)
Here are a few posters which have been put up around different cities in Crimea reminding residents of the March 16 Referendum. We translated a few of them, with there English counterparts so English speakers can understand. Feel free to share the photos, or download them and use them if you wish.
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Kevin Bacon Explain’s Russia: Let Me Tell You About A Little Thing Called The Cold War
Kevin Bacon is back at it, and he has caught our attention with his great new mini video about the 80’s, and a small bit about Russia. Watch the video, you will surely enjoy it.
“I saw you tweeted an article about “Russia”. You think Russia is a threat now? Let me tell you about a little thing called the “Cold War”. They had nukes pointed at us for 20 years. You couldn’t even skateboard to the blockbuster without getting nuked.”
Letters from Crimea: “There Is No More Trust Left”
As The Great Revolutionary continues it’s study and research of the Ukrainian crisis we have had the privilege to get in touch with residents of the hotly disputed region of Crimea. It is our faithful approach to allow the people to speak for themselves, without any editing or spinning of their words. What we present is an unfiltered explanation of the situation in Crimea through those who are currently living there. If you have any other questions or ideas that you would like us to pass along to our contacts, feel free to leave them in the comments.
“Hello, you were asking what the opinion of people living in Crimea was (regarding the situation in Ukraine). I was born and raised in Crimea and can still remember it during the Soviet times as a thriving area. My city Kerch after the fall of the Soviet Union died. In the 90’s everyone was too busy trying to survive and very few were interested in political questions. However, only after a certain time did we begin to realize that – we are Ukraine. This fact was an unpleasant surprise. All these 23 years (after the fall of the Soviet Union) have seen a subtle, but very active Ukranization: The school curriculum, revisionist history, heavy focusing on Ukrainian achievements in all fields of science, creating one official language, having all shows and films in Ukrainian. No one asked even then our opinion. People in my age group and older were disenfranchised by all of this. Some wouldn’t even go to see films/movies because of Ukrainian translations.
During all these years many intelligent and hard-working people moved away from Crimea, mostly to Russia. Some simply didn’t want to be Ukrainizied, some simply got tired of the constant conflicts in the country that caused constant financial instability. However those who remained tried their best to explain to their children a realistic viewpoint without any nationalistic context, because Crimea is home to many nationalities and is very diverse. The political parties would use this diversity for their benefit, this potential conflict: from one side Russian-speakers and Russia, on the other side Ukrainians and Europe. And because there never were worthy politicians to lead, people would vote along these lines, and to the last moments would still believe that one day contradicting politics and views would stop ripping us apart and we would all finally live better. We believed in this before Maidan!!
We understood immediately that those protests were organized and sponsored very well. And we understood that many people who stood there did not fully comprehend what exactly was going on. It also became apparent that the president was not capable of dealing with these situations and that Europe was very interested in this unfolding situation. After the overthrow of the government the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine seized to exist for Ukraine. Everything and for everyone now was decided by “Maidan”. This became the last drop in our overflowing cup of patience. All the resulting decisions of the “government” were enacted to aggravate and escalate the situation.
Our friends from Kiev were telling us that we were misinformed and that all that had happened was for the best, forgetting that we were receiving information from the same Ukrainian channels that they were. In fact, from the first day of the Maidan the mass media outlets began their war against us. In the background of the flood of lies and twisting of our own attempt at speaking Russian the slogan “One Nation, One Ukraine” looked ever more cynical and with that made us even madder. Then we began public meetings with our own Ukrainian citizens carrying Russian and Georgievsky flags. These were not citizens of Russia, but our own people. This was the scream of despair. And I understand this is hard to understand, how citizens of one country can wave the flag of another country.
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Georgievsky flag
The Emperor Nikolay I, for exceptional actions, gave two ships the right to raise and fly the Georgievsky Flag.
Battleship ‘Azov’ – Was awarded the Georgievsky Flag on December 17, 1827 for showing courage and valor in attaining victory during the Battle of Navarino.
Battleship ‘Mercury’ – Was awarded the Georgievsky Flag on July 28, 1829 for victory in unfavorable circumstances in battle with two Turkish battleships.
These honors had become achievements to the highest degree, that all succeeding Emperors did not bestow this honor since. However, these honorary flags have been passed on to their newer updated ships, named after these two heroic ships: “Memory of Azov” and “Memory of Mercury”.
But when no one wants to hear us, and we begin to understand that behind the Maidan lies Europe, the US and NATO and that only simple Russian-speaking residents of Ukraine are for the East, that’s when we realize were just another problem for our own country, what would you say we do? Turn for help to the only country which like us is trying to speak the truth about us, just to yell out to everyone “hey people, we’re still here, we’re also people and we too want to decide at least something, at the least that which regards our own fate and our families!!!” Conclusion: Ukraine has not taken any steps to reach out to us, and in fact has done the opposite by trying by force and using all legal and illegal methods to crush all the attempts of our people to yell out SOS and defend ourselves. Ukrainian mass media continues to poison us against each other. The only entity which together with us is trying to resolve our regional conflict is Russia, and we are very thankful to it for that.”
