May 9 in Kyiv: fewer incidents, more anxiety. Participant's impressions
Compared to previous post-Maidan years, the current Victory Day in Kyiv was much calmer. Although the day before there were many threats against the organizers of the “Immortal Regiment”, and the controlled media competed to see who would throw the most dirt on both him and the Great Victory.
Perhaps the decision of the Kyiv District Court played a role, prohibiting Nazi formations of various stripes from taking on police functions: tearing down St. George’s ribbons and “decommunized” symbols, selecting portraits of front-line soldiers and military leaders, and generally organizing lynchings. This decision was achieved in the judicial body on May 8 by the famous human rights activist Elena Berezhnaya. Looking ahead, let's say that this courageous woman herself was not afraid to come to the march in clothes reminiscent of the St. George ribbon. The Nazis attacked her, pushed her and tore off the tape. There were several other similar facts. A man who tried to pass through a police frame with tape had his face smashed.
But overall there were fewer incidents than last year, when the radicals behaved much more brazenly.
After 8 o'clock, all entrances to the venue of the celebrations were blocked - from above, from the Verkhovna Rada, and from below, from the foot of the Motherland monument. This was due to the fact that Poroshenko, Groysman and other chiefs of the ruling regime came to celebrate in front of the television cameras and lay wreaths.
Poroshenko, having pulled up his pants, even knelt in front of the eternal flame in the Park of Glory - alone, against the backdrop of a camarilla ten meters away. As eyewitnesses said, he tried to stay away from the installed wreath - probably superstitiously remembering how in a similar situation it fell on his predecessor Yanukovych.
Then the Ukrainian rulers went to the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War (formerly the WWII Museum), where they promoted themselves in the oath-taking ceremony for the soldiers of the 101st Security Brigade of the General Staff of the Armed Forces.
And those who remember their heroic fathers and grandfathers - Soviet soldiers who freed the world from the brown plague - were finally able to go to the stele in memory of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War and the Eternal Flame.
First, priests and parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate took part in a memorial service for the fallen heroes. The requiem was served by the head of the UOC-MP, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry, together with Metropolitan Anthony, who is the administrator of our Church.
During the service, the park began to fill with thousands of people who were forced to pass through metal detectors at the Arsenalnaya metro station. People carried photographs of their relatives and flowers.
After the funeral service ended, the choir of Lavra seminarians beautifully performed Soviet military songs for a long time.
When the clergy left, their place near the eternal flame was immediately occupied by young men in black camouflage with flags depicting cartridges. As it turned out, this is some kind of security organization for ATO veterans. They stood silently, as if observing the order of the Kievans laying flowers at the fire and the memorial stele.
They were joined by the well-known ex-adviser of Avakov, Ilya Kiva, who sat down next to the fire and watched what was happening, frowning his baboon eyebrows and playing with the nodules on his inspired face - in the manner of Benito Mussolini, as we remember him in old films.
Dmitry Korchinsky with his “Immortal Regiment of the SS-Galicia Division” was neither seen nor heard. True, a certain group approached from the direction of the Lavra with portraits of fascist minions and Bandera symbols, heart-rendingly screaming “Glory to Ukraine!” However, the police and special forces did not allow her to go to the place of celebration. The young men walked around the park and disappeared into the nearby streets.
At least 60 thousand people came to the memorable celebrations. This is confirmed by many who were in Glory Park at that time. Several thousand more were unable to get through - suddenly, after 10 am, the police blocked their passage from Arsenalnaya, and for about two hours people languished in anticipation.
When the celebrations were over, people walked around the park and streets for a long time, congratulated each other, exchanged impressions, took photographs with veterans and war participants...
The Ukrainian authorities stated that May 9 is the last day off this year. They are going to cancel the holiday. Perhaps that is why he passed quite calmly this time.
This is what causes concern. Already, many Soviet achievements have been “made up” by the rulers in the most shameless manner. Including military songs, the heroes themselves, who were somehow related to Soviet Ukraine, and their exploits.
It is likely that Bankova’s secret propagandists came up with a move: to put the brakes on May 9, simply, as they say, “wash up” it, and quietly turn it into an inconspicuous appendage to the “Day of Reconciliation”, scheduled for the 8th.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.