After 24 Feb. Notes of a Kyivian
Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2022 2:03 pm
(This work is so long and interesting I'm giving it it's own thread)
No. 10/74.X.2022
This work is a continuation of my previous articles written earlier: " Note from the besieged Kiev https://prorivists.org/66_kiev/ ", " Lefts and the special operation of the Russian Federation https://prorivists.org/67_lefts-war/" and " People without a Motherland: eight years of observation of the Ukrainians https://prorivists.org/67_ukranalism/ ". All of them should be considered together, in a single complex.
In contrast to the above texts, I began writing the Notes of a Kyivian in early March, immediately after the Note from the Besieged Kyiv was published. I never wrote diaries, and this time I did not plan to do anything like that, but I found it necessary to make notes about what attracted my attention in order to preserve the memory of the experience.
Each section of this text, except for the large concluding article, has been written and rewritten many times. All sorts of corrections and additions were repeatedly made there before they acquired the form in which they are before the reader.
City in the first days of the special operation and now
I have not seen such a disgusting spring in my life. The last two weeks of February were surprisingly warm. You could finally take off a warm jacket and dress easier. But with the onset of the calendar spring, the weather changed dramatically - dampness due to rains, a gray-covered sky and a cold, piercing wind. I had to dress again in winter. After all, waking up in the morning, it was quite possible to find the whole yard outside the window in wet snow. It's funny, but, as it turned out, it can be colder in the spring than in winter.
Of course, there were also sunny days when you couldn't see a cloud in the sky, but they weren't warm at all. Being outside the window it seems that everything is just the opposite, but it is worth going outside to understand that sensations are deceptive. However, cold weather is not at all a reason for refusing to work out at the stadium in the evening. Gethes after a working day at the monitor at home.
In the last days of March the wind increased. Then in the city the number of cars and people on the streets was minimized and he found a place where to walk around - he drove whole clouds of sand. Well, since it became surprisingly quiet, now it was possible to hear everything that I did not notice before due to the noise of passing cars. After the next gust of wind, especially in open areas, a whole host of sounds forms-something rings, cracks and creaks at the same time ... grinds. At the same time, when silence is established, you can even hear the singing of birds, which, I admit, I somehow did not notice my whole life. You can't see them, but they are there.
Here I am reminded of that very evening of February 24, about which I wrote in the “Note on the besieged Kyiv”. When I left work, it was already dark and the street was lit only by lanterns. But there was something else. That is what is called deafening silence. It was so quiet, as if the city had died out. I didn't hear a single extra sound. And on the road, where earlier at this time there were always a lot of cars, now there was not a single one. Just like there was not a single person. The picture is like from a post-apocalyptic movie.
After February 24, due to high employment, I could not get out of the house for a long time and I had to assess the situation based on a small area of several streets near my house. I had to switch to a remote mode of work, and therefore for a long time there was neither time nor opportunity to move anywhere. Until the moment when the Russian troops withdrew from Kyiv in order to grind the Nazi troops in the Donbass, they had to be content with only separate shopping trips. Although I really wanted to drive around the city and see what was happening.
One day at the end of March, I finally managed to take a ride on business. I didn’t time it, but I had to wait about 40-45 minutes before the bus arrived. And to get back, I had to wait for transport for at least an hour.
When driving through the city, I found in one place dug trenches and sandbag shelters erected nearby, and in another - concrete blocks and anti-tank hedgehogs installed on the road. So in one place the avenue was almost completely blocked by anti-tank hedgehogs and concrete blocks. The passage space on both sides was designed for only one car, minibus or bus.
To get to the right place, it was necessary to drive along the highway, moving in a zigzag way to avoid concrete blocks located directly on the road on both sides, as well as heaps of anti-tank hedgehogs, car tires and barbed wire. That significantly slowed down the speed. Also, if you look closely, you could see firing points disguised near residential buildings along the highway, covered with dark matter. But if you don't look closely, you might not notice them.
And the further you go, the more and more heaps of barricades. Some of them are surrounded by armed militants, while others are not. Meanwhile, you notice that the city is really empty. The number of people and cars is nothing compared to what it was before.
Having reached the destination, I found a well-equipped checkpoint, completely blocking the highway on the avenue near the metro. Located between a shopping center on one side and a closed fast food restaurant on the other, it blocked the entire highway. White sandbags were lined up in a human-height wall. Anti-tank hedgehogs are placed in front of them. The entrances to the avenue are blocked. Two flags fluttered over the checkpoint - blue-yellow and red-black. But still, a small space was left for the passage of cars on both sides.
Also, anti-tank hedgehogs could be found nearby on one of the neighboring streets to block traffic if necessary. They were large, massive, human-sized structures, welded from rusty metal. Two on one side of the road and a few more on the other.
The street itself, normally busy, was practically dead now. On the one hand, one could observe gloomy high nine-story panel buildings casting a shadow on the road. On the other hand, the same high-rise buildings were flooded with the rays of the sun, the light of which not only did not warm at all, but also did not drive away the dampness in the air.
In the same place, on the lampposts along the pedestrian sidewalk, I found pasted A4 paper sheets with a text printed in large print about the need to report suspicious persons to the local territorial defense. However, similar advertisements (with good printing) can also be found in minibuses around the city, where citizens are advised to either sign up for the local defense or contact it.
The nearby market made a special impression. Completely deserted and devastated. Although earlier at the same time there was an active trade. Here on the tray they sold all sorts of things and consumer goods for the home, there they sold dried fruits and spices, and over there they made shawarma. Across the road, at the pedestrian crossing, they sold burnt cigarettes at the “double bass” on the layout, and in the passage they sold everything - from electronics to sausages and clothes. Usually I don’t buy anything in the transitions on my hands, but somehow I bought a good sweater there. I still wear it when it's cold.
I ended up there again in mid-June. Shops and shops worked the same way as before. But the market was no longer as lively as before. Previously, it was almost a human anthill.
Now it is worth saying that since the time when the Russian troops were withdrawn from Kyiv, the city has somewhat revived. The only reminders of the war are the anti-tank hedgehogs and concrete blocks standing on the sidewalks or hidden in the underground pedestrian crossings, which can be quickly returned to their place in the event of a new appearance of the Russian military under the city.
During this time, these designs have become so familiar that, moving around the city, you no longer pay attention to them. In some places, you can still see small heaps of sandbags and large anti-tank hedgehogs placed along the fence. Although you can see small "hedgehogs", a little larger than a soccer ball.
So, at one of the intersections near the bus stop, where there used to be a checkpoint, now only concrete blocks stacked in several rows are visible. And in another place - a firing point equipped with concrete blocks, reinforced with sandbags. As a rule, such points are now in an abandoned state. And if some are still in a more or less whole form, then others are the same, being under the influence of rain and sun, “spread”, because no one is watching them. Sandbags are torn, and their contents are scattered around.
Now I am sure that the local propaganda has completely convinced the local population that trusts it that the military of the Russian Federation were "defeated" and the settlements of the Kyiv region were "liberated". The behavior of the townspeople also does not speak of war. So far, everything is the same as before. Young mothers walk with their children on the streets, teenagers play basketball in a nearby school, men drink beer in the yard, drug addicts are looking for "bookmarks" ...
Photo and video filming in the city
A few words about photography and video filming. Of course, I do this for a personal archive. But after the Rada voted on March 24 for bill No. 7189, which prohibits photography and video filming of the movements of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and their equipment, it became unsafe for life. In the most direct sense. And if you still decide, then you should look around in advance and make sure that there are no police or local militants nearby, whose behavior is impossible to predict. It is better, just in case, not to annoy and not to attract attention to yourself with unnecessary movements. You don't know who passers-by might be or who is sitting in a car nearby and might be filming you. You shouldn't tempt fate. Once in trouble, you will not be able to prove anything to anyone.
Someone might think that in our time, selfies, social networks and similar things do not strike the eye ... But it was like that before. Until the 24th. Now everything has changed. Maybe someone does not care, but personally I think that you should always remain attentive, alert and precautionary. Although, of course, mistakes happen. Not without it.
