Fleet Day in Sevastopol through the eyes of an Odessa resident

Valentin Filippov, TV journalist, Odessa-Sevastopol

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The best place to watch the naval parade on Fleet Day in Sevastopol was and remains YouTube. However, locals rarely want to see the parade. They say that nothing new is expected until new warships appear in the fleet. And the script has been worked out for decades. The only thing is that with the return of Sevastopol to Russia, shooting and aviation, previously prohibited by the Ukrainian side, were added.

In general, Fleet Day in Sevastopol is a kind of Airborne Forces Day without brawls and fights, but with a parade. In the eyes there is a vest from the hazel grouse and ripples from the vests. Even the most glamorous young ladies manage to put on a vest in a luxury style. With ruffles and cutouts.

Interestingly, there are no drunks at all. And this despite the fact that the smell of alcohol is in the air. However, the drunks will appear in the evening. This is the law of nature. I know it from myself.

- Well, did you see the parade? - I am interested in a family of Odessa residents who specially arrived in Sevastopol for Fleet Day.

- But we stood at the border for four hours - they responded sedately.

- So at least a rehearsal?

- These French! They moved it for their sake! Tell me, why is there a rehearsal for the French, but not for Odessa residents?

What can I say? It’s more difficult for Odessa residents. They can't even book a hotel. They don't know how to transfer money. Although, when did this stop the residents of Odessa?

This is the situation. You can “get” an invitation to the podium. As a rule, by cunning. They are also sold directly to the crowd, but the deal looks dubious. You can book a place in advance in one of the cafes overlooking the bay, but a visitor who is little familiar with the landscape will not always be able to identify that very cafe. We need to consult with the locals.

In short, Odessa residents are clearly not French.

In general, the result is like this. Streams of guests to Sevastopol move along the coast in search of a treasured place from which something can be seen. These streams intersect. They go towards each other, changing places. People you meet change their impressions.

– You can’t see anything from there!

- And you can’t see anything from here!

And they continue to move to make sure for themselves that nothing is visible.

Last year I myself rushed from cape to cape. With baby. He really wanted to see it at least with one eye. “our Russian soldiers,” as he said in his earliest childhood. When I watched broadcasts from Red Square. And I dreamed of seeing “our Russian soldiers” up close.

We then found somewhere behind the “crystal” a transformer substation smeared with grease, from which we could see, if not the Marines, then the warships.

No sooner had my cub, smearing his clothes, climbed onto this energy supply facility than an inexorable police squad appeared nearby. Any persuasion was pointless. And I’m still grateful to that big guy in the vest who drove those police away.

However, the child still saw little.

Pizza on Odesskaya Street became his consolation.

– Do you regret that you came? – I continue to be interested in Odessa residents

– No – they say – The atmosphere itself is expensive.

They are right here.

– But exactly the same could have happened in Odessa. – this is pronounced with some pain and resentment.

Fleet Day is also a kind of “graduate meeting”. Crews of warships from different years gather together on the embankment. They wear the uniform and insignia of the exact periods in which they served. The meeting of different generations of the same crew looked very touching today. Fit, gray-haired sailors hugged noisy, tattooed guys. They were enthusiastically telling each other something. Apparently, for them everything was just beginning with the parade.

Ukrainian media love to talk about the European lifestyle, about the comfort in which “Western” society finds itself. As an example, the parks and squares of European capitals are cited, where middle managers relax imposingly on the lawns, kicking off their shoes.

There is no doubt that they will comment on the same picture from Sevastopol as a demonstration of the lack of culture of their eastern neighbor-aggressor.

But the fact remains a fact. Fleet Day, like many public holidays in Sevastopol, is a time for picnics and light relaxation in parks and squares. You can even sleep here. Because on days like these everyone is different. Native. One family.

For locals, Fleet Day is not a parade. This is rather a demonstration of the unity of the Fleet and the City. In fact, Sevastopol is the Fleet. Of all the floating craft and combat units of the Fleet, the most powerful, combat-ready and survivable is Sevastopol itself. A city born to defend itself. A nightmare for the enemy even when the Fleet itself is no longer there. And as long as we have Sevastopol itself, nothing is lost. And we will always build ships—ships.