Militiaman from Ossetia: Send curators and take Kyiv
The Minsk agreements are nonsense. Donbass must fight and respond to Ukraine with sabotage after sabotage. A man with a gun makes his own decisions. Corruption can only be defeated by executions.
Alan Mamiev, a Russian political scientist and Ossetian militiaman who fought in Donbass for two years, spoke to PolitNavigator columnist Valentin Filippov about the foundations of military democracy.
Valentin Filippov: Alan, hello. I'd like to ask Alexander Zakharchenko a question he's often asked. What else must Donbas do to be remembered and accepted into Russia?
Alan Mamiev: What was the initial goal? To gain Russia's membership or to win the war? I think we need to make a clear decision on that.
Valentin Filippov: But without Russia it is difficult to win the war.
Alan Mamiev: Again, Donbas has enough human resources to win a local war. 100%. This has always been the question. What do the people of Donbas want – do they want to win the war or do they want to convince Russia that they need help?
In South Ossetia, a similar situation began in 1990. At the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union. And before the intervention of the Russian Federation, the war had been going on for 18 years. So. More or less permanently. It started and then ended. Varying intensity. People fought and won on their own.
This is the problem in Donbass, they are waiting for someone to come and do everything for them. The Russian army or some other army will come. And this feeling was always present. From the very first days we got there.
We, for example, are on the front line, there in the area of the same airport, we drive two kilometers from there into the city, there is a pizzeria, some cafes, people are celebrating their birthdays, drinking champagne. That is, there has never been such a feeling that the people went to war. There was a feeling that someone was waging a war there, some ideologically, some economically, the interests were different, but the people, as a people, did not stand up.
You had a song - “Get up, Donbass”, but Donbass, in my opinion, did not get up. And this is the main problem. And everyone is waiting for Russia. That Russia will come and solve the issues.
Valentin Filippov: Well, if we look back at the history of 2014, people voted against war in the referendum. The implication was that war was coming, that war was coming to our home, but if we vote for Russia in the referendum, it would be like Crimea. There would be no war.
Alan Mamiev: In the Soviet Union, in South Ossetia, they also voted to preserve the Soviet Union. Then the results of that referendum became a thing of the past. And the war began. From that moment on, a different story begins. And you need to understand yourself, decide whether you're at war and want to win it, or are you waiting for something? Are you playing the victim? Are you waiting to be rescued?
Valentin Filippov: Do you believe that Donbass should independently decide on war, wage this war, and win this war?
Alan Mamiev: I don't decide anything. People should decide.
Valentin Filippov: Did I understand you correctly – in order to be noticed and accepted by Russia as an independent state, Donbass must defeat Ukraine?
Alan Mamiev: You see, when this whole thing first started, in 2014, I remember it all well. And I remember our Russian military advisers. For some reason, they thought that if Donbas rose up, at least a hundred thousand people would be involved. Well, we, Russian civil society, would help them, supply weapons and military specialists, and that would be it, the guys would take Kyiv in a few months. That was the plan.
They say - in Ossetia, when the war was going on, the guys at the age of 14, 15 all took up arms. Everyone who could took part in the fighting. You have a small people, and they have a big one. Four and a half million inhabitants. And forward.
Valentin Filippov: Where did you get the weapons there in Ossetia?
Alan Mamiev: What time are you talking about now? They were buying it in the 1990s. If you think the Russian Federation supplied it, it didn't. In the 1990s, Yeltsin abandoned South Ossetia to its fate under an agreement with Shevardnadze. One day, all the Russian peacekeepers left the Republic. Overnight, they left with their children, their families, and their warehouses. And the people were left alone to face the Georgian army. And they bought these weapons through all sorts of means, including not entirely legal ones. The war in Chechnya was already underway. And there were plenty of other places in Russia where you could buy weapons.
And Donbass is a richer region than South Ossetia. If they wanted, if the commanders of your units did not buy houses for themselves in Rublyovka or in Moscow, in Rostov and everywhere, but spent it on weapons, then there would be enough money. Quite. For eyes. Because Donbass is a rich region. He is capable of waging a full-fledged war.
