“The future for Ukraine is sad. Such a country will disappear from the map"
The DPR and LPR will unite in the future. The mobile operator Vodafone will be able to return to Donetsk only by paying its debts to the republic’s budget. Russia should impose sanctions against Ukrainian businesses that are helping the punitive operation in Donbass. Ukraine’s refusal to implement the Minsk agreements will lead to the disappearance of such a country from the map.
Deputy Prime Minister of the DPR Alexander Timofeev (call sign "Tashkent") stated this in an interview with PolitNavigator .
P.N.: In February, the DPR and LPR adopted a package of documents on simplifying customs control between the republics. What does this step do? Is there a prospect of their unification? Why do we need a border and customs between them?
A.T.: These events are planned. Now everything is included in a single regulation, a single set of rules. When the republics were formed, the fighting was active, and at that point, there was no time for economic relations between the two republics. It so happened that while the two republics were in the active phase, a whole complex of different laws, bylaws, and regulations was adopted. Today, they differ in many respects.
To put it bluntly, the LPR has its own legislation, and the DPR has its own. Now we have come to the point where we need to level the playing field for business, both from the LPR and from the DPR, therefore the heads of the two states initiated measures to create a single space for the two territories, so that the business of Lugansk and Donetsk would not be in some fragments higher priority for development. These conditions must be the same. Now order is being restored.
The first stage involves the equalization of duties, rates, everything else that exists between the republics, and in general, this is the definition of the rules of the game so that everyone can understand it.
The second phase is where the establishment of order takes place. Let’s say that for producers in Lugansk, when they transport products to the DPR, there are no additional fees. Exactly the same rules when food travels from the DPR to Lugansk. This is a fragment of clearance and additional fees for third party goods that transit through Lugansk or Donetsk. These goods fall under certain standards, and it is these standards that are leveled.
Now rates, duties and everything else are simply being equalized so that goods from third countries are not bypassed.
P.N.: What do you think about the prospects of unification, can it happen?
A.T.: You know, in the long run, I don't think it's something that "could" happen, but something that will happen. When is not my question. We'll see.
P.N .: Politicians in Kyiv have repeatedly stated that Ukraine could recapture both Crimea and Donbas, demonstrating economic success and a higher standard of living. Is the DPR capable of withstanding this economic competition?
A.T.: Today, we are not in a competition with Ukraine.
The fact that Ukraine was going to economically return Crimea - so for those 20 years while Crimea was Ukrainian, they didn’t lift a finger there, they didn’t do anything except build up the entire coastline without doing anything. Why did they suddenly decide that if they did nothing in Crimea during their peaceful life, now they can offer something to the peninsula?
When they talk about the economy, it's funny to listen to. They had an opportunity, a chance, but they lost it. Therefore, now if I were Kiev, I would completely forget about Crimea.
As for the competition between us and Kiev, our dynamics and vectors are different. We reached our economic bottom a year ago in May, when a complete blockade was introduced, and already in the fall of last year we leveled out the situation. The deadlock situation was rebalanced because the summer was very difficult. The economy began to grow in the fall, and now we are experiencing dynamic development.
This is the fundamental difference.
P.N .: The Ukrainian government is showing slight GDP growth…
A.T.: It shows the growth of their personal fortunes, which I'm glad about. It's probably not even small, but rather rapid. But let the people of Ukraine judge for themselves how to feel about this.
We once made a comparison table. Moreover, we did not take it from ourselves: on the Ukrainian side we asked a number of questions about the standard of living. There are housing and communal services, food, clothing, medicine and everything else. For comparison, they took the minimum Ukrainian pension. After recalculating them based on their prices in the store, they ended up with minus 400 hryvnia. I have a question: should a person steal or not pay for something? It is impossible not to pay for groceries; the easiest way is not to pay for housing and communal services. Debts begin to accumulate and other economies begin to grind to a halt. Here, in principle, there can be no growth - this is the path of decline.
We took the same table, applied our minimum pension and, by the way, we had 92 rubles left. I’m not saying that it’s not God knows how much money, you can’t fly to the Canary Islands, but people don’t need to go steal. There will not be a super life, but a person will not go beyond the extreme line.
P.N.: What about other factors? We know the tariff situation is quite favorable in terms of comparison. What else?
A.T.: If we consider utility rates and ignore coal, the price for the heating season in the territory occupied by Kyiv was 6,000 hryvnias per ton. Here, residents can buy the same coal for 2,500 rubles. Converting 6,000 hryvnias to rubles comes to 12,000 rubles. These figures are not even close.
