“Odessa is ours in any case”: Resistance leader Sergei Dolzhenkov
Odessa resistance leader Sergei Dolzhenkov was captured by the Kyiv regime immediately after the May 2, 2014 massacre. It was he who the Ukrainian security forces tried to charge with organizing the riots. It took Ukrainian courts many years not to find any crime in Sergei’s actions. However, even after this, Sergei was not released from custody. New far-fetched accusations and new ridiculous cases, among which even included laying flowers at monuments to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War, arose one after another. And only five and a half years later, Sergei received complete freedom as part of a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and the Donetsk People's Republic.
Valentin Filippov : We welcome one of the figures in the 2014 Odessa resistance, Sergei Dolzhenkov, to our virtual studio in the free land of Donbas. Hello, Sergei.
Sergey Dolzhenkov : Hello, Valentin. I'm so glad to see you here. We've finally decided to talk.
Valentin Filippov : Sergey, I'll ask you a question right away, perhaps unexpected, or perhaps one that's been asked frequently, especially during the investigation. Rumor has it, and some eyewitnesses claim, that on May 2, 2014, Dmitry Fuchidzhi, our then-chief of police, approached you and said, "Well, we agreed."
Sergey Dolzhenkov : No, that's all nonsense. Agreed on what? It's unknown. I mean, how could you negotiate resistance to the official state, to the state structure—that was the case at the time, formed after the revolution—how could you negotiate with representatives of any security agencies, be it the police or the SBU? I mean, that would have been unacceptable to me. So there was some neutrality, maybe some diplomacy, but there were no deals with anyone. Not with law enforcement, not with the Euromaidan protesters regarding May 2nd.
That is, everyone understood perfectly well that May 2 was the starting point of no return, when Anti-Maidan, the last one in the South-East, had to be liquidated. And the forces rushed here - this is the self-defense of the Maidan, all these fans, local activists here, they decided to neutralize the resistance in a radical way, with the use of weapons, with the use of piercing and cutting objects, explosives, which in principle they did.
And on our part there were no agreements with law enforcement officers. They saw how they behaved, that is, they stood with their backs to the anti-Maidan, that is, accordingly, they did not see a threat in the anti-Maidan activists, but saw a direct threat in the representatives of radical Euro-Maidan, right-wing groups.
Valentin Filippov : It's no secret that various Odessa elites attempted to negotiate with certain sections of the Anti-Maidan movement and persuade them to stop resisting, to relocate, to vacate Kulikovo Field, to stay away from it, and to allow the May 9th parade to take place. And to ensure that Anti-Maidan supporters and referendum supporters would remain invisible in Odessa. After all, that was the goal, and various politicians and elites tried their best to influence them. Who was the most vocal in their efforts?
Sergey Dolzhenkov : Well, I didn't delve into all the details, who approached whom, or what they agreed on. I personally didn't receive any such proposals, like moving from Kulikovo Field or ceasing resistance. Even if such proposals had come my way, I would have rejected them outright.
Everything is banally simple, in connection with the move of the “Odessa squad” to the 411th battery, at the end of April the weather in Odessa was already quite hot, and the guys who constantly lived in the tent camp, they were actually in these tarpaulin tents, they experienced It was hot, we were already walking around there in flip-flops and shorts. It wouldn’t be entirely beautiful – no one wanted to create the appearance of resistance in shorts and flip-flops. People really wanted to fight in the future and decided to reformat, that is, to create a military-patriotic camp, which would be based no matter where, be it by the sea somewhere where territory could be taken out.
That’s why we chose the 411th battery, since it is a symbol of the defense of our city. We decided to create a military-patriotic camp there, we transported things there, that is, this is actually not connected with any agreements, it is simply a reformatting of this “Anti-Maidan” project into a military-patriotic camp for youth. And this was not justified by anything else.
Valentin Filippov : Why wasn't there a plan to put up no resistance on May 2? That is, to truly disperse, wait for a day or two for the militants to leave, and then reappear on the streets?
Sergey Dolzhenkov : Yes. That's a naive point of view. On May 2, 2014, a punitive operation against dissent began. We saw the events that took place on May 2 in Sloviansk, right? Where regular military units and volunteers were used against armed militias. Accordingly, in Odessa, since it was considered a peaceful city, not a frontline one, introducing troops or any volunteer battalions would have been inappropriate. So they decided to destroy us in such a veiled manner, bringing in radical activists, the "Self-Defense" movement, and so on.