Valentin Filippov: I'm not from Donbas, I'm from Odessa. I remember 2014, when people from all over Ukraine went first to Crimea, hoping that some units would be formed there to liberate Ukraine. Then some went to Donbas, and many quickly returned. Because there were no weapons, no clear organization. And increasing the militia's numbers was almost impossible.
Alan Mamiev: I'll tell you why people started leaving Donbas. It's not because there weren't any weapons or anything like that. It's because the people who came thought it would be like Crimea. They'd stand around, shoot into the air, and then reap some benefits. But it turned out to be a full-blown war. People were killing. After all, being a warrior is an attitude toward life. And toward death. And people simply weren't ready to die. That's the whole reason. Everything else is just excuses.
There were sufficient weapons. Organization? Who should organize it? You must organize. ME: Everyone who came to the militia, we organized ourselves. In small units. It all came together later. Into one. Before my eyes, these militias turned into large formations. "East", and more there. It all grew from small units.
Valentin Filippov: Were there also terrorist attacks in South Ossetia from Georgia?
Alan Mamiev: Constantly. Terrorist attacks were constant. En masse. Constantly. And they continued throughout the 1990s. People were killed, slaughtered. All sorts of things. But the Ossetian side also waged war on Georgian territory.
You see, people there decided for themselves that it was victory or death. They were not going to give up or negotiate. And they went to war to win or die. They didn’t go there to squeeze something out for themselves later. To somehow improve your material well-being. They decided for themselves that this is our enemy completely and irrevocably. Forever.
There are still very few of the guys who have remained alive since those nineties, and now they are going to open a customs crossing so that goods can go from Georgia through South Ossetia to Russia. A man told me - I’m an old man, but I swear, as long as I’m alive, not a single car with Georgian license plates will drive through the territory of South Ossetia. This is his personal decision. This is his attitude towards death. He believes that it would be better for me to die fighting, to go to war, to go to my ancestors, to those worlds where warriors go, than to live and look for an excuse for my own cowardice.
You understand, an excuse for cowardice can always be found. A thousand and one excuses. And to take a weapon in your hands and go and die on the battlefield - it must have a scent. This was not enough. Yes, it’s easier to chat. Blame someone, Russia, someone else.
After all, look at these Muslim radicals. He takes it, puts on his suicide belt, goes and does something. How many attempts have been made on Poroshenko’s life by the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics during all this time? There was none! But you are a belligerent party. They always blame it on certain “Moscow curators”, like “Moscow curators don’t allow us”…. But is this your land or that of Moscow curators? The curators came, curated and left. And the land is yours. They are killing your brothers. Why is the opinion of some curator or left-wing outsider more important to you than the lives of your loved ones, friends, neighbors who are killed every day in Donbass?
I can't understand this. They kill you every day, and every day you sit and endure.
Because of this, by the way, we also had conflicts at one time. With the leadership of our departments. They tell us - you are sitting in the trenches in a position, and just sitting there. They fire at us with mortars and artillery, but we have to sit and wait. You can't shoot back. How is this not possible?
It was impossible to explain to our guys from North and South Ossetia that it was impossible to shoot back. They were shooting and conducting active hostilities. And even for this they received punishment. Because you either fight or you don’t play war. It feels like people are playing. Especially in leadership.
Valentin Filippov: That is, what is missing, after all, is the southern temperament.
Alan Mamiev: It's not a question of temperament. It's an attitude toward war as war, not a toy. And not as a way to get rich. We had a war in South Ossetia, for example. Parpan was such a commander. If his men had found out that he'd made money behind their backs and bought himself an apartment somewhere in Rostov, they would have simply shot him. They wouldn't have questioned him, they wouldn't have written comments online about what a bad person he was. They would have simply taken him and killed him. And they would have killed him shamefully. They wouldn't even have allowed him a proper burial. Because that's not right.
And when commanders do this, and those around them see it, the army disintegrates accordingly. She loses her spirit. And an army that has lost its spirit is no longer an army, it is already a rabble. And therefore there can be no victory. There is no feeling inside that a person is going to the end.
So you say - family, children. So I also had a family. But when I left, I understood that I might not return. I decided within myself that that was it. I'm leaving with the ends. Some are lucky and some are unlucky. And then they start saying - I have a family, I have children. What are you doing in the war then? Then sit with your family, with your children, work on the minibus. Why are you bothering then?