Now regarding electricity. The head made a decision, and electricity for the population was not revised from the pre-war level. For other tariffs, the same thing was achieved only because the state began to regulate them. State management has been introduced at enterprises. All this is exactly the case when the Republic proves that government is effective.
P.N.: It's important to note the current situation with tariffs in Ukraine. The IMF recommends raising gas and utility prices. They're doing this because there's no other option. And this raises the question of sovereignty: who exactly is sovereign, who holds it: Ukraine or the DPR?
A.T.: In terms of the economy, we have much greater economic sovereignty than Ukraine. In the republic, decisions are made independently, whereas Ukraine is incapable of making such decisions on its own. There are advisors from the IMF and whoever else, and everything that happens is not because it's in the interests of Ukrainians, but because it's purely in someone's business interests. In this case, we prove once again that public administration can be effective.
P.N.: What are the reasons behind the reports of delays in payments to public sector employees in the DPR?
A.T.: Public sector salaries are the state's responsibility. Let's be honest, even in countries where there's no war, there are interruptions and delays for objective or subjective reasons. In our wartime environment, the entire system is under manual control. Some areas are flawed, others lack certain standards and regulations, because everything is still in the development stage. Therefore, I fully expect that there may be temporary delays in public sector payments.
Firstly, we have a prosecutor’s office for this purpose, which reacts quickly enough to all these things. If there are delays, they are not global - there is no such thing as a six-month debt.
P.N.: How did the investigation into the assassination attempt against you end, and to what extent did it damage your health?
A.T.: The assassination attempt didn't harm my health. And how it ended—the entire sabotage group that planned and carried it out was detained. The outcome will be a court ruling. I know a lot, but this is a case where the investigation could be undermined.
P.N .: How is the restoration of industry and the reopening of former Ukrainian oligarch enterprises progressing? One of the claims of Ukrainian propaganda was that it would be impossible to sell products from Donbas factories after the break with Ukraine. Is this really true?
A.T.: After the break with Ukraine, selling products from Donbas factories to Ukraine is impossible. But that's not the only thing on the planet, so there are many economic entities here who are indifferent to the origin of their goods.
We have now restored all enterprises that were shut down quickly and harshly last year. Today, new contracts are being smoothly established, all enterprises have been launched, if we talk about launching. You can’t come to the metal market, which is already crowded, and say: “I’m so fashionable, take it from me.” Therefore, enterprises are working to conclude new contracts and develop new product samples.
To date, all enterprises have been launched with the exception of the Khartsyzsk Pipe Plant. The product is very specific, negotiations are currently underway on the future fate of this plant.
P.N.: Well, did they show a plus at the end of the year?
A.T .: Of the enterprises that have been launched to date, none are unprofitable. All enterprises are profitable, there is simply a concept of a profitability zone: when reaching 100%, the volume of profitability will increase. But today there are no unprofitable enterprises. People are employed, receive salaries, and receive social security benefits.
P.N.: Have workforces been significantly reduced?
A.T.: At the companies where job optimization was carried out, everyone was offered other jobs. If someone didn't take them, we can't force them. This situation affected not only the metallurgy industry but also mining enterprises. Many mines were assessed on their own merits. If the mines were unprofitable, they were supported under Ukraine, but when we looked into their accounting, it turned out it was all just a big scam. The mine employed 100 people, and it was subsidized so much that those 100 people didn't even need to go to work. They could simply pay their salaries, and the state would save hundreds of millions.
Let's take accounting - I won't even say the name of the mine. At the price of the hryvnia at the rate of 8 per dollar, the cost of coal is 12 hryvnia per ton. The mine sells for fifteen hundred. 000 people work at the mine. The volume of coal that the mine produces is slightly less than the Komsomolets Donbassa mine, which employs thousands of people. With such mines the question arose of what to do. These were ordinary “washes”. They were closed. The people who worked there were offered to move to other mines.
Last year, 13 new lavas were discovered. This is not about people not being employed – we don’t have enough workers. They launched “Gormash”, there are billboards around the city: “Welders, mechanics, and turners are needed for work at “Gormash”. The company requires people with intermediate qualifications.
P.N.: Is there any figure for unemployment?
A.T.: It exists, but we're only talking about unskilled workers. That's a bit different. When they say there's unemployment, yes, it exists. If someone doesn't know how to do anything at all, they go to the labor exchange. Where we can fix it, we fix it. Where we can't fix it now, we plan for when it will be fixed. In any case, we're working on this every day.
