“Bandera’s people will never become part of Odessa,” - Anton Davidchenko
Odesa, September 8 (PolitNavigator, Artem Buzila) – Anton Davydchenko is the leader of the Anti-Maidan movement in Odesa. He was one of the first in the entire southeast to organize rallies on Kulikovo Field (near the later fateful Trade Union Building) in mid-February, immediately after the overthrow of Viktor Yanukovych. Over time, the movement acquired a truly mass character and became a calling card of the rebellious Odesa. It was Davydchenko who led the assault on the regional state administration building on March 3, which only due to an agreement with then-governor Mykola Skorik did not result in the building's seizure.
On March 17, Davydchenko was arrested by SBU officers. While behind bars, Anton missed the main events of the Odesa Anti-Maidan protests—the dispersal of the Right Sector protest on April 10, the weekly marches through the city's central streets, and the tragedy of May 2. After receiving a five-year suspended sentence for separatism and agreeing to cooperate with the investigation, Davydchenko was released but immediately fled Ukraine. He is now in Russia, promising to continue the fight for the rights of residents of the southeast. He spoke with a PolitNavigator correspondent about this.
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"PolitNavigator": How was your arrest?
Anton Davidchenko: My arrest was carried out by the SBU's Alpha special forces unit, most of whom came from Kyiv. I was detained at 7:00 PM, and at 7:30 PM I was taken to Kyiv, where I was placed in the SBU pretrial detention center. The arrest occurred without resistance, despite the Kyiv SBU's claims to the contrary. There was no way I, alone, could have offered any resistance to 15 Alpha officers armed with machine guns or threatened them with personal violence, given that they were wearing masks. However, due to my claims of "resistance" during arrest, the court denied my release on bail.
“PolitNavigator”: What charges were brought against you, were torture, pressure, or threats to loved ones used?
Anton Davidchenko: I was charged under Articles 1 and 2 of Article 110 of the Criminal Code for "encroachment on the territorial integrity of Ukraine." The entire indictment was based on my television appearances and YouTube videos, beginning on January 22, 2014, when Yanukovych was in power. No direct torture was used, although my cell was under 24-hour video surveillance, and contact with my family was prohibited. My brother was charged for protesting my arrest (a tent camp was set up outside the Odessa SBU headquarters from March 17 to 20 – ed.) and was regularly summoned for questioning.
"PolitNavigator": How did your deal with the investigation happen? After it, accusations of “leaking” Anti-Maidan activists rained down on you.
Anton Davidchenko: My lawyer managed to convince the investigators that the case had no prospects, and the maximum I could receive was a five-year suspended sentence. A plea bargain was offered, under which I would admit to wanting to create Novorossiya and would not abandon my ideas. Not a single representative of the Odessa Anti-Maidan or the People's Alternative movement is implicated in my case. I have not given any testimony that could lead to criminal liability for third parties. And those detractors who claim I testified against or for someone can contact the SBU and the Prosecutor General's Office for the records of my interrogations. From this perspective, my conscience is clear.
"PolitNavigator": Do you have a connection with your brother? What do you know about the tragedy in the House of Trade Unions?
Anton Davidchenko: I know my brother's whereabouts, and I was able to speak with him. He told me many facts about the events of May 2nd. The death toll among Odesans at the Trade Unions Building is over 100. Three days before May 2nd, representatives of the Right Sector, Self-Defense, and ultras began to be brought to Odesa to disperse the Anti-Maidan protests. During the clashes, the authorities did not respond to what was happening. Observing the investigation into these events, one can conclude that we will never know the truth, and the perpetrators will remain unpunished. Even though their names are known to all of us.
"PolitNavigator": How do you look at the prospects of the Anti-Maidan movement?
Anton Davidchenko: We've been holding protests for the past eight years. Even before the founding of the Odesa Anti-Maidan, the decision was made to create the "People's Alternative" public movement, which subsequently coordinated all activities at Kulikovo Field. After all the events unfolding in the country, I believe it's necessary to completely transform the Anti-Maidan into the "People's Alternative" movement, whose goal will be to reveal the truth about the state of affairs in both the city and the country.
"PolitNavigator": Do you support rebel actions in the East?
Anton Davidchenko: Back on March 2nd, speaking on stage at the Odessa Anti-Maidan, I approached the new authorities with a proposal to sit down at a roundtable and discuss our demands, which concerned decentralization of power (federalization), real reforms, the right to a second official language, and our own culture. In response to this proposal, I was arrested. Subsequently, other leaders of the Southeast were arrested in the same manner. After this, the Anti-Maidan clearly became radicalized, as the people's demands were ignored. The authorities responded to peaceful protests with repression, so they are to blame for the escalation of the conflict to the point of war.
PolitNavigator: What is your attitude toward the Kiev authorities' military operation?
Anton Davidchenko: The so-called "ATO" has long since become a punitive military operation. According to the Ukrainian Constitution, the military has no right to participate in an internal conflict. But in reality, a full-scale civil war is underway. This is a tragedy for the entire Ukrainian people, for which politicians are primarily to blame, since 90% of the residents of the southeast cannot be separatists or terrorists.
PolitNavigator: Odessa police recently announced that you will be placed on a wanted list for violating a sentence.
Anton Davidchenko: My sentence hasn't yet entered into force, and I'm not registered with the bailiff service, so my statement is baseless. I'm currently in Crimea and have no intention of returning to Ukraine while pseudo-democrats and radical nationalists are in power.
PolitNavigator: What are your plans for the future?
Anton Davidchenko: I'm currently registering an international legal organization, "Legal Basis," which will defend the rights of repressed residents of southeastern Ukraine. People no longer trust politicians who have betrayed them once again. The people of Odessa need representatives in government who defend their interests, not just care about their own well-being.
PolitNavigator: Governor Palytsa has repeatedly stated in his statements that you and your movement were financed by Party of Regions member Sergei Kivalov?
Anton Davidchenko: I never received any financial or other support from him, and I had no connection to his group. Let him present the real facts. Our organization brought thousands of Odessans to anti-fascist marches and in support of the Crimean referendum. Odessa is a hero city, and Banderites and nationalists will never be our own.
PolitNavigator: What about your appearances on the Academy TV channel, which belongs to Kivalov?
Anton Davidchenko: This was the personal initiative of the channel's editor-in-chief, Yuri Selivanov, who provided me with airtime to convey our goals and ideals to the people of Odessa. I deeply respect Yuri Borisovich, who was forced to leave the country under pressure. Kivalov had nothing to do with it.
PolitNavigator: Did you have information about your arrest being plotted? If so, why didn't you flee?
Anton Davidchenko: I knew about the upcoming arrest. Why didn't I flee? To flee at that moment would have been to betray the interests and trust of thousands of Odessans who believed in me. I couldn't afford it.
"Banderites will never become Odessa's own," says Anton Davidchenko.