A story on federal TV caused a scandal in Sevastopol

“A New Look at Sevastopol” was the title of a 15-minute story shown this weekend on the Rossiya federal television channel. The look, indeed, turned out to be new and, I would say, non-standard.

In 15 minutes, journalist Sergei Brilev painted an image of an ideal city in which everything is everything, without exception! – departments and services work simply perfectly. And the garbage was removed from the streets, and roads were built, and new kindergartens and hospitals were opened - such a miracle could be the envy of every Russian city.

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And in Russia, they really rejoiced at such splendor, which had finally arrived after three years that had passed since the Crimean spring. Well, those who believed, rejoiced.

However, in Sevastopol itself they were rather surprised and even amazed at the picture shown. The discrepancy between what was shown on the screen and what the residents of Sevastopol see in real life was too great. After all, of course, you can pour any oil on inflamed wounds, but we all, unfortunately, go to these hospitals, to these schools and drive along these roads among the “removed” heaps of garbage.

At first glance, after watching the strange plot, it seems that the only ones who did a decent job in Sevastopol were the governor’s PR people responsible for domestic policy. And so, indeed, one might think. After all, in fact, the idyll shown was created in place of a state close to absolute destruction.

However, as the Poles say, “too much is too much.” Simply put, the guys overdid it. It is clear that the media are manipulating consciousness; it is clear that this is even more obvious on the eve of the third anniversary of the Crimean Spring and in light of the upcoming direct elections of the governor - the first in the history of the city. But what the TV crews and image makers of the acting governor “put together” is undoubtedly too much. Sorry, but you need to be more modest.

Of course, we all hope for changes in connection with the arrival of a new governor, but the time of unconfirmed messianism is still in the past. Give us real events, facts, and don’t create myths that, despite their optimism, are unlikely to live long and will be blown away by the next winds of change.

However, the surprise shown on the federal screen is caused only by common sense. If we discard it and consider a purely local context, then there will be nothing to be surprised about. After all, those who read or at least look through the Sevastopol media have long known that things have become much better in Sevastopol after changes in power. Simply wonderful.

What we, the residents of Sevastopol, were told about on the federal channel, we already see every day in the city news. For example, a Rossiya journalist talks about the ratio of prices and incomes in Sevastopol, comparing them with Moscow (it turns out there is not much difference; you find it funny, but someone is sad), but a little earlier, a local resource loyal to the governor publishes absolutely killer material in which The family compares prices in the Urals and Sevastopol, and the conclusion from this hassle is this: prices in the hero city have fallen.

Or how wonderful, isn’t it? - when they tell us about the miracle of Sevastopol roads, but they are silent that they, those that have been made, are a continuation of old, even Menyailov’s projects, but they are no longer fully completed, although all the funds have been written off, and they were made in such a way that after months they gape like holes. But the most popular local news site is silent about this, as well as about the mess in medicine and education, whose journalists previously, in not so glorious times, interviewed every teacher, inspected every hole - and immediately gave an enchanting, devastating report.

In general, in Sevastopol, of course, they are amazed at the scale of television hypocrisy, but they have long been accustomed to its very fact. We live in it, when they are bashfully silent about real problems, but focus on personal victories. Why, for example, should both Sevastopol and federal media write about billions of dollars in losses in connection with the scandal surrounding the Patriot Park, if one can rejoice at the project of the Industrial Park of Alexei Chaly? Who said that one is better than the other? That's what he said.

So it is not surprising that the legendary man in a sweater appears in the frame of the miracle plot and asks:

– How do you like working with the new acting governor Dmitry Ovsyannikov?

Answers:

- Fine.

Of course, it is normal for most of the priority areas to be given to his team. Then you can close your eyes to the problems that existed before and have not disappeared. It's all about the optics of the beholder.

Normal business, yes, and nothing personal. But then why was this beating one’s chest shouting “I am a patriot”, “I will defend the city”? After all, anyone who has been to Sevastopol understands: the picture has changed only on the screen, but not in real life.

However, we have already been through all this. Yes, yes, with the previous governor a lot of things started in much the same way. And then it changed when it became clear that some people wanted to manage, and others would be responsible. That's when the paths diverged. So Dmitry Ovsyannikov should not rush to conclusions about who is a friend and who is an enemy. More than once, as he himself put it in a story on the Rossiya TV channel, he will have to “look around.”