Once, due to my own negligence, I was caught photographing the territory at one of the metro stations and was immediately noticed by the police. He asked me to remove the pictures taken from my smartphone in his presence and let me go. But in other cases, if you get caught on the set by militants or the local population who support the war against Donbass, it is extremely difficult to predict their actions. In other words, it's better to be careful and not get caught photographing anything in the eyes of either the police or the locals. Once, in front of my eyes, in a subway train, a guy took a photo while driving along the ground section of the route, and then for a long time he proved to the man that he was not a mishandled Cossack and did not work for Russia. The other passengers did not react at all. Because they were busy with their phones. Therefore, attention and again attention.
Curfew
In the first days after February 24, the curfew was introduced from 22:00 to 08:00. Sometimes it lasted at least two days, during which they had to stay at home. Over time, its duration changed to a time from 23:00 to 05:00.
After the start of the NWO, indeed, there was dead silence on the streets after 22:00. And the nearest streets and buildings plunged into complete darkness, since the light of the lanterns in the courtyard was clearly not enough to illuminate a large area.
Now with the onset of darkness it is better to turn off the light. Just in case. I draw the curtains tightly, turn on the kitchen lamp with a dimmed light and throw a thick brown tea towel over it. With such a subdued light, it is quite possible to work and read.
In the courtyard of my house - a large brick Khrushchev - two lanterns are burning. One near my entrance, and the other at the next, near the garbage cans. They shine, but do not give full illumination. Such a yellow, dull twilight. And then complete darkness that swallowed the school building with the stadium. The same Khrushchev houses located behind the school territory also disappeared in the darkness.
Even when the curfew started at 10:00 pm, I sometimes stayed until 11:00 pm to warm up. And for all this time, I have never once seen a police squad checking order on the streets. But you could see lonely dog lovers walking their pets. However, this is not surprising, since the personnel shortage of the local police is an open secret for everyone who is familiar with this issue.
Kyiv is a rather big city, and therefore the police simply do not have enough personnel to simultaneously control the streets at night. Of course, in the local media it is possible to read that during the curfew the police detained someone in local underground clubs and similar establishments, after which the detainees were given summonses, but such cases are not widespread.
I also note that a piercing howl of an air raid alarm in the middle of the night creates a special atmosphere, when there is absolute silence and there is not a single extraneous sound that could attract attention. At the same time, it cannot be called absolute silence, but rather white noise coming from somewhere far away. This is the sound of the city that never stops. But suddenly the sharp howl of a siren from nowhere invades the night peace. It is distributed on the rise, reaches the maximum volume, after which it gradually decreases. And so several times in a row. Then it disappears as suddenly as it appeared. And white noise again reigns over the sleeping city.
Store operation
On February 28, I went shopping for the first time since the curfew. The day was sunny but cold. There were few products left at home, and it was necessary to see what was in the shops. Going shopping, I already imagined queues at the doors of stores and empty shelves ... The fact is that in my lifetime I have not found serious crises. In the 90s, I was still small and I hardly remember that time, except for purely personal memories. Now it has become obvious that the old life is in the past and will have to be content with what is still on the shelves.
That day, on the way to the local shopping center, lonely cars scurried back and forth along an almost empty highway, and there were also few passers-by. On the way to the shopping center and nearby grocery kiosks and a pharmacy, I found two long lines. In one they stood for bread, and in the other for medicines. Almost right next to each other. Usually I never saw queues there. Now everyone rushed to rake the last.
I go further to the shopping center, in which the supermarket is located. It has not yet opened, and a queue of several dozen people has already lined up at the entrance. I go to another one across the road. It's the same story there. It is not surprising, because the curfew lasted more than a day the day before. The situation was similar with pharmacies. I did not have the opportunity to spend several hours in line, so I went home to return later.
Later, I actually managed to get into the supermarket. But somewhere in two days. The subdued light and the slightly "nailed" behavior of people created a somewhat depressing impression. Well, then there was an acquaintance with the most interesting - with price tags. It would be worth taking a picture, but then this idea did not occur to me ... The products available in warehouses were laid out on the shelves, and no one could say for sure when the new one would be. But, walking between the malls, one could immediately find out which positions are in special demand, and which no one has particularly touched. It turned out that there are not so many such positions. This is not surprising, since today's supermarkets are basically not food chains to provide the population with necessary and healthy food, but warehouses for food waste. The same few important positions for every city dweller are either meager, or become as expensive as possible, and he cannot afford them. The bread was raked up instantly. But the meat remained on the shelves because of the high cost. But not for long. Despite the fact that since that time prices have decreased somewhat, this does not really make the weather. Because it's just as expensive. They also quickly bought animal food. At the same time, almost no one was interested in sweets. Just like dairy products. At the same time, the store's administration put additional pallets of pasta and preserves such as pickles and tomatoes in the hall, which no one was in a hurry to sort.
After choosing the right products, I went to the checkout. While waiting in line, I noticed that no one was buying much. People took some small things. When it was my turn, I paid and went home. Later, in the evening of the same day, I still managed to buy a couple of bags of crackers and bagels in the company store of the local bakery. Still, it's better than nothing at all. A little later, it turned out that it really became difficult to buy meat in nearby stores. Getting the chicken was already a big success.
But this situation did not last long. Soon, goods began to arrive again in Kyiv, and the demand was somewhat satisfied. And after the command of the RF Armed Forces decided to transfer troops from near Kyiv to the Donbass, life quickly returned to its usual course. Store chains that had closed resumed their work, pizzerias reopened, MAFs, coffee shops, restaurants started working… But their incomes dropped significantly. As well as the number of visitors.
Nevertheless, there are still interruptions with some products. For example, after the cessation of work of the largest supplier of edible salt to the market, the Artyomsol enterprise located in the Luhansk region, there was a shortage in local retail chains, because of which the product had to be purchased in Turkey and Europe. But there are also cases of spontaneous shortages, when vinegar or soda are bought uncontrollably. Because of this, chain stores have to order additional volumes from suppliers who can no longer deliver goods as quickly as before.
Now for one visit to the store you can easily leave up to five hundred hryvnia. Therefore, you have to think carefully about what you can buy, and what is better to save on. Because of this, my diet has not undergone significant changes - bread, rice, buckwheat and other cereals, vegetables, meat - it's all there. But more expensive. Therefore, the most interesting is yet to come. After all, a serious crisis with all its “charms” has not yet touched Kyiv, and therefore, as Russian troops approach to the west, the city will fully feel what war is. So, taking the opportunity, you need to buy everything you need. You can’t turn an apartment into a grocery warehouse, but at home there should be food for an autonomous existence for several days or even weeks. Therefore, as far as possible, I buy the necessary products - various cereals, pasta, canned meat and fish, tea, coffee, salt, sugar and prepare water in large six-liter bottles. As well as various household goods that may come in handy in conditions when war comes to the city.
Pharmacies
Going to the pharmacy in the first days after the start of the special operation is a separate story that is worth telling. I have enough of my own sores, and therefore the lack of certain medicines will affect me, albeit not fatally, but rather painfully. Therefore, on March 1, I decided to arrange a round of local pharmacies for the availability of the necessary drugs. The pharmaceutical business is a profitable business, and there are many pharmacies in the city. But whether they have the right drugs in the right quantities is another matter. As those days showed, they disappear rather quickly. Not so much because of demand, but because of problems with delivery.
Getting to the pharmacy, as before, was now impossible. You have to stand in line. However, I did not stay long. No more than 15 minutes, after which he got inside. If, after the introduction of the mask regime and quarantine measures against COVID-19, the same pharmacy was allowed strictly one at a time, a maximum of two at a time and with the obligatory observance of a distance, now at least fifteen people were in it at the same time, the vast majority of whom were without protective masks . As it turned out, I was the only one wearing it.
Even before it was my turn, I had already figured out which popular drugs could not be bought, and therefore you don’t have to ask about them. For example, sedatives such as Corvalol were completely absent. And not only in this store, but also in other pharmacies. I didn't need them. Other citizens were actively interested. But this trip is not what I remember at all. Why I decided to tell.
