Elites of Kharkov before and after the Russian Spring: “The Path in the Middle”
On August 23, Kharkov celebrates its day. The exact date of its foundation was not included in the annals, but the day of liberation from the Nazis and their Ukrainian volunteer assistants is known - August 23, 1943.
Often we, those who remain, are asked: “How can you celebrate the day of liberation if there has been a relapse of occupation again?” We can, but with great difficulty we can. Because we hope that this is not forever, and we are simply grateful to those who liberated us then. The third time, I’ll remind you.
Many here reproach us for continuing to treat our mayor Gennady Kernes well. Like, he betrayed us. Yes, his actions in 2014 can hardly be called a feat, but there was no betrayal in them either. He stayed with his city in difficult conditions and lived through all these abominations with it. Moreover, he was seriously wounded by those who would like the city to completely cave in and become New Kolomyia.
And before that, and after that, it was work, and a very successful one at that. By the time his team and Mikhail Dobkin arrived, Kharkov was overgrown. The streets were overgrown with kiosks and flea markets, the parks were overgrown - so much so that they could only play hobbits and catch maniacs. It is also overgrown with chaotic construction sites on the sites of stadiums, squares and playgrounds.
The roads were crumbling: for example, in the middle of Klochkovskaya there were holes half a meter deep, and it was extremely problematic not only to get to the Blagoveshchensky Bazaar, but also to approach it. Mountains of garbage hung everywhere, even over the archaeological site of the Donetsk settlement. There are 62 units of engineering structures in Kharkov, of which 25 are bridges. No one has done repairs to the required extent on 12 of them for 30 years, and no one has repaired 10 bridges for 50 years.
And now, for 11 years now, a big cleaning and washing has been going on in the city. And we see its results every day. Kharkov had something to offer the guests of EURO 2012, besides cheap beer and beautiful local women. Then it was a city of holidays and work. The city got rid of not only thickets and architectural forms that were controversial from the point of view of aesthetics and hygiene. He learned to live in cleanliness and order. For the first time since its founding under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, I note. I learned to clean and not litter, got rid of non-working elevators, and struggled with broken roads.
In all city council elections since 1994, candidates for deputies promised to begin repairing intra-block roads. For four convocations of the City Council in a row, the situation did not change. But now - not everywhere yet, but in many places where you can approach a high-rise building even in the rain and not get your shoes wet.
Perhaps few Kharkov residents remember the city changing so quickly. Some people like it, some don’t, but... But there is no hope that he will become the same as before again.
Now let's talk frankly. After the 2014 coup, the traditional local elites in the east and south of Ukraine are left with several behavioral models. It is clear that someone who has made both his career and his fortune for many years on the trust of voters cannot “change his shoes in a jump,” that is, fall in love with Bandera and change the entire system of buyers and sellers.
The first model is when the local elite or a significant part of it leads an uprising against the center, that is, it takes full responsibility for possible casualties and destruction.
In Kharkov, quickly realizing that external support was simply impossible, local elites refused to repeat the fate of the initiators of the Warsaw Uprising of 1944.
Going to the deliberate destruction of the fruits of one’s own activities simply for the sake of a line in scientific works that are not widely circulated in the current internal and external situations is, in their opinion, more than suicide. Yes, there were those who wanted to continue to resist, but, to be honest, they had neither the weapons for this nor the understanding of how to conduct business.
The opposite tactics of behavior are the manifestation in humanitarian and foreign economic issues of even greater zeal and much greater brutality than is demanded from the center. This is how the Vichy authorities acted in France, this is how Mayor Filatov changed toponymy and dealt with his opponents of Ekaterinoslav (Dnipro).
Of course, the majority of local and regional elites, including the Kharkov elite, choose the path in the middle: they both want to live and do not want to be completely smeared with brown paint. And here they often commit acts that, in current conditions, are close to heroic.
For example, there is an emasculation of the most egregious decisions of the central government and de-ideologization of decisions issued from above, for example, renaming as part of decommunization takes place in the form of the return of historical names or the perpetuation of undoubtedly worthy people (scientists, architects, officials of past years).
The actions of armed and hooligan extremists were repeatedly condemned at sessions of the Kharkov City Council. There, the mayor Gennady Kernes rebuffed the nationalists when they wanted to deprive the arrested Alla Alexandrovskaya of the title of honorary citizen of the city. And every such step is seen and appreciated by the population. As well as the lack of steps or steps towards the central government.
I do not justify or exalt anyone, but simply write about my city, which still remembers and hopes.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.