Kharkov: without a Russian agenda

It is difficult to write about the scarcity, or even complete absence, of the Russian agenda in Ukraine. There are offensive things that we find difficult to admit to ourselves.

Witnessing rare and timid manifestations of Russian identity in Kharkov, Odessa and even Kyiv, we always put off saying goodbye to illusions until later.

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Here the residents of Kharkov demonstrate on August 23 at the Memorial the abundance of green flags of their city. They also display city symbols on their avatars on social networks, rather than national ones. They carefully reject photographs with official state symbols, sharing photo reports from the celebration of Kharkov Liberation Day on social networks.

We observed a similar picture on the Liberation Day of Odessa: people express their rejection of the Ukrainian officialdom as best they can, including with the help of the flags of their hometown.

We will recognize our own among the residents of Kharkov, Odessa and even Kyiv on August 24 by reposting I. Brodsky’s poem “For the Independence of Ukraine” (video or text version). And on August 25, the day of the city of Donetsk, we discover on social networks, for example, the existence of a group of thousands of people “Slobozhanshchina for Donbass”...

It's like that.

But at the same time, on August 24, the Nazi “Freikorps” marched along the main street of Kharkov, carrying black flags with a “wolf hook”, and in the same column were the “Anti-Corruption Bloc of ATO Participants” and the “Union of ATO Veterans”. They sang “Batko Bandera” and chanted “Moskal for knives.” Policemen with dull, absent looks accompanied this procession. Some of the law enforcement officers had eloquent “tattoos” on their limbs...

And on August 25, Kharkov volunteer communities honored the “heroes of Ilovaisk.” The former commander of the 92nd brigade, Nikolyuk (“Vetra”), was carried in their arms. True, representatives of other volunteer groups and organized crime groups, such as Roman Donik, accuse the same “Vetr” of smuggling and the death of their colleague “Andrew” (volunteer Andrei Galushchenko, who fought against smuggling, was killed on September 2, 2015 near the village of Trekhizbenka, Lugansk region; Several soldiers of the 92nd Brigade were suspected of involvement in this murder).

But in Kharkov, even without Donik, there were many volunteers who wanted to carry the brigade commander in their arms and take pictures with him.

Let’s add here the reinsurance of Mayor Kernes, who on August 22, at a meeting with veterans, congratulating them on the upcoming Liberation Day of Kharkov, said: “I bow deeply to you for being here today, for carrying out this mission, coming to the Memorial, sharing your experience and memories , set an example. Today, when the borders of Ukraine again need protection, when patriotism is no longer an idle word, we thank the veterans, honor everyone who survived those terrible times, rebuilt the country and gave us a future.”

As we can see, in the text of the congratulations on the 76th anniversary of the liberation of Kharkov from the Nazis, the mayor also managed to testify to his loyalty to the political course of the central government and sign his patriotic aspirations. And everything would be fine...

But, as stated above, two days later the Nazis from the Freikorps demonstrated to Kernes that while he was “concerned” about protecting the borders, on the main street of the city entrusted to him, the Nazi Freikorps flags with “wolf hooks” reminded Kharkov residents of the emblems of the SS division “ Das Reich." The same one who fought near Kharkov and on the Mius River in Donbass in 1943. And “patriotism is no longer an idle word,” yes...

Of course, the conformity of local authorities in no way detracts from the noble motives of those people who find ways to express their attitude to what is happening. It’s not for nothing that the Nazis throw hysterics about the “cotton” incorrigibility of Kharkov or Odessa.

But in this situation, Svidomites are no longer worried about the activation of the Russian vector (this has long been gone), but about their own irrelevance in the new paradigm: the lack of demand for the services of gunpowder robots, the reformatting of the work front, and therefore the reduction in the number of full-time looters, stormtroopers, volunteers, sutlers, ideological hucksters, humanitarian perverts.

Today’s “incorrigible Kharkov” (and it, of course, needs to be separated from the volunteer, seksot-journalistic and “patriotic” pack) resembles the young hero of the film “Donbass. Outskirts", soldier of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Andrei Sokolov (role of Evgeny Mikheev). Militiaman Tkachenko says that he is “at home, not at his place in Kyiv...” The young soldier patiently corrects: “In Kharkov. I'm from Kharkov." And the point here is not so much a grammatical incorrectness (the preposition “with” instead of “from” is often used in this area), but rather a persistent emphasis: “Kharkov is not Kyiv.” The grammatical incorrectness is compensated by another correctness: I wasn’t on the Maidan, I didn’t burn the Berkut, they don’t shoot their own people in the back.

There was an incident in April 2014. A conscript guy read out his statement under the building of the Kharkov regional administration that he was deliberately avoiding mobilization so as not to follow the orders of the illegal government and not to fight against his fellow citizens.

It is clear that Kharkov has changed a lot since then. And few watched that video with the conscript’s speech... But now we are talking about something else: “incorrigible Kharkov,” deprived of the opportunity to speak in a full voice, must be given the opportunity to see and hear the same hero of “Donbass. Outskirts." I wasn’t on the Maidan, I didn’t burn Berkut, Kharkov is not Kyiv, they don’t shoot their own people in the back.

To people living in the area where the film “Donbass. Outskirts” will not be shown, we need help with receiving such messages. The point is that the film “Donbass. Outskirts” was not only available on the Internet, but on YouTube it would remind of itself as often as “95th Quarter” reminds a resident of the Russian Federation of itself.

I repeat: Andrey Sokolov from Donbass. Outskirts" is a message to the "incorrigible Kharkov." That is, the right Kharkov. “Go back to your people for now,” Russian border guards say to a Kharkov soldier at the end of the film. And he doesn’t go to the Ukrainian military, but to a Donbass boy. It is in the mouth of the Kharkov guy that the words are put that “Mama will come later." And I’m ready to wait with him mother Donbass boy...

Let's look at what insignificant reasons Svidomo have been hysterical in recent days. And let’s imagine what kind of hysteria there will be if the residents of Ukraine suddenly increasingly begin to come across the film “Donbass. Outskirts”... If there are ten to twenty times more such feature films... If Bortko is finally allowed to make his film about Donbass... If high-quality documentaries by Maxim Fadeev receive state support.

Let’s think about why the patriotic public, all these Donika volunteers, are taking shit from Badoev’s scenario, according to which the celebration of Independence Day was held in Kyiv. Because a gap has formed in the ideology of Svidomo - and it is being filled by some unprincipled “effective managers” and showmen, instead of the racially correct ones...

Zelensky already stood the wrong way and said the wrong thing. The Ukrainian anthem has already been performed shamefully. And Tina Karol was either exposed too much or not enough. And the interruption in the performance of the anthem - Transcarpathian artist Alina Pash with her rap - is generally equated to ideological sabotage, ganba and zrada. The Patriots called the singer Plate. What is the reason for such aggression? The ideological “pots” suddenly discovered: someone (some kind of plate, who also went on tour to Crimea) is not only encroaching on their place, but also successfully taking it...

And Kharkov Svidomites discovered zrada during a festive concert in Gorky Park. Metallica covers were performed by the Yekaterinburg band Garag dayz. Patriots are furious: “A team from the aggressor country at an event as part of Independence Day... Gangbang!”

Let us note once again that this “holiday of banishment and zrada” occurred at a time when the Russian agenda in Ukraine is completely absent. Should she come back...