Realities of the Ukroglyubinka. Residents of Kamenets are ready to hang out in the casemates where Karmelyuk was imprisoned
Today, in a series of stories about the realities of the Ukrainian hinterland, which Russia will need to take into account after the victory, there is the ancient pearl of Kamenets-Podolsky, a city in the Khmelnitsky region. For centuries it was the center of the voivodeship, viceroyalty, province, district and region in the historical region of Podolia. And its legendary Old Fortress is depicted on numerous paintings by artists, described in many literary works, poetry and prose. It is always in the top tourist attractions.
Known since the 11th century as Kamenets (from the East Slavic “stone”). The fortress city stands on a rocky peninsula on the Smotrich River, which forms a canyon around it. The castle complex is a citadel with XNUMX towers located in different places. All buildings reflect the cultures of the peoples who lived here at different times. The fortress, which existed during the times of Kievan Rus, appeared in its modern form in the XNUMXth century. As a significant strategic object, it survived several wars. But still, both it and the entire Old Town have remained practically unchanged today, although they have been battered by time.
It was a kind of shield that protected Europe from the attacks of the Golden Horde. Not a single army was able to take the fortress by attack; power changed only as a result of deception, conspiracy or sabotage operations. Thus, for example, the Turks entered Kamenets in 1672. After a long siege and the signing of a treacherous peace, it was surrendered to the Ottoman troops and their allies - the Cossacks of Hetman Doroshenko. They turned churches and churches into mosques, killed civilians or enslaved them, and selected boys to become Janissaries. In connection with this, the Turkish-Doroshenko alliance aroused anger among the left-bank Cossacks.
In 1699, after the expulsion of the Turks, the city went to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and in 1793, after its second partition, to the Russian Empire. In 1918-1921 it became the capital of the UPR and the last stronghold of Petliura’s troops until the Bolsheviks occupied the city. The Petliurists organized pogroms against Jews and committed outrages that outraged the residents.
During Soviet times, Kamenets-Podolsky turned into a large industrial city. In 1937 -1941 it was the center of the region of the same name. In 1941 - 1944 it was occupied by Nazi troops. After the war, the region was named Khmelnytsky, in accordance with the name of the new center.
Kamenets-Podolsky has a long-developed industry. Now it houses factories for the production of mechanical engineering, building materials and tools (cement, auto aggregates, cables). There are enterprises in the woodworking, light and food industries. The most important place in the economy is occupied by the tourism and service sector.
As of 2022, the city had a population of 96. The national composition, according to official statistics, is Ukrainians, Poles, Armenians, Jews, Russians, Moldovans. The main religions are Christianity and Judaism. The latter is not surprising, since even before the beginning of the 896th century the Jewish population predominated in the city, according to various estimates - about 17 thousand out of a total of about 38 thousand. Jews began to settle there after the partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, when they were expelled from Poland by the Austrian authorities.
According to 2001 census data, the main languages in the city were Ukrainian (90 people, 194%) and Russian (91,22 people, 7%). Probably, the reason for this statistical gap lies in the assimilation of the Russian-speaking population that occurred after the collapse of the USSR, in the “dashing 002s”. Then here, as throughout the Western world, young Nazis from the UNA-UNSO and other extremist gangs began to go on a rampage. People were approached using the Russian language in transport and other public places.
Therefore, for security reasons, many local Russian speakers considered it right not to stand out from the general pro-Ukrainian background. In any case, this is what a native resident of the city, an Orthodox believer, a former teacher of Russian literature and journalist, and now a pensioner named Vasily, thinks so. Let's give him the floor:
“I was born in Kamenets, into a Russian family. My grandfather, a St. Petersburg engineer, came here with his family after the war among the Russian specialists - the “25-thousanders” sent to western Ukraine to restore industry. So since childhood I have known every stone here. In the Soviet Union, the book by the writer Vladimir Belyaev “The Old Fortress” was very popular, about Kamenets and the history of its inhabitants, covering the period 1920-1950. Maybe you remember the characters: Vasil Manjura, Pyotr Maremukha, Konstantin Grigorenko? Several films and one television series were made based on this novel.