What is the situation in Kerch right now? Will the city take part in the referendum?
All of Crimea will take part in this referendum. To be honest everyone is feeling rather different at the moment. For some it makes more sense to break away from Ukraine, some afraid to go against Kiev. After all you know how people are: they are very brave when it comes to words, but in action it is another matter. The City of Heroes, Kerch, during Soviet times was an industrial city and it had one of the biggest shipbuilding factories called “Gulf”. This factory employees most of the residents of Kerch, and this factory was built by the people themselves. With the fall of the Soviet Union, as with many other businesses, our factory became nonoperational. The male population left to make money in Russia. And since that time the situation has not changed.
Out of three possible outcomes; Remain a part of Ukraine, become a part of Russia or create your own independent state, which variation has the most ground support?
More than likely we would favor becoming a part of Russia. Our Ukrainian TV channels have since been turned off, and so the Ukrainian brainwashing is no longer operating against us. We still have Russian news, and it is much more lighter and isn’t quite as frightening. The prospect of having a completely independent government is not even being discussed. The fact that Ukraine is tightening it’s grip here (blocking accounts, blogs and websites) is not changing the minds of the people to it’s side. Almost everyone is very afraid that after the referendum (considering majority will vote to break-away) that war will break out. In all honestly, this is our greatest threat at the moment. Promises that are coming from the powers in Kiev, which has decided to somehow give in to us is not being received by the people here anymore, there is no more trust left.
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What is the situation in Sevastopol at the moment?
The people in Sevastopol are calm, confident and uplifted. Everyone is getting ready for the referendum. Some world institutions do not want to recognize the referendum but the people are rejoicing, rejoicing indeed. Of course you can feel tension in the air, but today we are preparing for the holiday (March 8th – International Women’s Day), and everyone is buying gifts and flowers – tomorrow is Women’s Day. People are of course calm, just yesterday everyone was smiling and happy that there is a possibility of freeing ourselves from under Ukraine’s occupation. However people are not entirely believing this will be, because Crimea and Sevastopol will not be given away so easily. Currently we receive threats about sanctions from the EU, people are afraid of changes, but for now there is the intention to go all the way, no matter what. For businesses this means operating with rubles (Russian currency)…what awaits us in the future no one can know for sure. It’s just like a roller coaster – where it can turn the very next moment is a surprise. You won’t see any Russian soldiers anywhere, they were called “The Green People”, when they were still here. People would bring produce and food to them and feed them and would take pictures with them, people waved and smiled to them.
Right now the hottest question debated is the referendum, how will Sevastopol vote? And what about the Russian soldiers? Where did they go?
No one knows where they are now. They do not have any identifying insignia, are they marines or special forces? No one really knows what branch they belong too, they wear new uniforms and they carry new weapons, this at least is noticeable. They operated very quickly and within one night 300 fighters took over all command posts, airports and military installments with 20-30 people to each one. They did quick work, paralyzing the entire Ukrainian army [in Crimea] within a few hours.
Also, regarding the referendum to take place, ex-president Tymoshenko recently in Germany said that there can be no referendum under the barrel of a Kalashnikov. She was referring to the presence of Russian soldiers in Crimea. What is your reaction to these comments?
The people were very happy to see the soldiers. It made people more relaxed. Everyone was afraid of gangs coming down from Kiev. After all, there [Kiev] they openly walk with firearms, threaten the police, kill journalists (for example they killed a journalist from the channel VESTI). Radicals from Western Ukraine called “Right Sector” are very dangerous. They storm administrations, municipalities, and would handcuff governors, pouring water over them as they forced them on their knees to apologize to the people. They are the ones who yell “Knife the Moscovites”, carry weapons, and even threaten and attack the public prosecutors. The new authority does not put warrants out for these people in the meantime, which is likely to be because these people are being funded by the new authority itself and are covered by it (Yatsenyuk, Poroshenko). Therefore our newly elected authority by the people had to figure out a way to stop these radicals from making their way here. And hence you had these “Green People” appear. They are widely loved here, even though they are already gone. We have created self-defense forces from our population, which is done on a full volunteer basis without any pay. Tymoshenko is simply lying.
And yet, for the average resident of Sevastopol who is Tymoshenko and the current authority in Kiev?
We don’t like Tymoshenko. She stole a lot of money from the budget, in her negotiations for gas and does’t like Russians (I’m not sure why – her father is Armenian and her mother is Ukrainian, she herself was part of the People’s Party). She would say a lot of bad things about Russia. Her party members argue to turn off Russian television channels, turn Crimea into a regular region of Ukraine, and fine for the use of the Russian language. This new authority in Kiev for the average person appear to be fascists, akin to Hitler for example. This new authority was not selected by Crimea – they came to power by force. They ended up killing police which was standing without arms.