The queue moved slowly to the checkout, and I was busy reading the news on my smartphone. Suddenly, a military man quickly entered the pharmacy. He was a large young man of average height and about forty, or maybe a little older, with a black hat rolled up on his bald head, in a khaki uniform and worn over a black jacket with yellow tape on the sleeve. He quickly named the necessary medicines, but not all of the named list was available. He bought what he had, paid, politely apologized in Ukrainian for delaying the queue. “What are you, everything is fine,” the pharmacist replied. “You protect us,” the guy next to him told him. There was something like reverence in their words and behavior. After that, several voices turned to the military with a greeting: “Glory to Ukraine!” “Glory to the heroes,” he replied and left.
Coronavirus and mask mode
On May 27, at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, it was decided to extend the quarantine and the state of emergency until August 31, after which a special resolution was adopted. So, no one canceled the wearing of protective masks. But if earlier the mask was a mandatory accessory for shopping and traveling in transport, now people have forgotten about COVID-19 and neglect to wear it.
As world statistics show, the virus has not gone away, and therefore, all quarantine precautions are still in force, but no one observes them. Who wants - he wears, who does not want - does not wear. But in reality, precautions only make sense if they are mandatory for everyone without exception. So what's the point of fighting infection with this approach? Yes, the city no longer has such high peaks of morbidity as in previous years, but this is not at all the merit of the Ministry of Health.
Now meeting a person in a mask, whether in a store or in transport, is a rarity. Does anyone check for masks in transport, shops and other places of gathering? Of course not. Although earlier it repeatedly came to fights between passengers in transport due to the fact that someone did not wear a mask. There are posters at metro stations about the need to wear them, but no one pays attention to them.
Transport, metro and air alerts
At the beginning, I already told how the buses worked after the start of the special operation. But after the withdrawal of Russian troops, the work of transport gradually began to recover to the state of February 24th. Moreover, if the cost of public transport has remained at the same level - metro, bus, trolleybus, tram for 8 hryvnias, then fixed-route taxis take 15 hryvnias.
The rise in prices for minibuses is due to a shortage of fuel after the destruction of local refineries. But for many people in Kiev it is no secret that they have repeatedly tried to do this before. The discussion about the need to increase fares for private carriers is a permanent topic that almost constantly circulated in the list of newsworthy local media.
Especially in this regard, it is worth talking about the work of the metro. If at the beginning of March and some time after it was possible to wait for a train from 10 to 15 minutes, now the intervals have been restored to the previous, pre-war ones. In the morning, trains run quite quickly. But at the same time, the announcement of air alerts makes significant changes in the work of the subway and the lives of citizens.
An air raid alert can catch you at any point during your trip. And this means that the work of the whole branch is blocked and you will have to climb into the city and build an alternative route to get to your destination. And this is the time. And money. Especially in the evening hours, when there is less and less until the curfew. Therefore, it is important to have an extra 500 hryvnia in your pocket to pay for an unplanned trip in a taxi, the prices of which have also increased significantly. This does not mean that the trip will cost exactly this amount. The point is that now instead of 8 hryvnias, you will have to pay 250-350 hryvnias. Or more. Depending on exactly where you need it.
If an air raid alarm caught you while traveling on the subway, then information is announced over the loudspeaker about the need to stop at the nearest station, and passengers must leave the cars and sit on the platform. How many times this happened to me, but it was always impossible to know when it would be possible to go further. So I had to go out into the city and call a taxi.
After you have left the car, if you have time, you can wait with the rest of the passengers when it will be allowed to go further. During this time, how many more trains with passengers can arrive, which will be accommodated in the same way with you. Because of what, a lot of people accumulate in a rather small area. In such a situation, I prefer not to waste time, but to look for an alternative route. Thanks to a smartphone and mobile Internet, this is easy to do.
Interestingly, I did not immediately notice another detail. Previously, at any time during a trip to the subway, one could see beggars in the subway, sellers of consumer goods, volunteers begging for money for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, musicians walking from one train car to another in order to receive money from passengers. Now none of them are. At least, I noticed only one woman with some documents in her hands, asking for help. What became of them and why they are no longer seen is unknown.
Rocket strikes
Whatever figures are drawn in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the intimidated population will believe in all this. How he believes that the RF Armed Forces are deliberately hitting residential buildings. Just because because ... I wanted to. And the fact that the Armed Forces of Ukraine and punitive battalions place equipment in residential areas, while they themselves are placed in schools, kindergartens, hospitals, maternity hospitals, where they set up firing points, does not seem to exist for consumers of Kyiv propaganda. Whatever happens, she will broadcast something like Channel 24 does in Telegram (spelling preserved, translated from Ukrainian):
“Rusnya claims that it did not destroy a residential building in the Odessa region, but a radar station. Orcs live in some kind of fictional world with fictional weapons in residential buildings. Only, unfortunately, real people suffer from this. This time, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation is convinced that the strike was carried out on a "radar station for detecting air targets." This is not the first time the rashists have used this tactic when they purposefully fire at civilian targets. For example, as with the shopping center in Kremenchug. Each time they saw there not “armament depots”, but “nationalist headquarters”. We'll take revenge!"
About what, actually, and speech. This has never happened before, and now ... again. Telegram is full of videos where residents of villages, towns and cities liberated from Zelensky’s punishers tell how the Armed Forces of Ukraine rob their apartments, evict them from their homes, humiliate them and simply kill them. But does anyone want to hear it? Svidomo level does not allow. It's "racist propaganda" after all.
Actually, like the lie about the strike on the Amstor shopping center in Kremenchug. Despite the fact that all kinds of videos of attacks on the nearby Kredmash plant were published and it was proved that the strike was on the plant, Zelensky and his media continued to tell tales about the strike on the shopping center. Despite the fact that in the houses located nearby, even the windows remained intact. The lie about a thousand people who were allegedly in the shopping center at the time of the strike was immediately forgotten. And not a single Western journalist wondered where, in fact, this thousand had gone. But God forbid at work or any other public place to ask such questions.
I live in a place where rockets have not yet flown, and the sounds of artillery can be heard far away. When Russian troops were working near Kyiv, I quickly got used to this soundtrack. Kind of like distant thunder. But this, of course, unnerved the locals. Still, it would not be so if they are constantly treated with stories about the atrocities of the "orcs", who steal everything that comes to hand and rape everyone in a row. Even parrots. I, as I was, and remain completely calm. Because I know perfectly well that no Russian missile will intentionally fly into my house.
Unfortunately, I can't tell you anything about the missile attacks on Kyiv, because I never managed to visit any of these places. After the start of the special operation, it was not possible to do this because of the impossibility to go to the city and the curfew, but now I cannot do it, because I have to work a lot. Yes, and what's the point? On the one hand, it is curious and I want to see it, but on the other hand, who will put it in place? For example, at the factory Artem near the Lukyanovskaya metro station. That's when I personally become a witness to the hostilities, then I will describe what is happening in detail to the best of my ability. I don't plan to leave the city. I will wait for the allied troops.
Communication with locals
Already on the second day of the special operation, when everything was still in order with food and water, a real spy mania began. After the media and social networks began to massively circulate posts that supposedly saboteurs were operating in the city, drawing special marks for Russian artillery on houses, a hunt was organized in the city for everyone who, for one reason or another, seems suspicious. Now the drug dealers, who previously had little attention, have turned into members of the DRG. Although, a week before February 24, no one was worried that drug addicts were scurrying around looking for these very “bookmarks”, and the walls were covered with codes and addresses of online stores where you can buy any “shirevo”.
