Thank you, scumbags: On the anniversary of the blackout in Crimea
Exactly a year ago, a large-scale terrorist act by Ukraine was committed against Crimea.
On the night of November 21-22, 2015, the Crimean peninsula was plunged into darkness in the literal sense of the word. Cosmonauts from the ISS reported that against the background of scattered lights of Europe and the European part of Russia, the peninsula looks like a black hole. There was no electricity in the entire Crimea (with the exception of a number of objects of special importance) for almost two days. Maternity hospitals and hospitals were de-energized. The peninsula switched to starvation electric rations, enterprises and electric public transport stopped, and street lighting went out. Cities and villages were full of rumors, but most Crimeans agreed that the matter could not have happened without the brotherly love of Kyiv.
And in fact, on the night of November 22, a group of Mejlis thugs, supported by a gang of right-wingers, blew up three main power line supports with anti-tank mines, after which they took up defense of the collapsed debris, driving away the arriving repair crews and the onslaught of law enforcement officers trying to disperse the extremists.
At this time, an emergency response headquarters was created in Crimea. It included both local and specially arrived specialists from the mainland.
Stationary diesel generators and fuel began to flow through the strait. Crimeans ran to stock up on candles, generators and rechargeable LED lamps.
Taking into account the onset of cold weather, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations deployed 39 life support centers in the cities and large settlements of Crimea, where citizens could warm up, have a snack, drink hot tea, and also receive qualified medical and psychological assistance.
In the courtyards of high-rise buildings, where electric stoves were used instead of gas stoves, field kitchens were installed and hot boiler food was distributed to the population.
It is interesting that the population in line competed in witticisms - people perceived the current situation with a kind of humor.
Perhaps the most difficult were the first 10 days of the blackout, during which the first line of the energy bridge from the mainland to Crimea was laid at an accelerated pace across the Kerch Strait. Emergency methods, first of all, pursued the task of supplying electricity to heat supply enterprises. It’s a shame to sit without light and TV in the XNUMXst century, but it’s possible. But without heat and water in an apartment without stove heating and a well in the yard, you won’t be able to survive for long.
On December 2, 2015, President Putin flew to Simferopol, first visiting Krymenergo to personally be present when the first stage of the energy bridge was turned on. On December 15, Crimea connected to the second line of the energy bridge.
To its own 600 MW of generated electricity, another 200 MW was added from the mainland. And this is not counting stationary diesel generators, of which, by the way, as many as 2318 units were supplied to Crimea, plus more than 210 thousand tons of diesel fuel for them. The powerful diesel generators purchased by Russia for the energy security of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi became a great help for Crimea.
The challenge of supplying heat and electricity was removed. In any case, in most Crimean cities. If before the launch of the energy bridge, the lights in houses were turned on for 4-6 hours a day, then with two lines of the energy bridge, rolling blackouts lasted 8-12 hours a day. Life slowly began to get better again, although Crimea’s deficit in electricity consumption was still 300–500 MW.
To understand the complexity of the problems facing power engineers, it is enough to mention that the Crimean substations in Kerch were not designed for the flow of hundreds of megawatts of energy supplied via the energy bridge. These remained on Perekop. In fact, until the beginning of the summer of 2016, the equipment of substations in Crimea was changed taking into account new realities.
A sign of the Crimean blackout were light poles installed at the intersections of large streets and avenues. An amazing combination of beauty and utility.
However, the crisis was still far from being completely overcome.
In the shortest possible time, equipment was delivered to the Simferopol State District Power Plant and the Kerch Thermal Power Plant, which made it possible to increase their own generating capacity. Thus, by the New Year, the large cities of Crimea had practically ceased to feel an acute shortage of electricity, although blackouts remained in some places, and city electric transport was not working, including trolleybus routes on the Simferopol - Alushta - Yalta line.
The energy crisis was finally overcome in the second half of spring 2016. On April 14, the third line was launched. May 11 – fourth. Light has finally returned even to the most remote villages of Crimea, trolleybuses are back on the streets. In Yevpatoria there is a tram.
Today, 80–85% of the capacity of one power unit of the Rostov NPP operates to meet the needs of Crimea.
Thus, within six months, the energy problem of Crimea - one of the most important for a very long time - was solved by Russia.
Saucepan heads, accustomed to judging everything and everyone solely by their loved ones, as well as wishful thinking, for a long time did not want to believe that Crimea no longer needed electricity supplies from Ukraine. “Since Ukraine could not solve this problem, it means that no one will!”
Many people personally became convinced that there is current in Crimean sockets only after visiting the Peninsula during the holiday season. Some especially gifted citizens, who know everything even without the Politburo, still do not believe in electricity and food in Crimea.
