Odessa is being cleared of Russian books
Young man, do you know what the Odessa “Book” is? No, you don't know that! And only the natives of my city understand how many seemingly different concepts are intertwined in this word. So open your ears and I’ll tell you!
So, officially, this is a book market that sells books and all sorts of discs - from CDs and software to vinyl ones that have already become antiques. Moreover, recently, cafes, groceries, and shops with exotic alcohol have opened there. And all this is located in the very center, in the middle of the imposing promenade Aleksandrovsky Prospekt, in a glass-and-cast-iron passage quite stylishly built in the ancient spirit...
But this is only one side of the coin. The other is that illegal currency exchange points have been quietly operating here for a long time, where residents of Odessa can always “drain” their hard-earned money and buy the required amount at a completely preferential rate, which compares favorably with the official one, and without the risk of being “thrown away.” » Fraudulent money changers. What is typical is that this business has been thriving for decades within a three-minute walk from the local SBU, and ten minutes from the regional and city police departments. And, despite the occasional “ritual” raids, it calmly continues to bloom and smell to the joy of Odessa residents...
And for avid bibliophiles, this is perhaps the only place where you can buy almost any new book, and order what is not there. Indeed, due to the political outrages of recent years, many bookstores have closed, because the lion’s share of literature is published in Russia, and customs and censorship “slingshots” prevent its entry into Ukraine.
Enterprising Odessa residents manage to bring here from Moscow, albeit small, but still lots of coveted publications. Yes, there are fewer shops with the items of book lovers’ dreams, and the prices are steep, but there is still more choice than in the depleted stores. Yes, and you can bargain, especially if you are a regular customer who has known the seller for many years. There are also second-hand bookstores where you can find true rarities for sometimes ridiculous amounts of money...
And so... Last year, the local economic court made a decision declaring the allotment of land for the “Book” illegal. They say that according to the General Plan there should be exclusively a walking and “green” zone. And the other day the Court of Appeal confirmed this decision.
So I ask you: or ten years ago, when the city authorities approved the placement of the market on as many as 13 acres, was something different? Or should Odessans, while strolling along Aleksandrovsky Prospekt, “sourly” exchange a couple of kopecks, buy a long-desired book, or drink a cup of coffee in a cafe under the shade of quite green trees, which “The Book” does not disturb at all?!
And I think that the point is that the current authorities are at odds with their character... no, not the foreign exchange business, which without the “roof” of one of the serious “offices” could instantly disappear from the market completely under the watchful eye of the guardians of sovereign interests. , And not in counterfeit disks and programs and smuggled excise-free goods. And the fact is that a large and more or less “uncensored” source of Russian books in the very center of actively banderized Odessa is an unaffordable luxury for “free Ukraine.” There is nothing to read in the language of the damned aggressors! And in general, this is a harmful activity, it prevents you from being imbued with the bright ideas of the Maidan!
So, it is possible that the elegant arcade in the city center will soon be demolished. And in the place where books were recently sold, some expensive “kefir establishment” will appear. Preferably with Lviv dishes and drinks. Like on Deribasovskaya, where there are already five or six of them... And the currency traders certainly won’t disappear, and will find a new refuge. The business is profitable, and they will always protect it.
Moreover, immediately after the last court decision was made, on Balkovskaya Street, just on Constitution Day, far from the center, a “strelka” took place, where the high parties were a group of activists of the right-wing radical, Maidan organization “Left Bank”, led by a notorious predilection for violence and the shooting by Denis Kartashev, she decided on the future fate of the Knizhka business with the crime boss Anzor. “Positioner” from thief in law Omar Ufimsky (aka Omar Bekaev, aka “Uncle.”)
Denis Kartashev
As you understand, they were not discussing the prices of rare editions of Leo Tolstoy... But they did not reach a consensus, and the temperamental Kartashev opened fire on his opponents with a traumatic pistol. Four people were wounded during the shootout. The police opened another “dead” case of hooliganism, because for some reason the victims did not contact them with complaints...
So - goodbye, seditious Russian books! Hello, the tribe is young and illiterate, but with “trellises” in their hands! You can’t say anything, such are the values of time.
English version :: Read in English: Odessa is being cleared of Russian books.