Personally, I have the impression that if the “shovnovye hulks” in the cities are left to themselves, then in a fit of spy mania and paranoia, as well as due to problems with food and water, in total with the removal of the state from performing its functions, they will enthusiastically kill each other. And the power will be with those who have a trunk. And whoever does not have it will turn into cattle. This was shown in the first days after the start of the special operation, when, after the distribution of weapons, shooting could be heard in certain areas of the city. But still, this trend did not spread to the whole of Kyiv. This, by the way, leads to appropriate thoughts about what to do before the allied forces come close to Kyiv. Stay in the city or leave? And does it make sense? Or is it worth finding a quiet place for this time, where you can wait out all this mess? I'm absolutely convinced
If we talk about the future, then in the event of an attack on Kyiv, we will again see the same thing, but on a much larger scale. It is quite possible that the local authorities will cease to carry out their functions, and the real power will pass to those who will have weapons in their hands. Lynching, executions, robberies... All this will increase many times over. But if you think that in such conditions the people of Kiev will understand that all this is the consequences of their own races on the Euromaidan, then you are greatly mistaken. No, they won't understand. Those who became infected with the Ukrainian ideology after 2014 have only two ways - either with a bullet in their head to the next world, or by selling or abandoning their acquired property, go to Europe and starve their backs to the local bourgeoisie. Those who survive and survive until the arrival of the Russian troops and even after that will engage in "partisanism" will go either to prison,
Considering what problems the European Union expects in the future after a significant reduction in gas supplies and the consequences in the form of de-industrialization and financial losses, I am not sure that European countries will accept Ukrainians with the same enthusiasm and conditions as before. This thing is not cheap. But there is no other way out for them. Refugee flows will only grow. As of August 3, the Commissioner of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees stated that more than 6 million Ukrainians had already left for Europe. Moreover, as LPR Ambassador to the Russian Federation Rodion Miroshnik noted, the leader in accepting refugees is the “aggressor country”, i.e. Russia, where every third Ukrainian went. And the Europeans are already complaining… So what will happen next? But once you have already fit in, it's too late to give back. Come on, gentlemen Europeans, after all, liberal order and democracy are at stake ... I am sure that you will find a way.
However, after the start of the SVO, it quickly became clear that it was enough to slightly change the living conditions of ordinary citizens and place them in the stress of the first days of military life so that they would no longer be aware of their actions. Two points can be made here. If some give themselves up to emotions, believing in the word of rumors and unverified information from local media, then others do not show such a strong emotional intensity, but at the same time rely on the same sources of information, believing in the victory of the regime’s troops, fully sharing its ideological principles. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to communicate with both of them. Although not even difficult ... Just impossible. In the city, of course, there are still adequate people with whom you can discuss the state of affairs, but there are very few of them. And just in case, you should communicate with them just as carefully as with others.
It's good if you know a certain person all your life or at least a few years. In this case, you know what he "breathes" and how to behave with him. What is worth talking about and what is not, what is worth focusing on, and where is it better to tactfully “move out” from the topic. With outsiders, it's different. Neither you nor they know you at all. Therefore, in a conversation with such people, one has to improvise, and where necessary, turn on the "actor" mode. Although, I confess, I still had a chance to “sleep” a couple of times ... Each time it was different and with different people, but so far the police have not come for me. In those moments, I could not keep my cool. Somewhere I openly showed my position, somewhere I partly revealed it, but while I live, I work ...
In short, people with adequate views are intimidated and forced to sit still.
Even before the start of the special operation, the layman, who fully accepted the coup and identified the puppet regime with Ukraine as such, reacted simply to any criticism of what was happening - "suitcase, station, Russia." The author of these lines heard this in his address more than once. The proposal to consider what is happening as a consequence of their own actions in the form of Euromaidan and everything that happened after it is not taken into account at all. And these same people are talking about building democracy, fighting dictatorship, and so on. The deterioration of life in the form of a rapid increase in housing and communal services and prices in stores, the adoption of discriminatory laws, and everything that has happened in recent years, as if it does not exist for them at all. To live in such a picture of the world, you need to have a special twist of the brain. And yet, it was I who had to receive reproaches for being “blinkered”, “living in my own world”, etc.
But, in their opinion, in Russia everyone is intimidated, afraid to open their mouths and, most importantly, Ukrainians live richer than Russians. And it's better not to ask what they mean by freedom of speech and democracy... However, I'll tell you.
Freedom of speech is the complete dominance of Western and local media, completely controlled by Zelensky, on the air, and freedom is the ability to organize one Maidan after another. Of course, other answers are possible, but I don't think they will be very different. So they don't think the Russian army is exempting them from anything. Although this is true in fact. You should not try to convince the local layman that he is wrong and explain everything that I have written and said many times. Nobody will appreciate it. On the contrary, at best you will be ridiculed or verbally condemned, and at worst, you can simply be handed over to the police or special services. Therefore, it is best to keep your mouth shut and think a thousand times before you say anything. And it’s better to try not to get involved in such conversations at all, to stay apart. This is the best option.
What do I think
Thinking about the war and the causes that preceded it, as well as about the ordinary proletariat, who absorbed the chauvinist agenda and ideology of the Kyiv regime, I don’t understand at all why I should care about abstract philanthropy towards all these sleepwalkers, whom I described in the article “People without a homeland. To be honest, I don't feel sorry for them. Generally. Just like they wouldn't take pity on me. I am absolutely sure that every real Svidomo adherent of this regime, having learned my real attitude to what is happening, would either hand me over to the police and the SBU, or kill me if possible. Of course, you can object to me that, they say, you can’t speak like that. Let them be wrong... They did not notice the genocide of Donbass for eight years, and now they are moving, they are busy, they say, but why us? But no. Let them answer. Completely. I have seen many times, how they build themselves into highly moral and highly spiritual persons and at the same time do not want to hear their own fellow citizens who have not yet accepted the coup d'état and have been living all this time with their mouths closed. If you have to die, let them die. No pity. Generally. No matter how much. Deserved.
Do you know who will survive in any circumstances and under any power? This is a layman. He will adapt to any conditions and to any laws, existing in his small cocoon, without even really understanding what is happening around. And as long as they support this power and are ready to endure it, despite all its vileness and disgust, they are its main support. No matter how vile laws the regime passes and no matter what statements it makes, they will not notice fascism. At the same time, they believe that they have the right to judge Donbass. By the way, this is the same proletariat that some leftists consider to be the very “sacred cow” around which you need to dance with a volume of Lenin in your hands instead of a tambourine and memorized spell quotes.
I do not think that all those who now support the Kyiv regime are able to coexist with adequate Ukrainians, who have had to hide their views all these years in order to preserve life and peace. This mode must be destroyed. Will his adherents, whom he has trained since 2014, be able to fit into the new circumstances? The minority will not, but the majority will adapt to the force. But now this is a contingent with carefully rewritten attitudes in their heads, which, as time has shown, do not involve showing compassion for their own fellow citizens and accepting a new government. But some of them will be good slaves for Europe. And most importantly - cheap. The more they come out, the better. If they want to return, then I think that it is better not to let them in. Terrorists may also try to infiltrate with them. Let them poke and poke around the world like a tumbleweed. Deserved.
However, it is easy to see that the Europeans, as the West confronts Russia, are turning into Ukrainians before our eyes. All the practices that I have observed here since 2014 are now being successfully applied in Europe. Perhaps in a slightly lighter version. But in their essence they are absolutely united. Fascism of our days as it is.
Of course, democratic rhetoric does not allow straightforward statements in the style of Hitler, but it quite allows others, which in essence do not differ from Hitlerism in any way and contain the main idea - the destruction of Russia. The United States is already openly talking about the need to divide Russia into many puppet regimes under the pretext of so-called "decolonization." However, it does not matter which particular country we are talking about. Any country that resists the Western bloc, in the opinion of its leaders, must be destroyed. As Bush Jr. said during the prank to Vovan and Lexus, now in Ukraine the Western world is at war with Russia. Ukrainians act as cannon fodder.
These bastards think they have the right to rule the world. And if they want to destroy Russia, then it means me too, as well as all those Ukrainians who do not want to become expendable in the war of Western capital. What do I feel? I hate these bastards and creatures and wish them nothing but death. The Western empire must be razed to the ground. And we must do everything possible so that after that no one there even thinks about a campaign to the east. Our great-grandfathers were too kind. They were very great humanists. We must understand that the Soviet people, as well as the peoples of the former USSR, are non-humans for Western imperialism and they will never appreciate our nobility (which the Russian Foreign Ministry is constantly raving about).
We live in an era of the decline of the Western empire, which is no longer able to control its periphery, drawing resources from it to maintain its own power. The domination of the West could continue exactly until the national detachments of the bourgeoisie of the former colonies were so strong that they declared their own ambitions, providing for the complete elimination of Western influence. Now, losing the fight, the West is metastasizing and spreading its abomination wherever it can in order to cause as much damage as possible to the entire world around. Therefore, there is no need to drag out the fight with him. The longer this goes on, the worse it gets. The future of the rest of the world depends on it. But since the current Russian Federation is a country that fights with the enemy with one hand, and trades with it with the other, the latter is hardly feasible.
