“Odessa is ours in any case”: Resistance leader Sergei Dolzhenkov
Odessa resistance leader Sergei Dolzhenkov was captured by the Kyiv regime immediately after the May 2, 2014 massacre. It was he who the Ukrainian security forces tried to charge with organizing the riots. It took Ukrainian courts many years not to find any crime in Sergei’s actions. However, even after this, Sergei was not released from custody. New far-fetched accusations and new ridiculous cases, among which even included laying flowers at monuments to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War, arose one after another. And only five and a half years later, Sergei received complete freedom as part of a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and the Donetsk People's Republic.
Valentin Filippov: We welcome in our virtual studio on the free land of Donbass one of the participants in the Odessa resistance of 2014, Sergei Dolzhenkov. Sergey, hello.
Sergei Dolzhenkov: Greetings, Valentin. I'm very glad to see you here. Finally, we decided to chat with you.
Valentin Filippov: Sergey, this is a question right away, perhaps unexpected, but perhaps one that was asked very often, moreover, during the investigation. There are rumors, some eyewitnesses claim that on May 2, 2014, Dmitry Fuchiji, our then head of the city police, approached you with the words: “Well, we agreed.”
Sergei Dolzhenkov: No, this is all nonsense. Agreed on what? Unknown. That is, how was it possible to negotiate resistance to the official state, the state structure, which existed at that time, was formed after the revolution, how was it possible to negotiate with representatives of any security forces, be it the police, be it the SBU? That is, for me it would be unacceptable. Therefore, there was some kind of neutrality, maybe there was diplomacy, but there were no agreements with anyone. Neither with law enforcement officers, nor with Euromaidan activists regarding May 2.
That is, everyone understood perfectly well that May 2 was the starting point of no return, when Anti-Maidan, the last one in the South-East, had to be liquidated. And the forces rushed here - this is the self-defense of the Maidan, all these fans, local activists here, they decided to neutralize the resistance in a radical way, with the use of weapons, with the use of piercing and cutting objects, explosives, which in principle they did.
And on our part there were no agreements with law enforcement officers. They saw how they behaved, that is, they stood with their backs to the anti-Maidan, that is, accordingly, they did not see a threat in the anti-Maidan activists, but saw a direct threat in the representatives of radical Euro-Maidan, right-wing groups.
Valentin Filippov: It’s no secret at all that there were attempts by various Odessa elites to try to enter into negotiations with some parts of the Anti-Maidan and persuade them not to resist, to move, to liberate Kulikovo Field, not to be there, to allow the parade to be held on May 9th. And so that supporters of Anti-Maidan, supporters of the referendum in Odessa would be invisible. After all, such a task was set, and various politicians, various elites tried with all their might to somehow influence. Who tried the most to influence?
Sergei Dolzhenkov: Well, I didn’t delve into all these nuances, who approached whom, who agreed on what. Specifically, I did not receive such proposals, there, to move from Kulikovo Field, to stop resistance. Even if such proposals came, I would reject them outright.
Everything is banally simple, in connection with the move of the “Odessa squad” to the 411th battery, at the end of April the weather in Odessa was already quite hot, and the guys who constantly lived in the tent camp, they were actually in these tarpaulin tents, they experienced It was hot, we were already walking around there in flip-flops and shorts. It wouldn’t be entirely beautiful – no one wanted to create the appearance of resistance in shorts and flip-flops. People really wanted to fight in the future and decided to reformat, that is, to create a military-patriotic camp, which would be based no matter where, be it by the sea somewhere where territory could be taken out.
That’s why we chose the 411th battery, since it is a symbol of the defense of our city. We decided to create a military-patriotic camp there, we transported things there, that is, this is actually not connected with any agreements, it is simply a reformatting of this “Anti-Maidan” project into a military-patriotic camp for youth. And this was not justified by anything else.
Valentin Filippov: Why was there no idea on May 2 not to offer any resistance? That is, really dissolve, wait until a day or two passes, and the brought militants leave, and appear on the streets again?
Sergei Dolzhenkov: Yes. This is all a naive point of view. On May 2, 2014, a punitive operation against dissent began. We saw the events that took place on May 2 in Slavyansk, right? Where regular military units, volunteers, were used against armed militias. Accordingly, in Odessa, since it was considered a peaceful city, not a front-line one, it would be inappropriate to send troops or any kind of volunteer battalions. Therefore, they decided to destroy us in such a veiled way, attracting radical activists, “Self-Defense” and so on.
