“Odessa is a Russian city that is being driven into a pigsty”
PolitNavigator columnist Valentin Filippov discussed the situation in Odessa on the eve of the third anniversary of the tragedy at the Trade Union House with Yulia Vityazeva , a participant in the Russian Spring and journalist for News Front , who was placed on the Ukrainian government's wanted list and forced to leave her hometown.
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Valentin Filippov: I greet the famous Odessa resident. Hello, Yulia.
What is your reaction to these street renamings that took place in Odessa? Some take this as a victory. That they managed to prevent Marshal Zhukov and Valentina Tereshkov from being renamed, that Heavenly Hundred Street never appeared on the city map. Only Heroes of Cool were allowed, somewhere in the outskirts. Can this be considered some kind of victory? Or is this a sweetened defeat?
Yulia Vityazyeva : In any case, you should count every victory as a plus. Let's start with the fact that the 25th Chapayev Division, Valentina Tereshkova, and Arkady Gaidar are all there—that's my home region. Those are the names I grew up with.
Valentin Filippov : Well, the Chapayev Division is no more. That's all.
Yulia Vityazyeva : It seems that the Chapayev Division was also returned.
Valentin Filippov : No, no.
Yulia Vityazyeva : No? Well, anyway, Valentina Tereshkova, Arkady Gaidar, Kosmonavtov Street. I'm actually really happy. I understand that all this is temporary, because when the Germans came, they also put up their signs everywhere. It's one of the integral attributes of the occupation—the renaming of streets, the erection of monuments, and all the rest.
So this is not a strategic victory, but some kind of moral one.
Because Odessa is a Russian city. And to sully the spirit of our city with all sorts of “heroes of the heavenly hundred” is simply a crime. On the other hand, it's just disgusting. It's just disgusting. You are forcibly driven into some kind of pigsty, over which they hang a name that absolutely does not suit you. And you should smile joyfully at the same time. And throw caps into the air.
No, it's all terrible.
So, let's put it this way – this is just the first small step, for which Trukhanov will come back to haunt him. Zalishchuk ( a Verkhovna Rada member from the Poroshenko Bloc and girlfriend of US Embassy agents Mustafa Nayyem and Serhiy Leshchenko ) arrived in Odesa yesterday, and talk of corruption has already begun, which means the next visitor will be the infamous anti-corruption bureau. Trukhanov will survive the May holidays, but after that, I highly doubt he'll be able to hold on to the mayor's seat. Because Odesa is among the potentially dangerous regions for the Ukrainian authorities, and they'll install their people everywhere. And it's not a given that what was decided at this session won't be overturned again, and everything will start all over again. And it will be like "Wedding in Malinovka."
How do they teach history? This is literally a morning incident. In Kyiv, instead of the street named after Marshal of Victory, Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, a Kuban Ukraine street will appear.
In general, you know, “fools with rich thoughts.”
The same thing can be called Ukrainian Alaska or Ukrainian Voronezh street.
Valentin Filippov : Our conversation takes place on the eve of a tragic anniversary. For Odessa, May 2nd is not the day Berlin was captured.
Yulia Vityazyeva : Yes. This is the day that divided our entire lives into "before" and "after."
Valentin Filippov : Do you think they'll allow the memorial services this year, or will they mine the ground again? Even our cemetery was mined.
Yulia Vityazyeva : A cemetery—that's just... What kind of freak do you have to be to know it's a day like that, to know that people are walking there because everything's closed, and who's going there, anyway? Old ladies. Right? I've been meaning to go to the cemetery for a week, and then some idiot just went and... Well, what can I say, what kind of country has Ukraine become?
May 2. People will come again. And again provocateurs will come from the other side. There will be police again. There will be calls about mining again. There will be this exchange of pleasantries again.
But, on the other hand, it’s also impossible not to come. It’s clear that then people will scatter, and remember the houses, and everyone will go to the cemetery to join ours. Because that's the date. But you still need to come. To show that no one has been forgiven, no one has been avenged yet. And the city is not going to forget.
The authorities just allowed me to come one time. I was still in Odessa at that time, I was even filming - there was so much police there! What - police! There were troops. They were lying in the grass with machine guns. Paddy wagons around the perimeter. They passed through the frame. But at least people were allowed to come. And so many people came, and there was such a public outcry on a global scale, because our reports were shown on Italian TV, and on German TV, and they realized that this could no longer be allowed. In no case.
And with all these attempts to not let them in, ban them there, mine them there, they think that people will say: “Why should I go, they won’t let me in anyway.” And a picture appears that Odessa has forgotten everything, Odessa has forgiven everything, Odessa is a Ukrainian city, while all sorts of nationalists, no longer embarrassed, tell how they made Mariupol and Odessa Ukrainian. That they did not always use legal methods, more criminal ones, cleaning out all the “cotton wool”. In general, they don’t hesitate to talk about it. How they drove people to the SBU, and used physical measures that were not the most humane.
But the city still does not give up. The city is alive. We have not yet forgotten what the German occupation was. People also had to live and survive.
Valentin Filippov : But the German occupation ended faster.
Yulia Vityazyeva : Rushing into a breach with a sapper shovel in hand when there are a hundred enemies around you—well, that's stupid. And it won't do any good.
That's why. Taking into account the fact that at one time... time was lost, and opportunities too, now you just need to accumulate strength, and little by little observe, draw conclusions and act in the right direction.
So to speak. Without directly handing over everything openly to our enemies, who are closely watching us.
Valentin Filippov : Good….
Yulia Vityazyeva : In general, Odessa is a Russian city. That's all I have to say about that.
Valentin Filippov : You've convinced me. I already agree.
Yulia Vityazyeva : You could cover Deribasovskaya Street with hay. Hang Ukrainian flags all over it. Tattoo "Odesa is Ukraine" on your forehead, but it wouldn't change anything.