(Continued following post.)
No. 10/74.X.2022
This work is a continuation of my previous articles written earlier: " Note from the besieged Kiev https://prorivists.org/66_kiev/ ", " Lefts and the special operation of the Russian Federation https://prorivists.org/67_lefts-war/" and " People without a Motherland: eight years of observation of the Ukrainians https://prorivists.org/67_ukranalism/ ". All of them should be considered together, in a single complex.
In contrast to the above texts, I began writing the Notes of a Kyivian in early March, immediately after the Note from the Besieged Kyiv was published. I never wrote diaries, and this time I did not plan to do anything like that, but I found it necessary to make notes about what attracted my attention in order to preserve the memory of the experience.
Each section of this text, except for the large concluding article, has been written and rewritten many times. All sorts of corrections and additions were repeatedly made there before they acquired the form in which they are before the reader.
City in the first days of the special operation and now
I have not seen such a disgusting spring in my life. The last two weeks of February were surprisingly warm. You could finally take off a warm jacket and dress easier. But with the onset of the calendar spring, the weather changed dramatically - dampness due to rains, a gray-covered sky and a cold, piercing wind. I had to dress again in winter. After all, waking up in the morning, it was quite possible to find the whole yard outside the window in wet snow. It's funny, but, as it turned out, it can be colder in the spring than in winter.
Of course, there were also sunny days when you couldn't see a cloud in the sky, but they weren't warm at all. Being outside the window it seems that everything is just the opposite, but it is worth going outside to understand that sensations are deceptive. However, cold weather is not at all a reason for refusing to work out at the stadium in the evening. Gethes after a working day at the monitor at home.
In the last days of March the wind increased. Then in the city the number of cars and people on the streets was minimized and he found a place where to walk around - he drove whole clouds of sand. Well, since it became surprisingly quiet, now it was possible to hear everything that I did not notice before due to the noise of passing cars. After the next gust of wind, especially in open areas, a whole host of sounds forms-something rings, cracks and creaks at the same time ... grinds. At the same time, when silence is established, you can even hear the singing of birds, which, I admit, I somehow did not notice my whole life. You can't see them, but they are there.
Here I am reminded of that very evening of February 24, about which I wrote in the “Note on the besieged Kyiv”. When I left work, it was already dark and the street was lit only by lanterns. But there was something else. That is what is called deafening silence. It was so quiet, as if the city had died out. I didn't hear a single extra sound. And on the road, where earlier at this time there were always a lot of cars, now there was not a single one. Just like there was not a single person. The picture is like from a post-apocalyptic movie.
After February 24, due to high employment, I could not get out of the house for a long time and I had to assess the situation based on a small area of several streets near my house. I had to switch to a remote mode of work, and therefore for a long time there was neither time nor opportunity to move anywhere. Until the moment when the Russian troops withdrew from Kyiv in order to grind the Nazi troops in the Donbass, they had to be content with only separate shopping trips. Although I really wanted to drive around the city and see what was happening.
One day at the end of March, I finally managed to take a ride on business. I didn’t time it, but I had to wait about 40-45 minutes before the bus arrived. And to get back, I had to wait for transport for at least an hour.
When driving through the city, I found in one place dug trenches and sandbag shelters erected nearby, and in another - concrete blocks and anti-tank hedgehogs installed on the road. So in one place the avenue was almost completely blocked by anti-tank hedgehogs and concrete blocks. The passage space on both sides was designed for only one car, minibus or bus.
To get to the right place, it was necessary to drive along the highway, moving in a zigzag way to avoid concrete blocks located directly on the road on both sides, as well as heaps of anti-tank hedgehogs, car tires and barbed wire. That significantly slowed down the speed. Also, if you look closely, you could see firing points disguised near residential buildings along the highway, covered with dark matter. But if you don't look closely, you might not notice them.
And the further you go, the more and more heaps of barricades. Some of them are surrounded by armed militants, while others are not. Meanwhile, you notice that the city is really empty. The number of people and cars is nothing compared to what it was before.
Having reached the destination, I found a well-equipped checkpoint, completely blocking the highway on the avenue near the metro. Located between a shopping center on one side and a closed fast food restaurant on the other, it blocked the entire highway. White sandbags were lined up in a human-height wall. Anti-tank hedgehogs are placed in front of them. The entrances to the avenue are blocked. Two flags fluttered over the checkpoint - blue-yellow and red-black. But still, a small space was left for the passage of cars on both sides.
Also, anti-tank hedgehogs could be found nearby on one of the neighboring streets to block traffic if necessary. They were large, massive, human-sized structures, welded from rusty metal. Two on one side of the road and a few more on the other.
The street itself, normally busy, was practically dead now. On the one hand, one could observe gloomy high nine-story panel buildings casting a shadow on the road. On the other hand, the same high-rise buildings were flooded with the rays of the sun, the light of which not only did not warm at all, but also did not drive away the dampness in the air.
In the same place, on the lampposts along the pedestrian sidewalk, I found pasted A4 paper sheets with a text printed in large print about the need to report suspicious persons to the local territorial defense. However, similar advertisements (with good printing) can also be found in minibuses around the city, where citizens are advised to either sign up for the local defense or contact it.
The nearby market made a special impression. Completely deserted and devastated. Although earlier at the same time there was an active trade. Here on the tray they sold all sorts of things and consumer goods for the home, there they sold dried fruits and spices, and over there they made shawarma. Across the road, at the pedestrian crossing, they sold burnt cigarettes at the “double bass” on the layout, and in the passage they sold everything - from electronics to sausages and clothes. Usually I don’t buy anything in the transitions on my hands, but somehow I bought a good sweater there. I still wear it when it's cold.
I ended up there again in mid-June. Shops and shops worked the same way as before. But the market was no longer as lively as before. Previously, it was almost a human anthill.
Now it is worth saying that since the time when the Russian troops were withdrawn from Kyiv, the city has somewhat revived. The only reminders of the war are the anti-tank hedgehogs and concrete blocks standing on the sidewalks or hidden in the underground pedestrian crossings, which can be quickly returned to their place in the event of a new appearance of the Russian military under the city.
During this time, these designs have become so familiar that, moving around the city, you no longer pay attention to them. In some places, you can still see small heaps of sandbags and large anti-tank hedgehogs placed along the fence. Although you can see small "hedgehogs", a little larger than a soccer ball.
So, at one of the intersections near the bus stop, where there used to be a checkpoint, now only concrete blocks stacked in several rows are visible. And in another place - a firing point equipped with concrete blocks, reinforced with sandbags. As a rule, such points are now in an abandoned state. And if some are still in a more or less whole form, then others are the same, being under the influence of rain and sun, “spread”, because no one is watching them. Sandbags are torn, and their contents are scattered around.
Now I am sure that the local propaganda has completely convinced the local population that trusts it that the military of the Russian Federation were "defeated" and the settlements of the Kyiv region were "liberated". The behavior of the townspeople also does not speak of war. So far, everything is the same as before. Young mothers walk with their children on the streets, teenagers play basketball in a nearby school, men drink beer in the yard, drug addicts are looking for "bookmarks" ...
Photo and video filming in the city
A few words about photography and video filming. Of course, I do this for a personal archive. But after the Rada voted on March 24 for bill No. 7189, which prohibits photography and video filming of the movements of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and their equipment, it became unsafe for life. In the most direct sense. And if you still decide, then you should look around in advance and make sure that there are no police or local militants nearby, whose behavior is impossible to predict. It is better, just in case, not to annoy and not to attract attention to yourself with unnecessary movements. You don't know who passers-by might be or who is sitting in a car nearby and might be filming you. You shouldn't tempt fate. Once in trouble, you will not be able to prove anything to anyone.
Someone might think that in our time, selfies, social networks and similar things do not strike the eye ... But it was like that before. Until the 24th. Now everything has changed. Maybe someone does not care, but personally I think that you should always remain attentive, alert and precautionary. Although, of course, mistakes happen. Not without it.