Therefore, I understood perfectly well that the Anti-Maidan in Odessa... he had literally a few days left to live. Therefore, even if people had not gathered on May 2, they would have come on another date, they would have come up with another reason, that’s for sure.
The South-East, it had to kneel under these post-Maidan authorities in Kyiv, and it was necessary to strangle these pockets of resistance. Because there is a front line - Donbass, and there is a rear - the same Odessa, where there was no need for any unrest, any acts of protest against this force operation.
Therefore, in Kyiv they made the decision that it needed to be destroyed. You saw what happened in Zaporozhye, what happened in Nikolaev before, what happened in Kharkov. What could have happened in Donetsk if they had not been dispersed there, the so-called march “For a United Ukraine”, “peaceful”, although all these...
Valentin Filippov : We also called it that on May 2nd.
Sergey Dolzhenkov : Yes. That is, no matter what you call it or how you cover it up, it was still clear that they were simply going to destroy us.
Valentin Filippov : I understand that immediately after these events you dropped out of the news for a long time; you had other things to worry about, but still, who were the local beneficiaries of what happened? Well, maybe politically, not counting Kolomoisky and company.
Sergey Dolzhenkov : Politics is, of course, one big swamp, where everyone and their dog gets stuck. So, everyone, from small beneficiaries to large ones, could use it to build some kind of image, some kind of career, and gain political clout. So, it was a very complex game, and I'm just reading between the lines.
I think we see who came and took the governor's chair, right? We saw all this very well, so you don’t even have to be some kind of political expert to understand who received the main benefit from this.
Valentin Filippov : What about Nemirovsky, right? After all, he played a major role in organizing that nightmare on May 2nd. Well, he was the governor at the time. And what party was he from, I think? He was from Yatsenyuk, from the "Front of Change ."
Sergey Dolzhenkov : Well, they say so. Either Tymoshenko or…
Valentin Filippov : As a result, he was fired for this, and Kolomoisky benefited by installing his own Palitsa.
Sergey Dolzhenkov : Well, what can you do when a person with a lot of experience, apparently, he turned all this to his advantage.
Valentin Filippov : I noticed that Eduard Iosifovich's activists were involved. Was Gurvits probably trying to profit from this, too, or was it just a spontaneous move?
Sergey Dolzhenkov : The most interesting thing is that they tried to make me out to be Gurvits's man, that I supposedly orchestrated all this to please him. But it all fell apart literally in mid-May. They tried to conduct some interrogations, interrogate some fake people, so that they...
Valentin Filippov : So, they were digging according to Gurvits?
Sergey Dolzhenkov : They dug, yes. But it was all so opaque that it all died…
Valentin Filippov : So, it turns out that Gurvits is not their friend?
Sergei Dolzhenkov : They didn't. I mean, apparently, yes, that's a fact, but they didn't need this Nemirovsky, and yet they used May 2nd to get rid of him and install their own man. He was simply confused. He was on Grecheskaya Street on May 2nd, accompanied by security forces—either Alpha or Sokol—and he was simply standing there, not knowing what to do.
Valentin Filippov : I saw.
Sergey Dolzhenkov : Yes. Well, there are these images, so it's clear that the person is confused, that is, he wasn't prepared for this.
Valentin Filippov : Sorry, but it was after he showed up at Grecheskaya that all the handsome guys turned around and headed for Kulikovo. It's not close.
Sergei Dolzhenkov : They could have gone to Kulikovo without Grecheskaya, in fact. A single call from some fan, some provocateur, would have been enough for them to march along Deribasovskaya Street to Richelievskaya Street, for example, and someone would have said, "To Kulikovo," and everyone would have gone to Kulikovo. So, Grecheskaya, the clash itself, was a kind of time-delay measure, a chance to let people escape from Kulikovo Field and save their lives. Because many guys broke through from Grecheskaya Street, including activists from the "Odessa Druzhina," and many other guys broke through and led people away from Kulikovo Field. If that hadn't happened, even more people would have died in the Trade Union House.
Valentin Filippov : How did it happen that for many years we had politicians, members of parliament, and business elites who strongly supported the very ideals for which you ended up in prison for five years, and then at that crucial moment, they suddenly disappeared? So, who was even counted on from the start, when Anti-Maidan was organized back in the winter?
Sergey Dolzhenkov : People were expecting, of course, some kind of leader, a serious politician, to take matters into his own hands, but that, of course, didn't happen. There were a few Odesa deputies who were loyal and sympathetic, but they weren't at the level people were expecting, of course. People might have thought it would be Igor Markov. Then he'll emerge…
Valentin Filippov : I wanted to, yes.