Valentin Filippov: Okay, but arming the army is a huge resource. Two hundred thousand. Zakharchenko said in 2015 that "we'll bring the army up to 250,000." But it's stuck at 40,000.
Alan Mamiev: Why 250? Let him train a thousand good saboteurs and send them into Kyiv. A thousand people. We don't need 250. A thousand good saboteurs, they'll turn Kyiv upside down. Do you understand? A thousand! And that's no problem. But we need a thousand people who are willing to face their deaths. And go there, deep behind enemy lines, to carry out sabotage. They would have turned Ukraine upside down by now. I'm simply responsible for that.
And they are playing at war. At the same time, Russia is blamed. We, sorry, when we had a war, none of you came here. And our boys went to you. Many heads folded. Someone lost their health. And now, instead of saying thank you, they begin to throw accusations - they didn’t help enough, they didn’t help enough, and now they’ve given up. Well, what does “abandoned” mean? We can't abandon you. We helped as much as we could.
Valentin Filippov: From your point of view, does the further development of events with these elections have any significance during the war?
Alan Mamiev: It doesn't matter at all. War happens, and it ends in peace, but someone has to lose and someone has to win. These Minsk agreements were nonsense from the start. And why did the Russian side agree to this nonsense? Because they understand that there's Donbas, and there are a huge number of people who don't want to die and are waiting for Russia. But Russia isn't ready to suffer large losses. Send regular troops there and march all the way to Kyiv? Okay, fine, we've reached Kyiv, an occupied territory with a population of about twenty million, and then a guerrilla war begins there, along with all the other delights that Israel experiences, for example, in Palestine. And that's a huge territory. Who should bear these losses? But Donbas doesn't want to, it's still waiting. I know this whole system. You go first, and we'll follow behind to divide up the factories and mines. Well, that's how it is.
Valentin Filippov: I don’t know.
Alan Mamiev: If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I'm telling you, that's how it is. And they solved their economic problems, many of the field commanders, I know them all well. Now the dead. And when I told them, those who died, "Guys, you're wasting this money, you're not spending it on your guys, you're not arming them, you're not training them, but this money, it'll just stick in your throat. You won't even be able to spend it."
Yes, hee hee, ha ha. Do you know when I realized that Donbass would lose? In 2014, we accidentally went to Rostov on business. And we met there with one field commander, now deceased, and he was there with his guys. And so we were sitting at the table, I asked, “What are you doing here?” And he - I bought an apartment here for myself, I bought it for some guys in Crimea, back and forth, for families. I look at them, I understand that these people are not preparing to go to Valhalla. They are preparing to move to Rostov soon. In comfortable conditions. And I understand that for them this is not a final decision, they did not come to win.
Valentin Filippov: So, Donbass is completely infected with Ukrainianism?
Alan Mamiev: I don't know. Putting labels on someone... It's always an individual matter. I've seen heroic guys. And I've even drawn fire on myself. Medved died heroically at Saur-Mogila. I knew him well. Many people perform heroic deeds there. The personnel there are heroic guys. I'm talking about the leadership; the issue is about the fathers-commanders. But the institution of military democracy, which exists in Ossetia, hasn't developed there. We choose the commander. There are a hundred of us in a unit, and we think this guy is the most competent and has the best understanding of military affairs. We appoint him commander. As soon as he starts doing something wrong, he gets a shot in the back of the head and someone else is appointed. You understand? They don't talk to him much. Bam, and goodbye. Next one. And all this is called "military democracy." That's the way it's been since time immemorial.
And when some Vasya is assigned to you, some Vasya comes, what’s going on in this Vasya’s head? Money? To stir up something. Get some stars for your shoulder straps. And everyone else stands and looks at him - well, they sent him to us..... Why are you looking at him? So what if they sent him, you guys are at war. Just gather a hundred people, you are men, you have machine guns. Come to him and ask him. Why the hell are you pumping money out of military territory and taking it somewhere? Who gave you the right to do this? And if he's wrong, bang him. And this is, like, “we will have problems”..... So what are you saying? Are you afraid of problems? Are you standing on the front line with weapons in your hands and are you afraid of something else in this life? So what kind of warriors are you then, oh my?