Once, due to my own negligence, I was caught photographing the territory at one of the metro stations and was immediately noticed by the police. He asked me to remove the pictures taken from my smartphone in his presence and let me go. But in other cases, if you get caught on the set by militants or the local population who support the war against Donbass, it is extremely difficult to predict their actions. In other words, it's better to be careful and not get caught photographing anything in the eyes of either the police or the locals. Once, in front of my eyes, in a subway train, a guy took a photo while driving along the ground section of the route, and then for a long time he proved to the man that he was not a mishandled Cossack and did not work for Russia. The other passengers did not react at all. Because they were busy with their phones. Therefore, attention and again attention.
Curfew
In the first days after February 24, the curfew was introduced from 22:00 to 08:00. Sometimes it lasted at least two days, during which they had to stay at home. Over time, its duration changed to a time from 23:00 to 05:00.
After the start of the NWO, indeed, there was dead silence on the streets after 22:00. And the nearest streets and buildings plunged into complete darkness, since the light of the lanterns in the courtyard was clearly not enough to illuminate a large area.
Now with the onset of darkness it is better to turn off the light. Just in case. I draw the curtains tightly, turn on the kitchen lamp with a dimmed light and throw a thick brown tea towel over it. With such a subdued light, it is quite possible to work and read.
In the courtyard of my house - a large brick Khrushchev - two lanterns are burning. One near my entrance, and the other at the next, near the garbage cans. They shine, but do not give full illumination. Such a yellow, dull twilight. And then complete darkness that swallowed the school building with the stadium. The same Khrushchev houses located behind the school territory also disappeared in the darkness.
Even when the curfew started at 10:00 pm, I sometimes stayed until 11:00 pm to warm up. And for all this time, I have never once seen a police squad checking order on the streets. But you could see lonely dog lovers walking their pets. However, this is not surprising, since the personnel shortage of the local police is an open secret for everyone who is familiar with this issue.
Kyiv is a rather big city, and therefore the police simply do not have enough personnel to simultaneously control the streets at night. Of course, in the local media it is possible to read that during the curfew the police detained someone in local underground clubs and similar establishments, after which the detainees were given summonses, but such cases are not widespread.
I also note that a piercing howl of an air raid alarm in the middle of the night creates a special atmosphere, when there is absolute silence and there is not a single extraneous sound that could attract attention. At the same time, it cannot be called absolute silence, but rather white noise coming from somewhere far away. This is the sound of the city that never stops. But suddenly the sharp howl of a siren from nowhere invades the night peace. It is distributed on the rise, reaches the maximum volume, after which it gradually decreases. And so several times in a row. Then it disappears as suddenly as it appeared. And white noise again reigns over the sleeping city.
Store operation
On February 28, I went shopping for the first time since the curfew. The day was sunny but cold. There were few products left at home, and it was necessary to see what was in the shops. Going shopping, I already imagined queues at the doors of stores and empty shelves ... The fact is that in my lifetime I have not found serious crises. In the 90s, I was still small and I hardly remember that time, except for purely personal memories. Now it has become obvious that the old life is in the past and will have to be content with what is still on the shelves.
That day, on the way to the local shopping center, lonely cars scurried back and forth along an almost empty highway, and there were also few passers-by. On the way to the shopping center and nearby grocery kiosks and a pharmacy, I found two long lines. In one they stood for bread, and in the other for medicines. Almost right next to each other. Usually I never saw queues there. Now everyone rushed to rake the last.
I go further to the shopping center, in which the supermarket is located. It has not yet opened, and a queue of several dozen people has already lined up at the entrance. I go to another one across the road. It's the same story there. It is not surprising, because the curfew lasted more than a day the day before. The situation was similar with pharmacies. I did not have the opportunity to spend several hours in line, so I went home to return later.
Later, I actually managed to get into the supermarket. But somewhere in two days. The subdued light and the slightly "nailed" behavior of people created a somewhat depressing impression. Well, then there was an acquaintance with the most interesting - with price tags. It would be worth taking a picture, but then this idea did not occur to me ... The products available in warehouses were laid out on the shelves, and no one could say for sure when the new one would be. But, walking between the malls, one could immediately find out which positions are in special demand, and which no one has particularly touched. It turned out that there are not so many such positions. This is not surprising, since today's supermarkets are basically not food chains to provide the population with necessary and healthy food, but warehouses for food waste. The same few important positions for every city dweller are either meager, or become as expensive as possible, and he cannot afford them. The bread was raked up instantly. But the meat remained on the shelves because of the high cost. But not for long. Despite the fact that since that time prices have decreased somewhat, this does not really make the weather. Because it's just as expensive. They also quickly bought animal food. At the same time, almost no one was interested in sweets. Just like dairy products. At the same time, the store's administration put additional pallets of pasta and preserves such as pickles and tomatoes in the hall, which no one was in a hurry to sort.
After choosing the right products, I went to the checkout. While waiting in line, I noticed that no one was buying much. People took some small things. When it was my turn, I paid and went home. Later, in the evening of the same day, I still managed to buy a couple of bags of crackers and bagels in the company store of the local bakery. Still, it's better than nothing at all. A little later, it turned out that it really became difficult to buy meat in nearby stores. Getting the chicken was already a big success.
But this situation did not last long. Soon, goods began to arrive again in Kyiv, and the demand was somewhat satisfied. And after the command of the RF Armed Forces decided to transfer troops from near Kyiv to the Donbass, life quickly returned to its usual course. Store chains that had closed resumed their work, pizzerias reopened, MAFs, coffee shops, restaurants started working… But their incomes dropped significantly. As well as the number of visitors.
Nevertheless, there are still interruptions with some products. For example, after the cessation of work of the largest supplier of edible salt to the market, the Artyomsol enterprise located in the Luhansk region, there was a shortage in local retail chains, because of which the product had to be purchased in Turkey and Europe. But there are also cases of spontaneous shortages, when vinegar or soda are bought uncontrollably. Because of this, chain stores have to order additional volumes from suppliers who can no longer deliver goods as quickly as before.
Now for one visit to the store you can easily leave up to five hundred hryvnia. Therefore, you have to think carefully about what you can buy, and what is better to save on. Because of this, my diet has not undergone significant changes - bread, rice, buckwheat and other cereals, vegetables, meat - it's all there. But more expensive. Therefore, the most interesting is yet to come. After all, a serious crisis with all its “charms” has not yet touched Kyiv, and therefore, as Russian troops approach to the west, the city will fully feel what war is. So, taking the opportunity, you need to buy everything you need. You can’t turn an apartment into a grocery warehouse, but at home there should be food for an autonomous existence for several days or even weeks. Therefore, as far as possible, I buy the necessary products - various cereals, pasta, canned meat and fish, tea, coffee, salt, sugar and prepare water in large six-liter bottles. As well as various household goods that may come in handy in conditions when war comes to the city.
Pharmacies
Going to the pharmacy in the first days after the start of the special operation is a separate story that is worth telling. I have enough of my own sores, and therefore the lack of certain medicines will affect me, albeit not fatally, but rather painfully. Therefore, on March 1, I decided to arrange a round of local pharmacies for the availability of the necessary drugs. The pharmaceutical business is a profitable business, and there are many pharmacies in the city. But whether they have the right drugs in the right quantities is another matter. As those days showed, they disappear rather quickly. Not so much because of demand, but because of problems with delivery.
Getting to the pharmacy, as before, was now impossible. You have to stand in line. However, I did not stay long. No more than 15 minutes, after which he got inside. If, after the introduction of the mask regime and quarantine measures against COVID-19, the same pharmacy was allowed strictly one at a time, a maximum of two at a time and with the obligatory observance of a distance, now at least fifteen people were in it at the same time, the vast majority of whom were without protective masks . As it turned out, I was the only one wearing it.
Even before it was my turn, I had already figured out which popular drugs could not be bought, and therefore you don’t have to ask about them. For example, sedatives such as Corvalol were completely absent. And not only in this store, but also in other pharmacies. I didn't need them. Other citizens were actively interested. But this trip is not what I remember at all. Why I decided to tell.
The queue moved slowly to the checkout, and I was busy reading the news on my smartphone. Suddenly, a military man quickly entered the pharmacy. He was a large young man of average height and about forty, or maybe a little older, with a black hat rolled up on his bald head, in a khaki uniform and worn over a black jacket with yellow tape on the sleeve. He quickly named the necessary medicines, but not all of the named list was available. He bought what he had, paid, politely apologized in Ukrainian for delaying the queue. “What are you, everything is fine,” the pharmacist replied. “You protect us,” the guy next to him told him. There was something like reverence in their words and behavior. After that, several voices turned to the military with a greeting: “Glory to Ukraine!” “Glory to the heroes,” he replied and left.