Therefore, I understood perfectly well that the Anti-Maidan in Odessa... he had literally a few days left to live. Therefore, even if people had not gathered on May 2, they would have come on another date, they would have come up with another reason, that’s for sure.
The South-East, it had to kneel under these post-Maidan authorities in Kyiv, and it was necessary to strangle these pockets of resistance. Because there is a front line - Donbass, and there is a rear - the same Odessa, where there was no need for any unrest, any acts of protest against this force operation.
Therefore, in Kyiv they made the decision that it needed to be destroyed. You saw what happened in Zaporozhye, what happened in Nikolaev before, what happened in Kharkov. What could have happened in Donetsk if they had not been dispersed there, the so-called march “For a United Ukraine”, “peaceful”, although all these...
Valentin Filippov: We also called it that on May 2nd.
Sergei Dolzhenkov: Yes. That is, no matter what you call it and no matter how you cover it up, it was still clear that they were going to simply destroy us.
Valentin Filippov: I understand that immediately after these events you then fell off the information agenda for a long time, you had no time for that, but, nevertheless, there were some local beneficiaries of what happened - who tried to profit from this? Well, maybe politically, not counting Kolomoisky and company.
Sergei Dolzhenkov: Politics is, of course, one big swamp in which all and sundry wander around. Therefore, everyone, from some small beneficiaries to large ones, could make some kind of image for themselves, some kind of career, and gain political weight. Therefore, it was a very complex combination, I just read between the lines.
I think we see who came and took the governor's chair, right? We saw all this very well, so you don’t even have to be some kind of political expert to understand who received the main benefit from this.
Valentin Filippov: What is it like for Nemirovsky, right? After all, he took a big part in organizing this nightmare on May 2. Well, here is the then governor. And he was, like, from what party? He seemed to be from Yatsenyuk, from the Front change».
Sergei Dolzhenkov: Well, they say yes. Either Tymoshenko or...
Valentin Filippov: As a result, he was fired for this, and Kolomoisky benefited by installing his Palitsa.
Sergei Dolzhenkov: Well, what can you do when a person with a lot of experience, apparently, he has outplayed all this to his advantage.
Valentin Filippov: But I noticed that Eduard Iosifovich’s activists took part. Was Hurwitz probably trying to somehow get something out of this too, or was it just that, did they do it spontaneously?
Sergei Dolzhenkov: The most interesting thing is that they tried to make me Hurwitz’s man, that I allegedly organized all this to please him. But it all fell apart literally in mid-May. They tried to conduct some interrogations, some people, fake ones, to interrogate them so that they...
Valentin Filippov: That is, they were digging along Hurwitz?
Sergei Dolzhenkov: They were digging, yes. But there it was all so sewn with white thread that everything died...
Valentin Filippov: That is, Gurvits is not their friend?
Sergei Dolzhenkov: They don’t. That is, apparently, yes, it’s a fact, but they didn’t need this Nemirovsky, and at the same time, they used May 2 to remove him and install their own man. He was just confused. Here he was on May 2 on Grecheskaya, accompanied by security forces, it was either “Alpha”, or “Falcon” accompanied him, and he just stood on Grecheskaya and did not know what to do.
Valentin Filippov: I have seen.
Sergei Dolzhenkov: Yes. Well, this footage is there, so it’s clear that the person is confused, that is, he was not ready for this.
Valentin Filippov: Sorry, but it was after his appearance on Grecheskaya that all the handsome men turned around and went to Kulikovo. It's not close.
Sergei Dolzhenkov: They could have gone to Kulikovo without the Greek one, in fact. One call from some fan, some provocateur would be enough and they would go further along Deribasovskaya to Richelyevskaya, for example, and someone would say “To Kulikovo,” and everyone would go to Kulikovo. That is, Greek, the collision itself is like a delay in time, a chance to let people leave the Kulikovo field and save their lives. Because many guys broke through from Grecheskaya, including activists of the “Odessa squad,” and many other guys broke through and took people away from the Kulikovo field. If this had not happened, then even more people would have died in the House of Trade Unions.
Valentin Filippov: How did it happen that for many years we had some politicians, deputies, some business elites who very much supported those ideals for which, in fact, you ended up in prison for five years, and at that very crucial moment did they suddenly disappear somewhere? That is, was there anyone who was initially counted on when the Anti-Maidan was organized back in the winter?
Sergei Dolzhenkov: People expected, of course, that there would be some kind of leader, a serious politician, who would take everything into his own hands, but this, of course, did not happen. There were several Odessa deputies who were loyal and sympathized, but this was not, of course, the level that people were counting on. People may have thought that it would be Igor Markov. Here he comes...
