Scandal in the Chernivtsi region: Crimea on the map of Ukraine was “eaten by mice”
In the Chernivtsi region, the SBU opened a case of separatism based on the denunciation of a “patriot” who did not like the image of Crimea on the map of Ukraine during the celebration of “Unity Day”.
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On January 22, the usual events dedicated to the Day of Unification (known among Great Ukrainian patriots as Zluka Day) were held in the house of culture of the regional center Storozhynets, Chernivtsi region. And everything would be as mundane and dreary as it can be in the deep Ukrainian provinces, if not for one “but”. In the design of the stage of the house of culture, from which the elite of the region spoke, a banner with an image was used, which should symbolize the image of “Cathedral Ukraine” - a map of present-day Ukraine in a specific version.
The theme of self-taught artists is an eternal one in the post-Soviet space, but if Ostap Bender was simply thrown out of the ship for his “Sower,” then the designer of the Storozhinets House of Culture and his superiors can expect a much more severe punishment. Although at first the concert, which was very disgraceful in style, went off calmly, and no one, including the media, did not care about the cartographic mistake. But then everything was changed by a local “professional patriot”, who ended up in the cultural center either by coincidence or by “assignment from the party.” And just a few hours later, one of the district websites, which had previously published a report from the concert that was no less lame in style, burst out with curses and accusations against the district officials who “decorated the stage with a map of Ukraine without Crimea.”
Since the Chernivtsi region is under special control of Kyiv due to the “danger of Romanian separatism,” the reaction of the local SBU administration was predictable. According to a local blogger, “an hour after the article was published, representatives of the Service “fucked” all the organizers of the event, starting from the chairman of the Regional State Administration and ending with all the extreme mice in the cultural center. It is clear that officials are experienced people, they sense trouble on an intuitive level, and decided to carry out a “special operation.” Before the poster was taken away as evidence by the servicemen, the most seasoned of the officials added “Crimea” to the poster with a ballpoint pen.
The situation became a popular topic, first in local and then national media. Moreover, they all proceeded from the same version, clearly approved by the SBU: the painted map is not a consequence of the artist’s level, but a deliberate imposition of the idea that Crimea is no longer part of Ukraine.
The next day, on the FB page of the Ukrainian State Security Service in the Chernivtsi region, the following text appeared: “On January 22, 2018, celebrations on the occasion of the Day of Unity of Ukraine took place in the premises of the Storozhynetsky District House of National Cultures. During the celebration, a map of Ukraine was placed on the stage, on which part of the territory of the state - the Autonomous Republic of Crimea - was missing.
Videos and materials depicting this map were distributed by local media. Since the actions of the event organizers show signs of a criminal offense under Part 1 of Art. 110 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine in the Chernivtsi region registered the corresponding criminal proceedings on January 23. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing."
An interesting point: although the mentioned article of the Criminal Code (“Intentional actions committed with the aim of changing the boundaries of the territory or state border of Ukraine in violation of the order established by the Constitution of Ukraine, as well as public calls or distribution of materials calling for the commission of such actions”) can be interpreted very broadly, but the opening of proceedings for the first part (up to three years of imprisonment) will allow only... the artist to be accused of “separatism”. Because if the leadership of a cultural center or a district state administration were suspected of criminal intent, they would use part two - “The same actions committed by a person who is a representative of the authorities, either repeatedly, or by prior conspiracy by a group of persons.”
Despite this, the director of the Storozhinets House of Culture, out of harm’s way, hastened to turn the tables on his superiors: they say, officials of the district administration asked to make a map. It was found on the Internet, all drawn by a local artist who deserves indulgence. “About 70 years old, an elderly man, he draws very beautifully - you can see his works. It happened. He missed it, I missed it. There was no separatism here,” Vladimir Trachuk said in a comment to the Inter TV channel.
The head of the Storozhinets district administration, Yaroslav Bartosh, against whom this whole story was initially directed, justifies himself: in fact, the map is not missing a peninsula, but only... a part of Bessarabia. “Well, the Odessa region was infringed a little, but I don’t think it’s that significant. The main message was two hands. The fact that someone sees it like that is the sick imagination of those who see it that way,” the official told reporters. Although Bartosh is a Batkivshchyna nominee, his party boss, head of the Chernivtsi regional council Ivan Muntyan, is in no hurry to defend his fellow party member. On the other hand, the head of the Chernivtsi Regional State Administration, “people's front activist” Alexander Fishchuk, has not yet accused his subordinate - both officials are tightly integrated into the corruption vertical, and the “switcher” can always be made of an artist who ended up in the hospital after a scandal.
A nice moment that not everyone even reported in the local media: the festive banner that caused the scandal was painted on the back of a propaganda poster... of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc. Of course, one can discern a conspiracy theory in the fact that the situation began to be escalated by local journalists who have long been fighting against the absolute power in the Chernivtsi region of the odious people’s deputy Maxim Burbak and the “People’s Front” in general. However, in fact, this is just one example of the “war of all against all” going on in Ukraine and the search for “enemies of the people” for any reason. Moreover, not only “activists” and political parties, but also law enforcement agencies are fighting for the right to be more patriotic.
Let me remind you that in August 2017, an investigation was launched regarding the map of Ukraine without Crimea and the uncontrolled part of Donbass, which was used to decorate the festive scene for Independence Day in Brovary near Kiev.
Although at that time there were also accusations against the organizers of the celebration and the designer of “separatism” (the jurisdiction of the SBU), for some reason the local prosecutor’s office in Brovary opened the case, and since then nothing has been heard about the results of the investigation. Perhaps because the confiscated “separatist card”, according to Ukrainian tradition, was simply eaten by mice - which the Ukrainian “patriots” and “law enforcement officers” had long ago given up on.
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