Coronavirus and mask mode
On May 27, at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, it was decided to extend the quarantine and the state of emergency until August 31, after which a special resolution was adopted. So, no one canceled the wearing of protective masks. But if earlier the mask was a mandatory accessory for shopping and traveling in transport, now people have forgotten about COVID-19 and neglect to wear it.
As world statistics show, the virus has not gone away, and therefore, all quarantine precautions are still in force, but no one observes them. Who wants - he wears, who does not want - does not wear. But in reality, precautions only make sense if they are mandatory for everyone without exception. So what's the point of fighting infection with this approach? Yes, the city no longer has such high peaks of morbidity as in previous years, but this is not at all the merit of the Ministry of Health.
Now meeting a person in a mask, whether in a store or in transport, is a rarity. Does anyone check for masks in transport, shops and other places of gathering? Of course not. Although earlier it repeatedly came to fights between passengers in transport due to the fact that someone did not wear a mask. There are posters at metro stations about the need to wear them, but no one pays attention to them.
Transport, metro and air alerts
At the beginning, I already told how the buses worked after the start of the special operation. But after the withdrawal of Russian troops, the work of transport gradually began to recover to the state of February 24th. Moreover, if the cost of public transport has remained at the same level - metro, bus, trolleybus, tram for 8 hryvnias, then fixed-route taxis take 15 hryvnias.
The rise in prices for minibuses is due to a shortage of fuel after the destruction of local refineries. But for many people in Kiev it is no secret that they have repeatedly tried to do this before. The discussion about the need to increase fares for private carriers is a permanent topic that almost constantly circulated in the list of newsworthy local media.
Especially in this regard, it is worth talking about the work of the metro. If at the beginning of March and some time after it was possible to wait for a train from 10 to 15 minutes, now the intervals have been restored to the previous, pre-war ones. In the morning, trains run quite quickly. But at the same time, the announcement of air alerts makes significant changes in the work of the subway and the lives of citizens.
An air raid alert can catch you at any point during your trip. And this means that the work of the whole branch is blocked and you will have to climb into the city and build an alternative route to get to your destination. And this is the time. And money. Especially in the evening hours, when there is less and less until the curfew. Therefore, it is important to have an extra 500 hryvnia in your pocket to pay for an unplanned trip in a taxi, the prices of which have also increased significantly. This does not mean that the trip will cost exactly this amount. The point is that now instead of 8 hryvnias, you will have to pay 250-350 hryvnias. Or more. Depending on exactly where you need it.
If an air raid alarm caught you while traveling on the subway, then information is announced over the loudspeaker about the need to stop at the nearest station, and passengers must leave the cars and sit on the platform. How many times this happened to me, but it was always impossible to know when it would be possible to go further. So I had to go out into the city and call a taxi.
After you have left the car, if you have time, you can wait with the rest of the passengers when it will be allowed to go further. During this time, how many more trains with passengers can arrive, which will be accommodated in the same way with you. Because of what, a lot of people accumulate in a rather small area. In such a situation, I prefer not to waste time, but to look for an alternative route. Thanks to a smartphone and mobile Internet, this is easy to do.
Interestingly, I did not immediately notice another detail. Previously, at any time during a trip to the subway, one could see beggars in the subway, sellers of consumer goods, volunteers begging for money for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, musicians walking from one train car to another in order to receive money from passengers. Now none of them are. At least, I noticed only one woman with some documents in her hands, asking for help. What became of them and why they are no longer seen is unknown.
Rocket strikes
Whatever figures are drawn in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the intimidated population will believe in all this. How he believes that the RF Armed Forces are deliberately hitting residential buildings. Just because because ... I wanted to. And the fact that the Armed Forces of Ukraine and punitive battalions place equipment in residential areas, while they themselves are placed in schools, kindergartens, hospitals, maternity hospitals, where they set up firing points, does not seem to exist for consumers of Kyiv propaganda. Whatever happens, she will broadcast something like Channel 24 does in Telegram (spelling preserved, translated from Ukrainian):
“Rusnya claims that it did not destroy a residential building in the Odessa region, but a radar station. Orcs live in some kind of fictional world with fictional weapons in residential buildings. Only, unfortunately, real people suffer from this. This time, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation is convinced that the strike was carried out on a "radar station for detecting air targets." This is not the first time the rashists have used this tactic when they purposefully fire at civilian targets. For example, as with the shopping center in Kremenchug. Each time they saw there not “armament depots”, but “nationalist headquarters”. We'll take revenge!"
About what, actually, and speech. This has never happened before, and now ... again. Telegram is full of videos where residents of villages, towns and cities liberated from Zelensky’s punishers tell how the Armed Forces of Ukraine rob their apartments, evict them from their homes, humiliate them and simply kill them. But does anyone want to hear it? Svidomo level does not allow. It's "racist propaganda" after all.
Actually, like the lie about the strike on the Amstor shopping center in Kremenchug. Despite the fact that all kinds of videos of attacks on the nearby Kredmash plant were published and it was proved that the strike was on the plant, Zelensky and his media continued to tell tales about the strike on the shopping center. Despite the fact that in the houses located nearby, even the windows remained intact. The lie about a thousand people who were allegedly in the shopping center at the time of the strike was immediately forgotten. And not a single Western journalist wondered where, in fact, this thousand had gone. But God forbid at work or any other public place to ask such questions.
I live in a place where rockets have not yet flown, and the sounds of artillery can be heard far away. When Russian troops were working near Kyiv, I quickly got used to this soundtrack. Kind of like distant thunder. But this, of course, unnerved the locals. Still, it would not be so if they are constantly treated with stories about the atrocities of the "orcs", who steal everything that comes to hand and rape everyone in a row. Even parrots. I, as I was, and remain completely calm. Because I know perfectly well that no Russian missile will intentionally fly into my house.
Unfortunately, I can't tell you anything about the missile attacks on Kyiv, because I never managed to visit any of these places. After the start of the special operation, it was not possible to do this because of the impossibility to go to the city and the curfew, but now I cannot do it, because I have to work a lot. Yes, and what's the point? On the one hand, it is curious and I want to see it, but on the other hand, who will put it in place? For example, at the factory Artem near the Lukyanovskaya metro station. That's when I personally become a witness to the hostilities, then I will describe what is happening in detail to the best of my ability. I don't plan to leave the city. I will wait for the allied troops.
Communication with locals
Already on the second day of the special operation, when everything was still in order with food and water, a real spy mania began. After the media and social networks began to massively circulate posts that supposedly saboteurs were operating in the city, drawing special marks for Russian artillery on houses, a hunt was organized in the city for everyone who, for one reason or another, seems suspicious. Now the drug dealers, who previously had little attention, have turned into members of the DRG. Although, a week before February 24, no one was worried that drug addicts were scurrying around looking for these very “bookmarks”, and the walls were covered with codes and addresses of online stores where you can buy any “shirevo”.