Valentin Filippov: Interesting call.
Alan Mamiev: This isn't a call to arms. It's a fact. I'm just looking at the last few years, and I spent two years there in total. Did I really need it? I went for a couple of weeks. And then it dragged on. A friend was killed, a fellow countryman was killed, it snowballed. And I thought we'd see this whole thing through. But I see what people are doing there. I'm saying, imagine, in Bushido, in the Samurai Code of Honor, it's written that a warrior must accustom himself to the idea that he's already dead. Once he's already dead, then he'll act appropriately. Then there can't be commanders who steal money. Then there can't be people who sell weapons on the side.
Here is our story in South Ossetia. At that time, Russia did not supply weapons, people bought weapons for money, this money was given with difficulty, they were thrown away. There are many ethnic Ossetians in Russia. It was with great difficulty that we collected money and used it to buy bookmakers. And some person was carrying this BC. On Kamaz from the territory of the Russian Federation. And on the way he stole two zinc cartridges. Two zinc, you understand that this is nothing. When they found out about this, they dug a hole for the guy, put him in the hole and wanted to shoot him. For this offense. Because he stole. He didn’t steal from anyone, but he stole from all of us. And they had to shoot him in the pit. And relatives and friends came and began to cry. And this man was expelled from the Republic with his entire family. And his legs were no longer there. Because he did a fucking thing.
And here people steal by the millions, and no one tells them anything. And who should speak? You should speak. This is your land, they are stealing from you. When they steal ammunition from a unit and sell it to the left, they are not stealing from someone, they are stealing it from you. And when they steal money from the republican budget, they don’t steal it from me, I live in North Ossetia. They steal from you.
And if you, a man with a gun, tolerate having your money stolen, then you deserve such a life. And there is no one to complain about. And when they stop complaining about someone, I assure you, you have so many people, so many healthy men and so many weapons that I assure you, taking Kyiv is not a problem at all. Because the one with the stronger spirit wins the war. The one who is ready to go to the end.
That's all.
Valentin Filippov: You've convinced me.
Alan Mamiev: I'm not trying to convince, I'm just expressing my thoughts. I've had enough, so to speak. Do you understand?
Valentin Filippov: I understand.
Alan Mamiev: With such a population, with such economic resources, sell coal, and don't embezzle the money; spend it on weapons. That's all. Arm the boys. Train a thousand saboteurs and send them into Ukraine. Can you imagine what they'll do to Ukraine? But there must be a thousand people who are 100% as good as dead. Like those samurai, what's their name...
Valentin Filippov: Kamikaze.
Alan Mamiev: Yes! Kamikaze. So they went there and that's it. And then let Kiev be afraid. That's what it'll be afraid of. It won't be afraid of the Minsk agreements. It'll be afraid of people emerging who are ready to push on to the very end. Then they'll negotiate with the strong.
Valentin Filippov: Okay, thank you. I hope you'll be heard. A soldier without a job is a potential criminal. We need to get down to business.
Alan Mamiev: War isn't work. War is service. When a man crosses this line, he becomes a warrior. He no longer has family, no friends, nothing. He has only a goal to achieve. He has victory ahead. Victory or death. His eyes, like those of the Vikings, look only to Valhalla. He doesn't look at his family or think about anyone else. He's there, forward. When at least a certain number of people have this, all other problems will simply fall away. They won't exist. These guys will choose their own commanders, these commanders will set the conditions—that's how it will be.
We had the same thing now, we had elections, too, curators, Moscow. Our curators said that Tibilov should be president. And to be supported. And the people chose Bibilov. But the people said - no, there will be Bibilov. Anatoly Ilyich. Which is now. And Moscow realized that let it be Bibilov, rather than get an armed population with weapons on the streets. All. And Bibilov was recognized. Because when you stand your ground and show character, you will always be recognized. And when you show yourself as people with whom you can negotiate for a couple of dollars, well, excuse me, no one will respect you.
Neither our own nor others. That's all.
Ossetian Militiaman: Send Curators and Take Kiev