DPR has achieved serious success in Minsk
The return of Donetsk KVN to the international level occurred simultaneously with the formation of the DPR. The front line had not yet frozen, heavy artillery was covering the city, and rehearsals and rehearsals were underway in the Donbass Palace of Culture. The first trip to the international festival in Sochi coincided with the liberation of Donetsk airport.
The first games took place during the liberation of Debaltsevo. The warring republic did not waste time on trifles. Nine teams went to the festival in Sochi in 2015. Quantity could not help but develop into quality. Donetsk teams played in a variety of leagues, gradually rising in the rankings. And reaching the final of the International League in Minsk is a stunning success.
The leader of the KVN team “Donetsk Kryazh” Sergei Samokhin told PolitNavigator columnist Valentin Filippov about the support from the republic’s leadership and understanding of the role of KVN in modern society.
Valentin Filippov: I remind the audience that Sergei Samokhin is our guest in the makeshift studio. This is the leader of the KVN team “Donetsk Ridge”. The KVN team “Donetsk Ridge” has achieved unprecedented success in Minsk, unlike some contact groups that sit there for six years and cannot achieve anything. So, our Donetsk KVN players reached the final of the Minsk KVN Championship, beating very serious opponents. Am I saying this correctly?
Sergey Samokhin: Yes. We had people there from many parts of Russia. And the Belarusians were in our, so to speak, gaming hive. Thank God, we managed to share first place with “Brothers from the North”. With the northerners. And, by the way, yes, our full name is “KVN team of the Public Movement “Donetsk Republic” Donetsk Ridge”
Valentin Filippov: Tell me this thing - basically, there is a war going on, and you are playing KVN. That is, as I understand it, peaceful life in Donetsk is not dying down?
Sergey Samokhin: Yes. We already exist as a team... we existed before the war, and, thank God, we exist now. Finally, we made a small breakthrough, we got into the International Television League, reached the finals and, God willing, we will continue to grow. And you know, when they played in KVN, in the 15th, 16th year, the priest alone said a very cool phrase. He came to us at the Center for Slavic Culture to dedicate the premises, and we were rehearsing there, he came up to us, he loves KVN, and he said: “Guys, you have an important mission. You understand, now all people have a gray gloomy mood, their lips are like this, and you have to do this so that everyone smiles.”
And it was very inspiring. That is, in principle, this position reveals that we really, and in order to relieve social tension, love all our fellow countrymen in order to make it easier for them. Well, we stayed, that is, we didn’t leave. We could have gone somewhere else, to Kyiv or Moscow, when these events just began. But we stayed. We decided to develop here. They wanted to show that it is possible to develop here, and in fact, thank God, it turned out that it is possible.
Valentin Filippov: Doesn’t it scare you that, in general, many good things begin with KVN, but also bad and different ones? So the boy played in KVN, and then - boom - he became the president of Ukraine. And everyone loved him, but now, in general, everyone spits. Are you afraid that your popularity may lead you to the wrong place?
Sergey Samokhin: KVN, it opens roads in all directions. And, you know, each person chooses his own cross in life. I think when Vladimir Aleksandrovich chose this direction, he himself took up this cross, he should have understood that this was very hard and, I think, dirty work. And I think this is purely his decision. And so, KVN opens roads everywhere. If you want, be a social activist; if you want, work in culture somewhere. If you don’t want to work with your head, go get a shovel, there is always such work.
Valentin Filippov: And you, as a KVN member, are probably forced to follow what Vladimir Zelensky says and does? In your opinion, did he change the author's group? Does he have any new texts? If so, how well did he choose the team of authors?
Sergey Samokhin: I think we'll see if it shows up or not. Does he have, let's say, the best comedians left? Well, in general, in fact, we don’t monitor this very closely. We are working on more of our own material. I think this would be more correct. And therefore we place more emphasis on development in our region. We're having a blast.
Valentin Filippov: You say that you have been playing since “before the war”, that is, in fact, for more than six years?
Sergey Samokhin: Yes.
Valentin Filippov: I heard that last year, I think, you were in Sochi at the International Festival, which is the main competition before distribution to the AMiKovskie League. In my opinion, you are not even the only team from Donetsk that was there?