Personally, I have the impression that if the “shovnovye hulks” in the cities are left to themselves, then in a fit of spy mania and paranoia, as well as due to problems with food and water, in total with the removal of the state from performing its functions, they will enthusiastically kill each other. And the power will be with those who have a trunk. And whoever does not have it will turn into cattle. This was shown in the first days after the start of the special operation, when, after the distribution of weapons, shooting could be heard in certain areas of the city. But still, this trend did not spread to the whole of Kyiv. This, by the way, leads to appropriate thoughts about what to do before the allied forces come close to Kyiv. Stay in the city or leave? And does it make sense? Or is it worth finding a quiet place for this time, where you can wait out all this mess? I'm absolutely convinced
If we talk about the future, then in the event of an attack on Kyiv, we will again see the same thing, but on a much larger scale. It is quite possible that the local authorities will cease to carry out their functions, and the real power will pass to those who will have weapons in their hands. Lynching, executions, robberies... All this will increase many times over. But if you think that in such conditions the people of Kiev will understand that all this is the consequences of their own races on the Euromaidan, then you are greatly mistaken. No, they won't understand. Those who became infected with the Ukrainian ideology after 2014 have only two ways - either with a bullet in their head to the next world, or by selling or abandoning their acquired property, go to Europe and starve their backs to the local bourgeoisie. Those who survive and survive until the arrival of the Russian troops and even after that will engage in "partisanism" will go either to prison,
Considering what problems the European Union expects in the future after a significant reduction in gas supplies and the consequences in the form of de-industrialization and financial losses, I am not sure that European countries will accept Ukrainians with the same enthusiasm and conditions as before. This thing is not cheap. But there is no other way out for them. Refugee flows will only grow. As of August 3, the Commissioner of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees stated that more than 6 million Ukrainians had already left for Europe. Moreover, as LPR Ambassador to the Russian Federation Rodion Miroshnik noted, the leader in accepting refugees is the “aggressor country”, i.e. Russia, where every third Ukrainian went. And the Europeans are already complaining… So what will happen next? But once you have already fit in, it's too late to give back. Come on, gentlemen Europeans, after all, liberal order and democracy are at stake ... I am sure that you will find a way.
However, after the start of the SVO, it quickly became clear that it was enough to slightly change the living conditions of ordinary citizens and place them in the stress of the first days of military life so that they would no longer be aware of their actions. Two points can be made here. If some give themselves up to emotions, believing in the word of rumors and unverified information from local media, then others do not show such a strong emotional intensity, but at the same time rely on the same sources of information, believing in the victory of the regime’s troops, fully sharing its ideological principles. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to communicate with both of them. Although not even difficult ... Just impossible. In the city, of course, there are still adequate people with whom you can discuss the state of affairs, but there are very few of them. And just in case, you should communicate with them just as carefully as with others.
It's good if you know a certain person all your life or at least a few years. In this case, you know what he "breathes" and how to behave with him. What is worth talking about and what is not, what is worth focusing on, and where is it better to tactfully “move out” from the topic. With outsiders, it's different. Neither you nor they know you at all. Therefore, in a conversation with such people, one has to improvise, and where necessary, turn on the "actor" mode. Although, I confess, I still had a chance to “sleep” a couple of times ... Each time it was different and with different people, but so far the police have not come for me. In those moments, I could not keep my cool. Somewhere I openly showed my position, somewhere I partly revealed it, but while I live, I work ...
In short, people with adequate views are intimidated and forced to sit still.
Even before the start of the special operation, the layman, who fully accepted the coup and identified the puppet regime with Ukraine as such, reacted simply to any criticism of what was happening - "suitcase, station, Russia." The author of these lines heard this in his address more than once. The proposal to consider what is happening as a consequence of their own actions in the form of Euromaidan and everything that happened after it is not taken into account at all. And these same people are talking about building democracy, fighting dictatorship, and so on. The deterioration of life in the form of a rapid increase in housing and communal services and prices in stores, the adoption of discriminatory laws, and everything that has happened in recent years, as if it does not exist for them at all. To live in such a picture of the world, you need to have a special twist of the brain. And yet, it was I who had to receive reproaches for being “blinkered”, “living in my own world”, etc.
But, in their opinion, in Russia everyone is intimidated, afraid to open their mouths and, most importantly, Ukrainians live richer than Russians. And it's better not to ask what they mean by freedom of speech and democracy... However, I'll tell you.
Freedom of speech is the complete dominance of Western and local media, completely controlled by Zelensky, on the air, and freedom is the ability to organize one Maidan after another. Of course, other answers are possible, but I don't think they will be very different. So they don't think the Russian army is exempting them from anything. Although this is true in fact. You should not try to convince the local layman that he is wrong and explain everything that I have written and said many times. Nobody will appreciate it. On the contrary, at best you will be ridiculed or verbally condemned, and at worst, you can simply be handed over to the police or special services. Therefore, it is best to keep your mouth shut and think a thousand times before you say anything. And it’s better to try not to get involved in such conversations at all, to stay apart. This is the best option.
What do I think
Thinking about the war and the causes that preceded it, as well as about the ordinary proletariat, who absorbed the chauvinist agenda and ideology of the Kyiv regime, I don’t understand at all why I should care about abstract philanthropy towards all these sleepwalkers, whom I described in the article “People without a homeland. To be honest, I don't feel sorry for them. Generally. Just like they wouldn't take pity on me. I am absolutely sure that every real Svidomo adherent of this regime, having learned my real attitude to what is happening, would either hand me over to the police and the SBU, or kill me if possible. Of course, you can object to me that, they say, you can’t speak like that. Let them be wrong... They did not notice the genocide of Donbass for eight years, and now they are moving, they are busy, they say, but why us? But no. Let them answer. Completely. I have seen many times, how they build themselves into highly moral and highly spiritual persons and at the same time do not want to hear their own fellow citizens who have not yet accepted the coup d'état and have been living all this time with their mouths closed. If you have to die, let them die. No pity. Generally. No matter how much. Deserved.
Do you know who will survive in any circumstances and under any power? This is a layman. He will adapt to any conditions and to any laws, existing in his small cocoon, without even really understanding what is happening around. And as long as they support this power and are ready to endure it, despite all its vileness and disgust, they are its main support. No matter how vile laws the regime passes and no matter what statements it makes, they will not notice fascism. At the same time, they believe that they have the right to judge Donbass. By the way, this is the same proletariat that some leftists consider to be the very “sacred cow” around which you need to dance with a volume of Lenin in your hands instead of a tambourine and memorized spell quotes.
I do not think that all those who now support the Kyiv regime are able to coexist with adequate Ukrainians, who have had to hide their views all these years in order to preserve life and peace. This mode must be destroyed. Will his adherents, whom he has trained since 2014, be able to fit into the new circumstances? The minority will not, but the majority will adapt to the force. But now this is a contingent with carefully rewritten attitudes in their heads, which, as time has shown, do not involve showing compassion for their own fellow citizens and accepting a new government. But some of them will be good slaves for Europe. And most importantly - cheap. The more they come out, the better. If they want to return, then I think that it is better not to let them in. Terrorists may also try to infiltrate with them. Let them poke and poke around the world like a tumbleweed. Deserved.
However, it is easy to see that the Europeans, as the West confronts Russia, are turning into Ukrainians before our eyes. All the practices that I have observed here since 2014 are now being successfully applied in Europe. Perhaps in a slightly lighter version. But in their essence they are absolutely united. Fascism of our days as it is.
Of course, democratic rhetoric does not allow straightforward statements in the style of Hitler, but it quite allows others, which in essence do not differ from Hitlerism in any way and contain the main idea - the destruction of Russia. The United States is already openly talking about the need to divide Russia into many puppet regimes under the pretext of so-called "decolonization." However, it does not matter which particular country we are talking about. Any country that resists the Western bloc, in the opinion of its leaders, must be destroyed. As Bush Jr. said during the prank to Vovan and Lexus, now in Ukraine the Western world is at war with Russia. Ukrainians act as cannon fodder.
These bastards think they have the right to rule the world. And if they want to destroy Russia, then it means me too, as well as all those Ukrainians who do not want to become expendable in the war of Western capital. What do I feel? I hate these bastards and creatures and wish them nothing but death. The Western empire must be razed to the ground. And we must do everything possible so that after that no one there even thinks about a campaign to the east. Our great-grandfathers were too kind. They were very great humanists. We must understand that the Soviet people, as well as the peoples of the former USSR, are non-humans for Western imperialism and they will never appreciate our nobility (which the Russian Foreign Ministry is constantly raving about).
We live in an era of the decline of the Western empire, which is no longer able to control its periphery, drawing resources from it to maintain its own power. The domination of the West could continue exactly until the national detachments of the bourgeoisie of the former colonies were so strong that they declared their own ambitions, providing for the complete elimination of Western influence. Now, losing the fight, the West is metastasizing and spreading its abomination wherever it can in order to cause as much damage as possible to the entire world around. Therefore, there is no need to drag out the fight with him. The longer this goes on, the worse it gets. The future of the rest of the world depends on it. But since the current Russian Federation is a country that fights with the enemy with one hand, and trades with it with the other, the latter is hardly feasible.
(Continued following post.)