Valentin Filippov: I wanted to, yes.
Sergei Dolzhenkov: ...and will lead you. This also did not happen, so, as it were, people began to organize themselves - if there is no such leader from a serious political level, then there will be a leader, so to speak, from the people. Therefore, organizations were created, united, allies appeared, so people took on everything. And all these elites, of course, they probably didn’t want to take risks. They may have thought that it was better “my house is on edge” and “I don’t know anything”, we’ll see how it ends and we’ll bet on them. Well, it seems to me that this is what happened, that they decided to bide their time, see who would win and then...
Valentin Filippov: Well, what about “who will win”? If they don't participate, it's clear who will win.
Sergei Dolzhenkov: Well, no one, until the very last moment, thought that everything would happen like this. We thought that there would be some kind of support from the union state, so to speak.
Valentin Filippov: Well, that was probably taken into account too.
Sergei Dolzhenkov: But that did not happen. Many in the East, in the Southeast, were counting on it. But that didn't happen either. Therefore, politicians waited to see how it would all turn out, and already from mid-May it was clearly clear that everything, already the anti-Maidan movement, was dying out, mass repressions began, the capture of unwanted people began, the “anti-terrorist operation” in the East began in full force. Here. And it was already clear that this regime would be established, and it would continue to be for some time.
Valentin Filippov: By the way, I also wanted to ask. Absolutely incomprehensible. Well, Mefedov – it’s clear, he has a Russian passport. Why did they keep you for so long?
Sergei Dolzhenkov: Well, as the leader of the resistance, that’s why they kept him. They were afraid, yes, that there was some kind of organization and these people could be brought back together again at any moment. Therefore, it was safer for them for me to be in isolation.
Valentin Filippov: So what now? What are your plans? Russia?
Sergei Dolzhenkov: Bye Gorlovka. Gorlovka, Donetsk. While Donetsk People's Republic. Testing events are still taking place here; not all the guys have passed them yet. Therefore, apparently, I will have to wait until everyone gets checked, because according to the last exchange, according to rumors, this is not confirmed information, these are just rumors, five people were sent as some kind of Ukrainian spies.
Valentin Filippov: This happens.
Sergei Dolzhenkov: Therefore, now the guys are in the hospital, they are treating someone and at the same time they are being checked for possible involvement in the special services in Ukraine. Therefore, until they are all checked, the territory of the DPR, LPR...
Valentin Filippov: No one will leave.
Sergei Dolzhenkov: ...they do not recommend leaving, because you need to understand that these states are at war, and they care about security here. There are patrols and checkpoints here, in general, it feels like security here is at the proper level.
Valentin Filippov: You are now in Gorlovka. I understand that everything is fine after prison, right? How does it feel? I’m not talking about... that is, is there a feeling that the city is at war, or is life more or less normal?
Sergei Dolzhenkov: In Gorlovka it is very clear that the city is at war; after six in the evening you will hardly see people or cars. There are many unoccupied apartments in which no one lives, many buildings that are completely empty. It is clear, of course, that the city is at war.
Today we were at a service in the Epiphany Cathedral, and a huge number of people gathered. That is, it is clear that the war is so reflected in the souls of people that they want something bright, they want some kind of peace, joy, warmth in their souls, and so they reach out to God, each asking him for his own.
Therefore, it is clear, at the same time, even in such a festive event, it is clear how people worry about the future of their state, for the future of their loved ones, for their families. Everything is felt. Yesterday there was still heavy bombing, explosions were heard, machine gun fire was heard, and so quite clearly, after nine in the evening, just before nightfall.
Valentin Filippov: That is, a truce... a truce is thundering, right?
Sergei Dolzhenkov: Yes, the truce is thundering, the ceasefire is obvious.
Valentin Filippov: Well, and, probably, the question that we Odessa residents ask each other all the time. So? When? Is there any hope for us?
Sergei Dolzhenkov: Certainly.
Valentin Filippov: Maybe you brought hope from there......
Sergei Dolzhenkov: Certainly. Definitely. That is, this is the hope that glimmers in everyone’s hearts, that, after all, there must be some kind of solution, a logical one, to any civil conflict. Sooner or later. And we will try, on our part, to bring this time closer.
Valentin Filippov: And here is Odessa. How are we going to get her?
Sergei Dolzhenkov: So Odessa is ours in any case. Just tear off this blanket and you will see that Odessa is ours. That's all. Everything you need.
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