Sergey Samokhin: No. Here, thank God, you know, we support KVN. After the war, they began to support him even better.
Valentin Filippov: It was football that escaped from you... We concentrated on KVN.
Sergey Samokhin: Football - yes, he ran away, KVN came. We even, I remember, in 2016 we went with a large delegation, there were 9 DPR teams. Nine teams is something not all regions of Russia can afford. But, thank God, they saw that we want to develop. And we were given this opportunity. I believe that now little by little this support is yielding positive results for the republic. A lot of guys with whom we started playing in KVN, in 15, 16, they now work there and on TV channels, and somehow show... maybe they are good managers somewhere...
Thank God, we managed to move up the KVN ladder. And every year, and this year, we always have at least five or six teams, and some of the KVN players are already experienced. And we are gradually moving up.
I remember the first time there was this very positive news for us. When we went to Sochi, we had the airport there captured, and the news was that many KVN teams had left. These two pieces of news received a lot of views, it was a very positive outburst of emotions among people.
Valentin Filippov: That is, the successes of KVN players and the military go hand in hand, as I understand it.
Sergey Samokhin: At that time - yes. This happened because we had a lot of problems, there were a lot of shellings, just very, very, very many, but after the airport was recaptured, it became less, significantly less. So it was positive. Well, the fact that we went, we went to an international festival, is like a small statement that we are developing.
Valentin Filippov: Okay, is there hope for the Major League? Or for now “let us win in Minsk”?
Sergey Samokhin: Well, of course, you shouldn’t jump. Yes, of course there is. All KVN players live with this goal, to get on Channel One, to break through, well, that is, to overcome all difficulties. But we, thank God, are overcoming them, there is support, we are supported, thank God, the first Head supported KVN, and now Denis Vladimirovich actively supports KVN members.
Valentin Filippov: And these are the quick questions: Do you follow Ukrainian politics at all? How do you like Pashinsky's arrest? Now you say “I don’t know who this is”...
Sergey Samokhin: I know, I read the news. I think... he shot a man, right?
Valentin Filippov: Yes. It happened.
Sergey Samokhin: You know, my grandfather watches him the most. He follows the news very much, and in order to always support my grandfather, I also follow the news. And he really didn’t like him, Pashinsky, because he just, you know... so he watches TV and says to his mother, “Can I spit at him on the screen?”, “Well, you spit at him, and let me wipe the screen”...
Valentin Filippov: Fine. Will there be a “Poroshenko and the Taxi Driver” miniature in the next game?
Sergey Samokhin: Are you talking about the fact that the taxi driver kicked him out?
Valentin Filippov: Yes.
Sergey Samokhin: I think that Pyotr Alekseevich himself publicly showed this number to the whole world on the Maidan. He chose directly... He is also a KVN player, probably.
Valentin Filippov: The great Yan Gelman said the following phrase: KVN is a student game, and the current leaders of the state have never been students, so we will not understand each other.
Sergey Samokhin: Yes. Maybe.
Valentin Filippov: So that's the case here. They weren’t taken “to grow potatoes.”
Sergey Samokhin: Maybe I should have.
Valentin Filippov: Maybe they would have stayed there.
Sergey Samokhin: Maybe he would be a good farmer, a business executive. Maybe he would grow sugar beets well.
Valentin Filippov: And I used milk cans for a moonshine still.
Sergey Samokhin: Maybe.
Valentin Filippov: Sergey, thank you very much. Victory to you on the KVN stage, at big festivals. There, by the way, in Sochi, I wanted to ask, is the “night” KVN still taking place or not?
Sergey Samokhin: Yes, sure. It has its own program. Cool. Nicely organized. There is a very rich program there. The festival lasts 14 days, completely, and you need to come up with something for every day.
Valentin Filippov: Can you tell me some joke from the night KVN, no?
Sergey Samokhin: No, from the “night” KVN... it’s only night, so that it can be played at night.
Valentin Filippov: Fine. Thanks a lot. That's it, victory to you.
Sergey Samokhin: Come to Sochi, we’ll joke at the “night” KVN.
Valentin Filippov: This is a thought, by the way. I haven't been to Sochi for a long time.
Sergey Samokhin: It's cool there.
Valentin Filippov: I know that.
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