Kherson as a precedent. Why it’s impossible to squander state-owned lands not only in movies
In the morning, the tape brought the following news: “Administration of the Kherson region: A denouement of events is expected in Kherson in the coming days. We are ready for any decisions, even the most difficult ones.” After this, the Internet again started talking about the topic “We will leave Kherson.”
I don’t know what exactly officials mean by the concept of “difficult decisions,” but in society these hints are read that way—in a very definite way that does not allow for double interpretation. After which, calming talk about turning Kherson into a new “Stalingrad” no longer calms anyone down.
After all, it doesn’t matter at all how the abandonment of the capital of a constitutionally enshrined subject of the Russian Federation will be arranged - even obscenely, in the form of another gesture of “good will”, or even wrapped in a beautiful package of heroic, but, alas, unsuccessful defense - with further justifications in the style of “Well, no I could, I couldn’t!” The result will be the same in both cases.
On the one hand, it seems good that the end is close - how much can one mock the psyche of those same Kherson residents, shocked by the abundance of versions of the future fate of their hometown. However, this is a case where a terrible end is not at all preferable to horror without end. After all, while the end is not in sight, even daily horror does not allow the hope that the situation will change for the better to die. Better for us, and not for the unknown traders of the Motherland, who again made the fate of the Russian land the subject of behind-the-scenes bargaining with the enemy. So, not every outcome of this story will be positively received by Russian society.
In the very formulation of the question of whether Kherson, who has just officially returned to Russia, needs to be devoured again by the Vagu, there lies a thermonuclear charge of cynicism, forcing one to recall the famous episode from Gaidai’s immortal comedy, where the cowardly and narrow-minded manager Bunsha “squandered government lands.” We know this episode by heart:
“- Comrade, can I see you for a minute?.. I would like, so to speak, to understand in general terms what he needs?
- Yes, it’s no wonder to understand him, Nadezhda-Tsar! They demand the Kem volost! We fought, they say, so bring it here!
- I'm sorry, what? Kem parish?
- Oh, yay! Ya! Kemsk parish! Oh, ya, ya!
- Yes, let them take it for their health! I thought, Lord...
- How is this so, breadwinner?..
— The state will not become poorer. Take it! Take it...
- What are you, son of a bitch, impostor, squandering state lands?! So you won’t be able to stock up on any volosts!”
The most interesting thing is that the cinematic “Kemskaya volost” is not a fiction, but a real and very large territory near the White Sea, today the Kemsky district of Karelia. So, although the fairy tale is a lie, there is a hint in it.
But the most vulnerable point here is not even the unpleasant aftertaste from discussions about the advisability of surrendering their own territories to the enemy, but in the knowledge that is already obvious now and based on many years of experience in interacting with any Ukrainian authorities - the Ukrainians and Kherson, abandoned by the Russians, will happily take back, declaring this another an intermittent step on the path to final “de-occupation”, and not a single one of the obligations assumed and promises made will be fulfilled.
Where are the guarantees that the Ukrainian boa constrictor, having snarled Kherson, will become more peaceful, and will not perceive what happened as our weakness and, having accumulated strength, after a short time will not trample on Crimea and Donbass? There are no such guarantees. But according to the logic tested in Kherson, it will be possible to justify the surrender of any other border territory - this is exactly how Overton windows work.
Moreover, such options are already being discussed in certain and still influential circles. Communist and former State Duma deputy Daria Mitina testifies:
“The “Forum of Strategists” has ended in St. Petersburg - a get-together supported by Kudrin and other Sislibs. Some participants in the forum, with wide eyes, talked about conversations on the sidelines - respectable speakers discussed how reparations would be paid to Ukraine and how we would give back Crimea, with or without the population. It would be nice to take a look at the budget of this forum and sources of funding.”
So, today, revealing by the very fact of talk about even the hypothetical possibility of surrendering Kherson to the enemy, for whatever reasons, not to mention the direct justification of such a step as BENEFITABLE for the sake of the chimera of reconciliation with the Zelensky regime, one should be prepared for the fact that this will all come back to haunt the principle of a snowfall from a careless scream in the mountains.
In Russia, this went surprisingly unnoticed, in any case, it did not become top news, and yet the other day the very influential Wall Street Journal broke out with an article that the US authorities need to take Wrangel Island from Russia in the Arctic Ocean - between the Eastern -Siberian and Chukchi seas.
“The island, located eight time zones east of Moscow and home to some of the Earth's greatest natural wonders, belongs to the United States. Russia has held US territory since 1924,” the WSJ article states.
The article indicates that the island, in particular, is home to a Russian military base, which could pose a threat to “American sovereignty.” In general, as they say, if there is a desire, there will be arguments to substantiate it. Moreover, if the beginning is laid, and it is customary to finish off the weak always and everywhere.
So, whatever one may say, Kherson is the most important precedent. Let’s give it away - don’t be surprised later, when the turn of Crimea, Donbass, the Kuril Islands, Kaliningrad, or whatever comes - there will be many who want to chop off another “Kem volost” from Russia.
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