P.N.: Ukrainian media have accused you of lobbying for the shutdown of MTS-Ukraine's Vodafone network. Is this true? Could Russian mobile operators begin operating in the DPR, even unofficially?
A.T.: I didn't disconnect Vodafone. It was the Ukrainian government's "warriors of light." They were at the crossing near Olenivka, where they damaged the fiber optic cable leading to Mariupol. Our specialists tried to go there to repair it, but they were shot at. They then went there again, this time with OSCE representatives, but they came under further fire from Ukrainian forces.
Moreover, there is a conclusion from the OSCE, which showed that the Ukrainian side bears responsibility for cutting off communications. I think this is all a planned action. It is unlikely that some frostbitten soldier climbed in and cut the fiber; the connection was cut off at intervals of 15 minutes in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. Moreover, these are completely different fiber optic lines. Therefore, this is a planned action.
If you blame me, then I have nothing to do with Lugansk at all, so it’s unlikely that I can somehow influence whether Vodafone is in Lugansk or not.
But this is the first side of the question. The other side brought to the surface what was behind the scenes. As of today, the tax obligations of the operator Vodafone, or as it is called MTS-Ukraine, have the following picture: the company has not paid a single penny of taxes to the budget of the republic. Not a single kilowatt-hour consumed by cell towers was paid for. The cost part is zero, even the maintenance of cell towers was provided by specialists from the Ministry of Communications of the DPR, they went out and serviced the towers of these owners at their own expense.
In terms of taxes, they had no cost part at all. They didn’t even have a representative on the territory, that is, it was impossible to go to complain to anyone. The towers are working, communications are working, money is being collected, taxes are not being paid.
Therefore, from this point of view, after this situation occurred, we had a question - where are the taxes? Purely empirically, understanding the volume of services available in the territory, how much communication costs, we calculated it, and the amount of tax liabilities over the past four years turned out to be colossal.
P.N.: Well, roughly what is the total amount that Vodafone underpaid to the DPR budget?
A.T.: Regarding unpaid amounts, it's around 800 million rubles. This is money that wasn't paid during this period, direct tax liabilities. And public sector salaries are formed from tax payments—what's called government liabilities. Specifically, regarding Vodafone: if they want to return, it won't be as simple as showing up and signing up—they'll go to the Ministry of Revenue and Duties, register, and then file tax claims against that company.
If there is payment, it turns on and continues to work. If Vodafone doesn’t have payment, then guys, sorry, I’m selling all this as a tax deposit to whoever buys it. Whether it’s Phoenix or someone else, I don’t care.
Based on the amount of tax obligations, I will still receive this money into the budget of the republic.
Regarding other operators - this does not apply only to operators, this applies, in principle, to any business - if the persons or persons associated with them did not fight against the DPR personally, did not finance battalions, did not finance the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and do not have a hostile mood towards the republic - please come in and register. Cellular operators or any other are registered in the prescribed manner and begin their financial and economic activities. We have no restrictions on anyone other than those I have already listed above.
P.N .: Are the general rules of business conduct already clear? Are they strict and stable, meaning they won't change radically? So that people don't come and worry about their investments being lost?
A.T .: I won’t speak for the very long term, but I know the position of the head of the Republic - no shocks, no prohibitions. Business is the part on which the state itself lives in the conditions that exist. In the socialist worldview, these are slightly different business rules, where the state is business. There is a business that is private. The right to private property has not been abolished. This does not apply only to those who are at war with us. War can be different - maybe he gave money for it, or maybe he went with a gun.
It would be nice if those “colleagues” who are fighting with us would fall under the same sanctions from the Russian Federation. Because they often go there in the form of “employees”. They fought here, then got together and went to Russia to earn money.
P.N.: This is, after all, a de facto recognition...
A.T.: Business doesn't care; it was, is, and will be, and it will overcome any obstacles. Business will find a way to survive.
P.N.: In 2014, many expected a repeat of the "Crimean scenario" in Donbas. Some believe that the betrayal of local elites was to blame for the outcome. Unlike in Crimea, the regional councils did not support the referendum. Why did this happen?