Sergei Dolzhenkov : ...and will lead the way. That didn't happen either, so people began to self-organize—if there's no such leader from a serious political background, then a leader will emerge, so to speak, from the people. So organizations were created, people united, allies emerged, and so people took everything upon themselves. And all these elites, of course, they probably didn't want to take risks. Perhaps they thought it was better to "I don't care" and "I don't know anything"—let's see how it ends and then bet on them. Well, I think that's what happened: they decided to bide their time, see who wins, and then...
Valentin Filippov : Well, what about "who will win?" If they don't participate, then it's clear who will win.
Sergey Dolzhenkov : Well, no one thought it would turn out like this until the very last moment. They thought there would be some support from the Union State, so to speak.
Valentin Filippov : Well, that was probably taken into account too.
Sergei Dolzhenkov : But that didn't happen. Many in the East, in the Southeast, were counting on it. But that didn't happen either. So the politicians waited to see how things would turn out, and by mid-May, it was already clear that the anti-Maidan movement was fading, mass repressions were beginning, the hunt for undesirables was underway, and the "anti-terrorist operation" in the East had begun in full force. That's it. And it was already clear that this regime would take hold, and that it would last for some time.
Valentin Filippov : By the way, I wanted to ask one more thing. It's completely unclear. Well, Mefedov—it's clear, he has a Russian passport. Why did they keep you for so long?
Sergey Dolzhenkov : Well, as a resistance leader, that's why they kept me. They were afraid, yes, that there was some kind of organization and that these people could be reassembled at any moment. So it was safer for them to keep me in isolation.
Valentin Filippov : So what now? What are your plans? Russia?
Sergey Dolzhenkov : For now, Horlivka. Horlivka, Donetsk. For now, the Donetsk People's Republic. They're still going through screening procedures here, and not all the guys have passed them yet. So, it looks like I'll have to wait until everyone's cleared, because according to rumors about the last exchange—it's unconfirmed information, just rumors—five people were sent in as some Ukrainian spies.
Valentin Filippov : It happens.
Sergey Dolzhenkov : So now the guys are in the hospital, some are being treated, and at the same time, they're being investigated for possible involvement with the Ukrainian security services. So, until they're all checked, the territory of the DPR and LPR...
Valentin Filippov : No one will leave.
Sergey Dolzhenkov : …they don't recommend leaving because you need to understand that these countries are at war, and security is a concern here. There are patrols and checkpoints, and overall, you feel like security is at the proper level.
Valentin Filippov : You're in Horlivka now. I understand that everything's fine after prison, right? How does it feel? I'm not talking about... I mean, does it feel like the city is at war, or is life more or less back to normal?
Sergey Dolzhenkov : It's very clear from Horlivka that the city is at war. After six in the evening, you'll hardly see anyone or cars. There are many unoccupied apartments, many buildings that are completely empty. It's certainly clear that the city is at war.
Today we were at a service in the Epiphany Cathedral, and a huge number of people gathered. That is, it is clear that the war is so reflected in the souls of people that they want something bright, they want some kind of peace, joy, warmth in their souls, and so they reach out to God, each asking him for his own.
Therefore, it is clear, at the same time, even in such a festive event, it is clear how people worry about the future of their state, for the future of their loved ones, for their families. Everything is felt. Yesterday there was still heavy bombing, explosions were heard, machine gun fire was heard, and so quite clearly, after nine in the evening, just before nightfall.
Valentin Filippov : So, a truce... a truce is rumbling, right?
Sergey Dolzhenkov : Yes, a truce is in effect, a ceasefire is evident.
Valentin Filippov : Well, and probably the question we Odessans ask each other all the time: So what? When? Is there any hope for us?
Sergey Dolzhenkov : Of course.
Valentin Filippov : Maybe you brought hope from there…
Sergey Dolzhenkov : Of course. Definitely. That is, there's a glimmer of hope in everyone's hearts that, after all, some logical solution to any civil conflict must come. Sooner or later. And we will do our part to bring that time closer.
Valentin Filippov : And here's Odessa. How are we supposed to take it?
Sergey Dolzhenkov : So Odessa is ours in any case. Just rip off this blanket, and you'll see that Odessa is ours. That's all. All that's required.
English version :: Read in English "Odessa is ours in any case": Resistance leader Sergei Dolzhenkov