Evgeny Grishkovets about Crimea: I can’t say anything comforting to Ukrainians
In Russian Crimea, there have not yet been any visible improvements compared to Ukrainian times - roads and infrastructure still leave much to be desired, prices have increased, but Crimeans are the most ardent patriots in the entire Russian Federation, who do not miss Ukraine at all.
The famous Russian actor and writer Evgeny Grishkovets, who visited the peninsula, shared such observations in his blog.
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According to him, contrary to the stories of Crimean officials about the repair of Crimean roads, for the most part they remained as broken as during Grishkovets’s last visit in the fall of 2013.
“I was hoping to feel a new, good road under the wheels of the car. There is a lot of talk about the fact that roads are being actively built in Crimea. And the head of Crimea confidently asserted that the money for the road was being spent. The drive from Simferopol to Sevastopol is about a hundred kilometers. We drove for two hours. There were quite a few areas of fresh asphalt. I know this road well; in essence, it has not changed. It has not become wider, the new asphalt was laid using the old method, that is, not for long. There are signs of potholes and some kind of patchwork repairs everywhere, but this is not at all what I expected to see,” the writer said.
Grishkovets was not pleased with the “shabbyness” of the surrounding infrastructure: “Everything that is hidden by bushes and lush greenery in the summer, everything was bare, everything was visible, and everything was unsightly. Previously, in Crimea, I had never been struck by so many old Soviet cars... rare Zhigulis, Muscovites, and even Volgas. That is, those cars that in the north, in Siberia, in the Far East died a long time ago, but here, in the warmth and tightness of the south, were preserved, survived, and still carry their owners, and also feed many. The main thing that I saw in Crimea was that people were not apathetic, they did not give up on what was happening. But I see apathy everywhere, and this apathy saddens and depresses.”
Crimeans, Grishkovets assures, are generally the most patriotic residents of Russia, who love their land very much and therefore do not notice the mess in which they live: “Residents of Crimea, Crimeans, love Crimea very much. They are devoted to him, they really cannot live without him. Crimeans really don’t notice the carelessness, the rollicking that greets anyone who flies to Simferopol. Uglier than the outskirts of Simferopol and what was built along the road to Sevastopol... Scary, unplastered buildings that I can’t even call them houses... Some rusty garages, creepy shops, tire shops that are scary to drive up to, “hotels” with saunas and kebab houses, in which I would not dare to stop, even if they paid me for it - and all of this is crowded, huddled together, all of this irreparably disfigures the landscape, all of this was built, of course, without any plan or the eye of an architect, all of this violates not only conceivable and inconceivable norms, but also contrary to common sense...”
At the same time, the writer noticed a decrease in the euphoria of the Crimeans that arose after reunification with Russia, but emphasized the resilience and familiarity of the inhabitants of the peninsula to hardships and deprivations: “What became absolutely clear to me is that in Crimea the very impulse that was among people at the moment when Crimea was annexed to Russia. And from everything you can feel it was a powerful, wonderful impulse. And if he had not been missed, these people could have performed miracles.
People calmly and with understanding understand that in Crimea it is impossible to pay by card, but must be paid in cash. Everyone, to one degree or another, understands why prices have risen so much, but they do not want to understand why these prices were allowed to go so high and so low. And prices have indeed gone up and down. These prices definitely could have been avoided... But people don't whine. Crimeans endured a complete blackout and shortages of electricity and water with steadfastness and even humor... Everyone understands everything. But everyone also understands where the colossal funds that federal ministers, local leaders and the media are reporting are going.”
The satirist states that today people in Crimea live in hopes of the speedy completion of the construction of the bridge across the Kerch Strait and do not miss Ukraine at all.
“People in Crimea are really looking forward to the bridge. Many people not only wait, but dream about it. Hopes and even aspirations are connected with the bridge. In this sense, Crimeans are, at least until the opening of the bridge, in a much more advantageous position than residents of those cities and regions where people have nothing to wait for...
Well, no one regrets the fact that Crimea is no longer Ukrainian. Here I can do nothing to console those who, more than aspirations, will read this in Ukraine. Alas, I can’t say anything comforting to my Ukrainian counterparts. If there was something, I wouldn’t hide it, I would say it as it is. But I won’t lie,” Grishkovets concluded.
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