Can you briefly tell me about the important history of Crimea, and if it’s specific history has an impact on the people living there and their allegiances?
The history of Crimea is very extensive, it would be impossible to write all of it. In 1870 there was the Russo-Turkish war which ended with a Russian victory and Catherine (the German Empress) built mosques for the Turks who remained (they are the same Crimean Tatars), and there is about 200,000 of them here. More than half of them push more towards Turkey, or want to join the EU, and do not like Russia.
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Besides getting these extensive letters with a lot of interesting information, we also got a few more emotional and singular responses from the pro and anti viewpoints.
“I can’t imagine there are people in America who still do not know the truth about Ukraine? Are you just like the pro-Russian people who believe in some kind of normal Russian motives? Or were you just hired?”
“Everything is great and calm. Please tell the Americans that Crimea was not occupied, but saved, from Tatars starting bloodshed”
We will be happy to get in touch with anyone who may have interesting information or could provide us with information on the ground. Please contact us here.
We will continue our watch over the events in Crimea and Ukraine. The referendum to break away from Ukraine will take place March 16 and will be a historical moment for the entire region. Many people are worried about potential chaos that could break away at a succession attempt. It is still not clear how the major countries will engage each other over this disputed political dilemma.
In the meantime we pray for the safety of all people living in Ukraine and Russia and in between.
Ukraine Revolution: Interview With Young Supporter Of ‘Right Sector’ From Western Ukraine
We here at The Great Revolutionary have kept a very close watch over the events surrounding the upheaval in the city of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. Over the past 3 months opposition leaders and protesters had taken to the central square in Kiev also known as the “Maidan” to organize anti-government rallies, and had in the process created what was called by many sources a “city within a city”. This lead to bloodshed as government forces clashed with a militant style movement called the “Right Sector” which lead to about 100 deaths and over 500 injured with the eventual ousting of the democratically elected president of Ukraine Victor Yanakovich by force. It is important to understand that the narrative about the sequence of events, who shot first, and who was justified in whatever actions they took is up to interpretation, as it is difficult at this time to really understand unfolding and past events.
Over the past few months I have had the privilege to speak with a resident of the Western part of Ukraine, a person who is politically affluent and introduced me to the ‘Right Sectors’ own online page on a Russian social website akin to facebook. You can see the page itself here (may have been removed). It is useful to understand that in some cases I am using the ‘Right Sectors’ own material to help paint the picture of the events in Ukraine as well as other first-person references/sources.
Dialogue In The Heat Of Battle
I’d like to write a little bit about my conversation with my contact in Western Ukraine, who happens to be a supporter of the ‘Right Sector’ as most Western Ukrainians are. Below are a few snippets from our conversation translated from Russian into English. For easier reading I will name my contact “Ivan”.
Before Yanakovich was overthrown:
Ivan: The phones are being listened on. This is not a protest, this is a war. It is scary what’s happening their, but also a lot of pride for my nation.
Me: This is in Kiev?
Ivan: Yes
Me: Do you think war is unavoidable?
Ivan: There is no way back. If we stop at this point all of us will either be in jail or killed.
Me: Is it impossible to negotiate and make a deal?
Ivan: These are not people who you make deals with (talking about the government).
Me: Who’s in charge? Klichko?
Ivan: The people. The opposition also cannot be trusted….Klichko does not control the opposition. Simply put there are nationalists who have joined up with Right Sector in the ‘Maidan’ (central square in Kiev). And they are not controlled by the opposition. They act. If it was not for them the protests would have been dismantled already and students with pensioners would have been simply beat up. They have become a living shield and go on the attack. The result – we have 20 thousand people in the barricades to whom the fate of the country is important. People who are ready to give up their lives for a brighter future.
Right Sector in Kiev
After Yanakovich:
Me: These are some frightening events, seems like real unrest.
Ivan: It’s frightening to bury people. But this unrest is better than the previous rest.
Me: What do you think? Who is the East and South supporting?
Ivan: They normal people too.
Me: I’m afraid the country can drift into civil war, what’s your take on this?
Ivan: There are zombinized people. They are speaking about things which are getting pretty unsettling. But I don’t think it will happen [civil war], however, anything is possible.
Me: I remember very peaceful and kind people during my time in your city. Tell me, honestly, is there propaganda against Russians?
Ivan: No. People are spreading rumors, but think who will benefit from it?
Me: I think a group like ‘Right Sector’ would be against Russians. Do you align yourself with Europe personally?
Ivan: Personally I am for Ukraine. I don’t want the European Union or anywhere else.
Me: What about your city [Western Ukraine], is there peace now?
Ivan: It’s relatively peaceful. People with automatic weapons roam the streets.
Me: Sounds pretty tense. Who is carrying gun’s in the streets? The police or just people?
Ivan: The Right Sector.
Me: What about the police or local government authorities?
Ivan: They probably still have hang guns and what not.
Me: I’m confused, why would people still walk the streets with guns like that then?
Ivan: To show off.
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