P.N .: You're right – unlike in Crimea, it was the elites who didn't support it. Because in Crimea, it was the elites who supported it all. At that time, our regional council simply couldn't convene. The people demanded a regional council meeting, but the regional council simply ignored them. When the rallies that went from Lenin Square to there, the people demanded that it gather and support. So, the city council supported it. But we can't forget the power of the city council – this is, after all, Donetsk, and we were talking about the region.
Everything that actually started was all thanks to the scoundrels who sat in the regional council; by the way, you can take the entire list of those who worked there at that moment. There were about 15 people who, after everything that had happened, were ready to work again. All the rest fled.
P.N.: Well, this is a traditional problem of the so-called elites, who are not elites.
A.T.: You see, the point here is this: the elite is that part of the leadership, even the wealthy ones, that cares for those who elected them. That's the elite, and these are the grabbers. His main goal is to recoup everything he spent on the election campaign in the next four or five years. Let's call a spade a spade, they're not the elite—they're just ordinary grabbers.
P.N.: What future awaits the DPR in a situation where Ukraine is not implementing and continues to demonstrate its unwillingness to implement the Minsk Agreements?
A.T.: Ukraine faces a bleak future. Its refusal to implement the Minsk agreements will result in its disappearance from the map.
In contrast, the Donetsk People's Republic will develop and expand. And this is not for many years, it is in the near future, and we will see it with our own eyes. The problems they created in the economy, yes, they did, but the question is who lost more. This is the case: “To spite my mother, I will freeze my ears.” Well done, good luck.
The DPR has hit rock bottom. The country is developing, building systems of power, management systems, living conditions for people in the territory. Maybe not as quickly as we would like. But the conditions that exist were not created by me, not by the head. Those people who, in these difficult conditions, are trying to somehow even out the situation, are doing everything they can.
P.N.: Many are currently considering several possible future scenarios for the Donbas republics: independent republics, within the Russian Federation, or, as the Minsk Agreements imply, within a new entity that will be federal. What can you say about this?
A.T.: I get asked this question many times, they say "Novorossiya." You know, I'm all for it. But there's a nuance here: I don't agree with handing over Kyiv to the Banderites. I fundamentally disagree. My grandfather fought in the war against the fascists, so why should I now hand over the "mother of Russian cities" to who knows who, to those who came and declared that the UPA, UNA-UNSO, and all those fashionable comrades who are running around, why? I fundamentally disagree with that.
If you take my opinion, as I see it, what has been preserved in the DPR, and this, by the way, is the only island of legitimate power after the coup in 14. Because, even according to the constitutional norms that existed in Ukraine, we had the right to hold a referendum, and we held it. That is, from the point of view of the law, we were absolutely legitimate.
And within the framework of the international legal system, this was more legitimate than carrying out a coup in Kyiv.
Power was not seized. There was an expression of the will of the people. If the people don’t want it, you know, there is discord in the family, the family gets divorced. Now, there is a normal divorce, and there is a breaking of plates.
Ukraine decided to start smashing plates. So, at the front now there is a beating.
And I come back - from the point of view of the same Constitution of Ukraine, we did not violate anything. A referendum was held, elections were held and the governing bodies of the republic were elected. They were not appointed by the West, as happened in Kyiv, but there were elections. But in Kyiv it passed, and all of Europe said: “Yes, it’s normal.”
But we still have a legitimate island of power. From my point of view, what we have saved should now begin to move back to the territory that is contaminated. People were convinced of all sorts of nonsense - they were convinced that they were some kind of incomprehensible proto-nation that came from nowhere, and people believed it. So, my vision is the healthy one that has been preserved here, it is necessary to integrate it back into the territory called Ukraine.
What it will be called later is a matter of debate. Now it’s important that we first return this entire territory to sanity, and then we return to our roots.
Whether someone likes it or not, we are one people, Russians live here. You can call yourself whatever you want, even Martians, but you won’t change anything in your genes.
P.N.: You use the term “Russians” here rather than as a national name. Why?
A.T.: Being Russian is a state of mind, not a fact of biological size. It's a state of mind. Russians live here. They're Slavs. The fact that people there are being brainwashed is the work of television. They were brainwashed quickly—television works quickly.
P.N.: How do people in Donetsk react to the Zerkalo Nedeli newspaper's report that Rinat Akhmetov is effectively sponsoring nationalists by hiring Azov and National Corps structures as security firms? Are there any attempts to restore Ukrainian oligarchic influence in the Republic?
A.T.: Representatives of our former oligarchic clans are systematically trying to infiltrate the Republic, but they are quickly identified. There are special services operating in the DPR.