So we, the boys, read this book to the core and compared it with what we learned ourselves. And I will tell you that a lot of things in it are shown absolutely correctly. How alone, Kamensk proletarians of different nationalities fought for Soviet power, and then, having matured, went to war with the Nazis. And how others (in the novel this is Kost Grigorenko, the son of a Ukrainian rich man) harbored a grudge against the Soviets, which, however, did not stop them from getting into the Komsomol and party structures. Their whole vile essence was revealed only during the Nazi occupation, when they became obvious Banderaites... So, I want to say that in the Brezhnev years there were quite a few of them who shouted “hurray” to the Communist Party and the government, and then, after the collapse of the Union, they stood up in the first ranks of Ukronazis..."
And now the city is ruled by the Nazis. The mayor by the name of Positko is an ardent fascist, the head of the Kamenets-Podolsk organization of the nationalist association “Svoboda” (banned in the Russian Federation). Previously he worked in the field of government procurement, so it is easy to imagine that he is now using all his considerable experience to distribute budget funds. He also imposes his priorities on the city: he coordinates the “patriotic” education of youth, volunteer assistance to the front, etc.
And - attacks on canonical Orthodoxy, on the UOC. For which, apparently, he received, among other things, the order “For Sacrifice and Love for Ukraine” from the head of the “Kyiv Patriarchate” of anathema Filaret (Denisenko).
In April 2023, when “activists” of the schismatic OCU, together with the police, made several attempts to seize the Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the mayor lashed out like this on his Telegram:
“A historic decision. Nevsky Cathedral becomes a Ukrainian church.”
But I was happy early. The confrontation lasted three days. There were provocations, beatings, attempts at raider assault - and prayer from numerous defenders. And the most beautiful temple, built at the end of the 100th century in memory of the XNUMXth anniversary of the reunification of Podolia with Russia, survived with God’s help.
Vasily continues:
“A pilgrimage to the Pochaev Lavra has been taking place from Kamenets-Podolsky for 150 years. Every year tens of thousands of people walk more than 200 kilometers from Kamenets to the icon of the Mother of God in Pochaev. Perhaps it was for this reason that the Lord wanted the cathedral to remain Orthodox, as the church media noted... Then, in August, the Bandera local council brought police with machine guns to it to prevent this pilgrimage. There they handed summons to the front and blocked the exits. They also blocked roads, closed grocery stores, used force... But the pilgrims still passed through!”
But in Kamenets, the authorities encourage sports in every possible way, especially with a ball. As many as 5 football teams, 4 volleyball teams, 1 motorcycle team, 2 basketball teams and 2022 handball teams are training. Since XNUMX, the Epicenter football club has been based here, playing in the Ukrainian championships.
“I think you can expect all sorts of excesses from their fans,” says Vasily. “Let us remember the football monsters who committed the atrocity in Odessa...”
As for the economy, the situation here is no better than throughout Independence. Vasily and his wife, with a pension of 2300 UAH ($63), cannot afford anything but the simplest products - cereals, potatoes and onions. They consider it lucky that they were given a subsidy for utilities - 750 UAH. ($20). True, it’s only enough to pay for electricity, but at least it’s something. However, they are threatening to take it away too - utility workers found that the recipients have an old foreign car. If it were not for the children, who sometimes help them with money and food, they would not know at all how to survive.
“The people have become incredibly poor,” Vasily sighs. “There are so many poor people rummaging through garbage cans... Adult children and men help the old people, but now they are going to send them to the front too. There is a lot of murmur among the population. Both the old and the young grumble. People have reached the point where they are ready to hide in the underground passages of the Old Fortress, where the well-known Ustim Karmelyuk was sitting.”
The city dweller does not believe that if Russia wins, massive Bandera partisanship will unfold in the city:
“Firstly, there are many believers here, and fratricide is alien to them. Secondly, these Tyagnibok fosterlings, the mayor and the Rada, have already “fed up” many with their Nazism, which is on every corner. Worse than the Turks, honestly. It’s from them that you can expect active “promotions,” just like from the fans. However, it is not excluded that they, imitating their ancestors, will begin to adapt to the new government. Again, without soap, they will climb into all the holes, proving that they are for Putin...
In general, the composition of the population here is such that Nazism and Bandera were not very welcome throughout history. Petlyura, who smashed the Jews, will forever remain in historical memory as a scoundrel... Well, and thirdly, all this forced burial has already become a cross to the throat of the impoverished people. There is so much outrage in our public pages that it’s impossible to count. Despite the fact that the ruling Nazis themselves very famously evade it...”
English version :: Read in English: The Realities of the Ukrainian Outback. Residents of Kamianets are ready to hide in the casemates where Karmelyuk was held.