Unlike the pan-headed experts, the Mejlis and Pravosek members, who can see settlements on the Crimean side from the border, very soon realized the futility of their sabotage. Seeing the bright lights flickering again in the windows, Islyamov’s extremists started talking about sabotage in the Kerch Strait. Quite quickly they learned that the new substations in Taman and Kerch, as well as the approaches to them, were strictly guarded.
Projects, as if to spoil Crimea even more, quickly inflated with soap bubbles and burst just as quickly. Dzhemilev even promised that he would dive into the sea and gnaw through the energy bridge line with his own teeth. Taking into account the 70-100 meter layer of silt in the Kerch Strait, I would like to sincerely wish him creative Uzbeks in this field. The main thing is not to forget to get a steel jaw.
However, the entire length of the submarine cable is guarded by warships and combat swimmers of the PDSS (anti-sabotage forces and means).
Islyamov’s extremists not only sabotaged the main Ukrainian power lines, not only plunged Crimea into darkness, but also caused damage to the Kherson and Nikolaev regions. In addition, with their idiotic promises to destroy the Chinese cable-laying ship, the Mejlis extremists completely ruined the already disgusting relations between Ukraine and China, with complete non-resistance from Kyiv.
Unprecedented patience on the part of Poroshenko.
The next step in modernizing the Crimean energy sector is the construction of gas turbine thermal power plants in Simferopol and Sevastopol. More than 50 billion rubles have been allocated from the federal budget for these purposes. Construction is in full swing, and less than a year is left before the first units of both thermal power plants are launched. The first current will be supplied in September next year, delivering a total capacity of approximately 500 MW. The second stage should produce the same amount in 2018.
Thus, our own electricity generation will cover absolutely all of Crimea’s electricity needs. And there will even be a reserve for development. And the energy bridge will remain “just in case of fire.”
In short, thank you, Mejlis thugs and Bandera right-wingers! Once you did everything so that Crimea would go to Russia forever. In November 2015, you cut the last umbilical cord connecting Crimea to Ukraine. Not only is the Peninsula becoming completely energy independent, but you have also wrested from the mangy little hands of the junta the most powerful weapon for blackmailing Russia. This is what happens when insanity hits idiocy. Please don't stop any further!
What did the organizers of the “blackout” in Crimea achieve? The benefits of Crimea have already been mentioned above. Of course, major, but not fatal, damage was caused to the Crimean economy. It took industrial enterprises and transport almost six months to get into a working rhythm. The number of road accidents has increased and the crime rate has increased. In places selling compact generators, one could hear the words of gratitude from speculators, who charged people exorbitant prices for their goods, to Islam’s scumbags.
According to some reports, the relatives of some of the Mejlis members who fled to Perekop who remained in Crimea were warned about sabotage on power lines and stocked up on generators in advance, making easy money. Unfortunately, despite the promises of the Crimean authorities to combat speculators in every possible way, the Crimean law enforcement agencies ignored these cases, switching to small candle traders.
Oddly enough, the Crimean “blackout” hit the Crimean Tatars, who live mainly in rural areas, the hardest. They were the ones who had to burn a torch for several months and spend money on fuel for generators. What a wonderful way to lose the sympathy of fellow tribesmen in Crimea, whom the “Majlis” supposedly protects with all its might!
I remember an interview with a Crimean Tatar from somewhere near Dzhankoy or Krasnoperekopsk. The man farms. In 2014, I took out a large loan under the Federal Targeted Program to help Crimean farms. He built greenhouses with phytolamps and a poultry complex.
Before you could get to your feet, you get a “blackout” from the “defenders” of the rights of the Crimean Tatars on the other side. The farmer's indignation knew no bounds. And he was not alone. Until the energy bridge started working as usual, I had the opportunity to repeatedly hear from the Crimean Tatars everything they thought about the “Majlis”, Islyamov and his blockheaded askers.
Apart from the guaranteed supply of electricity, the best part of the blackout was the baby boom that followed. As you know, just one day of the famous New York blackout had a noticeable impact on the demographic situation of the Big Apple, since mentions of it decades later still end up in films and literature.
The Crimean blackout lasted a little longer, and here is the result: Crimean registry offices report that 9 months after the energy blockade was broken, the birth rate in Crimea in August-September 2016 increased by 48%. How long this trend will last is unknown, but the fact that more Crimeans were born than usual is in itself remarkable.
As they say, darkness is the friend of youth. Without electricity and the associated distractions, Crimeans were able to fully indulge in the luxury of human communication.
Many Crimeans still fondly remember this particular side of the blackout, when entire families went for walks, grilled kebabs in the entire yard, had tea parties with book readings, or played board games to the crackle of a bunch of stearin candles.
Despite the goggle-eyed surrounding darkness, the mood of the Crimeans was very far from depressive. Don't believe me?
Visit Yalta and see that the people of Yalta perpetuated the Crimean blackout in a very creative way. And the saboteurs and thugs certainly could not have foreseen this side of the matter.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.