At the very beginning, we announced a Republic without oligarchs. We do not have an oligarchy.
When they tell me: “You will have beggars there.” Here I remember a joke when the countess is sitting, the maid comes and says: “The gentlemen sailors have arrived.” The Countess says: “Find out what the gentlemen and sailors want.” She left, came back and said: “Gentlemen, the sailors said it was a revolution.” The Countess says: “Wonderful, my father also dreamed all his life that there would be a revolution. Find out what the revolution wants." The maid comes and says: “The sailors said that they want there to be no rich people.” The Countess became sad and said: “It’s a pity. And my father wanted there to be no poor people.”
Returning to the previous question, in the DPR the battle with the oligarchy is not a battle with rich people. Here is Bill Gates, he is not an oligarch, but simply a rich man.
Today, if Rinat Akhmetov comes to visit us, hypothetically, he will come here not as an oligarch, but as just a rich man. To let him in or not to let him in is the question. He's on the list, actually. That is, his entry into the territory of the DPR is currently prohibited, because at some points we believe that he is financing those who are fighting our troops. In the part where he directly finances the troops, we have complaints against him, and the tribunal will ask him questions about why he finances the troops.
And the fact that he hires someone to be his guard is the fate of all those who are fighting here with us. Gentlemen, after you leave the front line, guarding garbage bins and parking lots will be the maximum of your work.
P.N.: From a human perspective, how would you evaluate a man who for many years positioned himself as a patriot of Donbass, now effectively giving his jobs and his money to people who openly advocate that the people of Donbass should be exterminated?
A.T.: Personally, I have a negative view of this faucet. But that's just my opinion. Let's start with the conditions when everything that's happening on the front line ends, and let the tribunal evaluate all the actions. Not just his, because the problem isn't just Akhmetov. You can blame him for everything, but it wasn't Akhmetov who started the war, it was Turchynov.
Let's start realistically with those who started it, and then the list will be quite large. There, your own Goebbels will appear, who say: “Don’t turn off the TV, I’ll teach you to hate each other.” They will also be there, in that tribunal, those comrades who edited the video, presenting us as someone unknown and convincing part of the population on the other side through televisions that we are murderers and so on. This is thanks to the TV. For me, TV is scarier than Akhmetov. But there is enough space for everyone in the dock.
P.N.: Is it possible to lift the blockade of Donbass under the current regime in Kiev, and is the Republic ready to resume trade with it?
A.T.: First, business-to-business trade never stopped. Businesses found workarounds—those coming from Ukraine simply exit through the Russian Federation, then reverse direction and enter the DPR. That's why business never stopped.
At the official level, after all those involved in the war in Donbass, whose hands are up to their elbows in blood, are removed, with the new leadership after the signing of intergovernmental agreements, as in the entire civilized world, I am more than sure that a resumption of contacts is possible. With this mode - no. There is no one there to negotiate with. People are not even up to their elbows in blood, they are up to their necks in it. Moreover, the blood of his own people. Well, how can you negotiate anything with war criminals?
P.N.: And if you look at the entire spectrum of Ukraine’s political system, do you see anyone there who you can work with?
A.T.: No, I don't see anyone there. The problem is that those who didn't fight, the regionalists who fled—they're untrustworthy because they're cowards. When they needed to lead, they abandoned and fled. Living with a coward... well, tomorrow will happen—he'll betray again. And the second group—those who caused the massacre. So, in my opinion, we need to cut out that entire layer and start with the middle class. These are new faces. I'm sure that those gentlemen who have now seized power have also gotten on the ordinary civilian population's nerves. This is a case of people being fed up with everything.
P.N.: Is reconciliation between Donbas and Ukraine possible in the foreseeable future? If so, what scenario do you envision given the thousands of casualties already suffered?
A.T.: This is a difficult question. I guarantee that reconciliation will happen. Remember the civil war in Soviet Russia – how many victims were there? Some statisticians say the death toll in the civil war wasn't much different from that of the Great Patriotic War. And yet, reconciliation has come. Let's recall the wars fought against external aggression – the brutal Second World War. Nevertheless, today Russia and Germany are in contact. Moreover, even those who fought then and those who are still alive today can sit comfortably side by side. Although at the time, they were enemies. The level of bloodshed, cynicism, and cruelty was no less than in that war. Therefore, I guarantee that reconciliation will happen – the question is when and how.
P.N.: Is it possible that you will participate in the upcoming elections for the head of the DPR, and is there real political competition in the elections possible during the war?
