Russian patriots in Crimea face difficult trials – media
Moscow - Kyiv, January 16 (PolitNavigator, Mikhail Stamm) - The Crimean spring did not give way to summer: the eve of the long winter holidays brought residents of the peninsula many unpleasant surprises, indicating the onset of extremely difficult times, writes New Newspaper.
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At the very end of the calendar year, several serious blows hit the peninsula, the publication sums up. The most noticeable is energy collapse. Problems with the electricity supply in Simferopol lasted more than two months. They stopped only after December 25, when the Russian Federation pledged to supply 1,5 GW of electricity to Ukrainian networks without prepayment, the newspaper recalls. Most likely, the Kremlin took such a step in order to minimize image risks - otherwise the Crimeans may finally become convinced that there is little in common between the actual secession from Ukraine and the actual entry into Russia.
The second pre-New Year gift from Ukraine was the closure of first the railway and then the bus connection with Crimea. Now everyone who wants to get to the mainland will have to stand in a daily queue at the border.
On January 6, the Crimean authorities were forced to legalize Ukrainian food products for another three years - it is impossible to import Russian ones in the required quantities and at reasonable prices.
“Thus, the real future for Crimea in 2015 is a psychological feeling of island isolation and blockade suspense,” the newspaper writes. “And one could be consoled by one’s sacred status in the minds of the Kremlin, dissolved in patriotic enthusiasm, if everything in the Russian Federation itself was quiet and stable.”
Another important result of the past year, which will set the tone for this year as well, is the devaluation of the ruble, the newspaper notes. It is not surprising that after Euromaidan and the overthrow of Yanukovych, Crimeans decided to abandon the sinking ship and move aboard a more powerful vessel. The Kremlin lured with increased salaries, high pensions and benefits, but most importantly, currency stability. But in mid-December, the ruble repeated the pirouettes of the Ukrainian currency. And this finally sobered up the inhabitants of the peninsula, the author believes.
“If in November, before the start of currency surges, people talked here mainly about the war in Donbass, transport problems and conflicts in transition legislation, now these topics have faded into the background. The euphoria of the neophytes of Russian patriotism was replaced by expectant businesslikeness - nervous observation of unfolding events,” the newspaper writes.
Over the past year, in Crimea, Russia managed to do only what it does best - create a stable monolith of power and cleanse government structures of disloyal elements. The campaign for passportization of the population and the issuance of other personal documents (SNILs, insurance policies, etc.) was also quite successful. Everything else - stable transport links and supplying the peninsula with its own electricity, food, water, goods - by and large has not budged. True, on these issues a precarious balance was achieved with Ukraine. But everyone understands that it can collapse at any moment, the author writes.
“It is obvious that in 2015 Crimea will have to endure an “internal blockade” and economic stagnation associated not only with the financial problems of the Russian Federation, but also with the reluctance of even the most loyal oligarchs to Vladimir Putin to spend their capital on the development of local enterprises and resort infrastructure. This means that for Russian patriots of Crimea this year will be a real test of political reliability,” the publication concludes.
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