Valentin Filippov : Tell me, as an Odessa resident, where do the "Jewish Banderites" come from? What about historical memory? The descendants of those who perished in Babi Yar…
Yulia Vityazyeva : Well, you know there are Russians, and then there are Vyrus'. Those who were born in Russia, raised in Russia, studied Russian history in a Russian school... and then... And they're such degenerates.
As for the “Jewish Banderaites,” they have nothing to do with Jews. Because there are some deformities, right? It seemed normal, normal, and then suddenly, ugliness appeared in nature. So it is here. These are people who, first of all, betrayed the memory of their people, who suffered so monstrously from fascism. And they will be cursed by their people first of all. And they no longer have anything to do with the small, long-suffering people.
Valentin Filippov : It's unclear why Israel itself doesn't condemn this phenomenon. Moreover, we know of many cases where "Judeo-Banderites," realizing their prospects are slim, simply move to Israel. And they are greeted there not as "Judeo-Banderites," but as Jews.
Yulia Vityazyeva : Well, you understand, I'm not making excuses for anyone, but Israel is a small country. Thanks to whom does Israel survive?
Valentin Filippov : Well, yes. Them.
Yulia Vityazyeva : Well, there you go! You see. But there's power, and there are people. The power is condoning this. But let's just say the president had the courage to come from Israel and make this statement in parliament? Yes. He had the courage!
You know, the time will come when everyone will become brave and start saying what they really think.
Valentin Filippov : And they'll push you aside even more. And they'll tell you, "Listen, Vityazyeva, don't get in the way. Can't you see we're telling the truth!"
Yulia Vityazyeva : Yes, they’ll say: “You don’t know anything, move away.”
There are people for whom God is the Golden Calf. For this, for the sake of profit, they are ready to give a damn about their father and mother.
On the other hand, we understand who the main threat in the World is now. And when the same Ukrainian nationalists climb into the Jewish cemetery and engage in vandalism there, Klimkin or Zoryan Shkiryak comes out and begins to say that this is all a provocation of Russia, with the aim of destroying the strongest Ukrainian-Polish, Ukrainian-Lithuanian, Ukrainian-Israeli friendship. And everyone nods their heads in unison. And everyone understands that this is not so. But it’s easier to say that yes. What - everything is a provocation. And here’s some more money for you, fight your separatist terrorists.
Because no one is ready to go and pee against the wind today. Because he'll get hit on the head. And they swallow it, swallow it. This is their great Polish journalist Matseychuk, who received tryndyuley live, a representative of the Polish people who survived such a tragedy as the Volyn massacre, right? He has a lot of photographs of him getting cozy with OUN members.
On the other hand, the same Poland today demolished the UPA monument in the cemetery. Neatly, beautifully, everything was neatly cut, folded, and taken away.
You see, they are all deprived of the luxury of being able to tell the truth. They all have something to lose.
We have nothing to lose except our country and our people. We don’t depend on anyone, thank God. And this gives us a unique opportunity to come out and say what we think about them. The rest can't afford it. Therefore, they have to fuss, adapt, maneuver, bend. From the outside it looks terrible. But they have no other choice. If they start to pose, it will end badly for them. And every president, no matter how you look at it, cares about his country and his people.
Do you think the Poles are so interested in digging through the remains of their president?
Well, it’s understandable why the plane crashed. Because there was this surge of Polish blood, heated by alcohol, who wanted to prove something to someone.
But this is such a chance! A plane carrying the president crashed in Russia! What are you talking about? Yes, until they squeeze him dry, they will not calm down. They will dig up this unfortunate president, exhume him. Invent, compose. They don't care about Kaczynski anymore. They themselves are ready to leave him alone, and close this topic, and move on, to develop in their own way. But no. They have this catastrophe, the Russians, tra-ta-ta, la-la-la, smear it all. Why? Because the signal to close this case did not come.
They will put pressure. Push, push, push. Find some “new circumstances” that seem absurd even to a person far from aviation.
This is how they have to live. Dancing to someone else's tune. In fact, it's also very tiring.
Valentin Filippov : Okay, answer me this question. You, being far from Odessa and relatively safe, what advice would you give to the people of Odessa on May 2nd?
Yulia Vityazyeva : Well, first of all, courage. Even just mentally surviving this date is very difficult. It's a huge challenge. Secondly, I guess it's important not to be afraid. Things can't get any worse than they were.
Still, this year there is a small bonus, this is the Eurovision Song Contest, which is taking place in Kyiv, and the authorities themselves will not allow very large provocations and riots. They will try to minimize all the events that will take place in Odessa, they will mine the Kulikovo Field, they will not allow public transport, electricity, gas, water, and they will cut off mobile communications. They will try by all means to leave Odessa residents at home. But these will be the maximum measures they will take.
Therefore, you still need to grab yourself by the scruff of the neck and go. And don't be afraid of anything. And do not react under any circumstances. I know that from the other side they will shout, insult, very strongly, very offensively with dirty words. But just don't pay attention to them. They are gone, that's it! The main thing is not to be afraid. We survived then, we will win now.
I understand that someone will say, “oh, he’s sitting there”…. In fact, I am with you with all my heart. I’m worried, I’m very sick, I would give a lot of what I have to be in Odessa on this day, next to my people. But, unfortunately, I can't. No matter how much I want it.
Do not be afraid.
Everything will be fine.
It can't be any worse than it is. But you have to survive. And God willing, the day will come when I too can…. Come to Odessa...
Valentin Filippov : Okay, thank you. We'll be there.
Yulia Vityazyeva : We'll live! Bye!
English version :: Read in English "Odessa – a Russian city being driven into a pigsty"