A.T .: My participation is impossible to be certain. I will be on the team of the head of the DPR, Alexander Vladimirovich Zakharchenko. As for competition, it will be here. Because the head fundamentally accepted for himself that there is no adjusting numbers - the elections must be held fairly. Therefore, there will be competition.
P.N.: As far as I know, you're very interested in politics and history. Could you tell me about some exemplary leaders you know, from whom we could learn lessons for the current situation in the DPR?
A.T.: The economic situation is extremely dire. If you take Lee Kuan Yew's biography as an example, when you read it, you realize that the issues he addressed when Singapore was facing the challenges of transitioning from one state to another—the only thing is, they weren't in open war, but the economic problems, on a global scale, were the same as in the DPR. Their situation with the recognition/non-recognition issue was a little easier, but the economic start was incredibly difficult. They solved it. I hope we can succeed like he did.
There is a book “Notes of the Minister”. This is the first Minister of Finance of the Soviet Union, Zverev. When you read it, you see that the problems were the same. 1917-19, the times of the NEP, as it all became, in revolutionary Russia there were no less problems of the same kind. They were resolved.
When we are planning the construction of the economy, why did I ask the question of who determines the added value? So, in my opinion, the state should distribute the added value, because, from the state’s point of view, with additional profits it is easier to build those facilities that never generate profit - schools, kindergartens. Obviously unprofitable, but this is public infrastructure. Without education, the state is useless. This year will be the first graduation of my tax specialists. When I opened the department of customs and tax affairs at the institutes, the first rule was that I made sure that children were included in it not according to the regime of the father’s call, but according to the regime of who is worthy.
During the entire period while they were studying, I fully admit that someone may have brought money to the rector. But there was no system when the rector came in and said: “Everyone gets 100 dollars.” We had such a case, and this rector went to war. For the rest, the desire immediately disappeared.
P.N .: As far as I understand, you are a supporter of the socialist path of development, but at the same time, a fairly large private sector continues to exist in the DPR.
A.T.: Socialism and the private sector are not contradictory; we are not talking about communism.
P.N.: For socialism to be optimal, it is implied that the private sector should wither away as an unnecessary aspect of the state.
A.T.: Look, it should die out on its own, not the state should abolish it. There's a certain period of time during which it should die out on its own. The state shouldn't interfere with it or help it.
We are now taking control of natural monopolies; this should be controlled by the state. Large enterprises that were built by our fathers and grandfathers. I don't understand this privatization. As for me, it was a jerk. They just stole it. Therefore, I am a supporter of the socialist system.
P.N.: In the modern world, economically advanced countries are making significant efforts to utilize innovative approaches and technologies in their economies. To what extent is this possible under the current conditions in the DPR, given the war and limited financial resources?
A.T.: We have a lot of challenges. We're trying to build a planned economy. The market economy has proven itself ineffective; it's a dead end. It's a subject of debate as to which is better—a market or a planned economy. This is, in fact, a misnomer, because any enterprise that participates in the market must have a clear structure and plan. So, let's take a factory, and let the workshops operate according to market principles. I want to look at the final output of this factory. So if this isn't possible at the factory, why did you decide it could be done globally? Who introduced this idea?
P.N.: Does the DPR have the intellectual capacity to conduct new breakthrough research and development?
A.T.: Yes, we were able to preserve our scientific potential. Although some people left the territory, this is a Donetsk-specific issue—they are the people of Donetsk, they are here. Scientific potential has been preserved, and scientific institutions are functioning. We are now raising a new generation of people whose minds aren't filled with all sorts of rubbish. As sad as it is, the war is helping us with this.
P.N.: Name some world leaders you know who are symbols or images that any leader of any state should look up to.
A.T.: Today, there's no leader more powerful than Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. Everything else is just talk. This is the man who, at a critical moment, saved Russia from complete destruction. I understand how it happened. He essentially stepped into the breach, not knowing in the end whether they would follow him or not. May God grant him the strength to fully realize all his plans.
P.N.: Name your favorite films.
A.T.: Probably “Seventeen Moments of Spring,” “Beware of the Car,” and “Down House.”
P.N.: What books can you call your favorites, what books are you currently reading?
A.T.: Among my favorites, there’s “The Art of War,” I’ve finished reading Hesiod’s “Theogony,” and I’m currently reading Virgil’s “Aeneid.”
"Ukraine's future is bleak. Such a country will disappear from the map. "