“Ruslan Kotsaba, come join us, the “separatists”!”
Official Kyiv is building a policy on hatred, which will boomerang on Petro Poroshenko. He and his entourage will not have time to reach the planes. In the event of re-elections, the percentage of morons in the Verkhovna Rada will be higher and higher. Even the residents of Galicia began to understand that the Ukrainian government is the main enemy of Ukraine.
Ukrainian journalist Ruslan Kotsaba, who visited Odessa on May 2, told PolitNavigator observer Valentin Filippov about this.
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Valentin Filippov : Hello, Ruslan. A rumor has been circulating among the "Odesa separatists": despite secession from Ukraine, they want to grant Ruslan Kotsaba absolute freedom of entry at any time, across any border, with any amount of luggage, goods, anything at all. In short, a free port for one person.
Tell me, how did you manage to melt the “cotton” hearts? That your one visit to Odessa aroused such sympathy.
Ruslan Kotsaba : Well, first of all, I don't think Odessa is a particularly pro-Russian city. Or even pro-Ukrainian. Odessa has always considered itself a free port. And therefore, this separatism is more economic. The desire is for the metropolis, the center, to interfere less. To give what's due to the center, to God what is God's, and to Caesar what is Caesar's. That's how it is, sort of.
Therefore, I think that Odessa residents should not be blamed. I understand that this is humor, we are joking with you, but, nevertheless, I am sure that even then, three years ago, when the Odessa tragedy, the mass murder, happened, there were no calls “Putin, come.” There was a desire for a referendum or plebiscite. That is, ask the people, do the people want to sign the association?
Then the main thing is that no one saw this document in writing. About the association. I’ll tell you more that if I had known then, from Galicia, from Ivano-Frankivsk, that the text would spell out meager quotas for Ukraine to enter the European market, and if I had known that, flaunting this document , for four hundred million euros they want to make my Carpathians bald, that is, take out the entire forest-kuglyak, then, I think, that I would be together with those “separatists”, there, on the Kulikovo Field.
Because don’t ask the people…..
Moreover, those students to whom Mustafa Nay made an appeal on Facebook, he probably forgot, I will remind him that “take thermoses, good mood and .....”, it was calculated that these students too, no one read the agreement on association with the European Union.
Now it’s easy to say all this. But it’s hard because there’s blood. In three years we have changed the country so much that there are thousands of graves. Tens of thousands.
Probably more than three million refugees. Hundreds of thousands of wounded. And about the fact that there are millions of spiritually and morally wounded people. Part of the people who live in the industrial part of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions are called terrorists and separatists.
Valentin Filippov : Regarding separatism, I'm not the one being interviewed, but I wanted to say that using the term "separatism," especially in relation to Odessans, isn't entirely accurate. How can you call someone a separatist who wants their country to grow?
For Odessa, it has always been very valuable that the more space she has behind her, the better. That is, Odessa is the gate of the Empire, right?
Ruslan Kotsaba : Yes, I agree.
Valentin Filippov : And the fact that Ukraine entered into conflict with Russia and began to strengthen its borders with Russia means a shrinking market for Odessa. People may not even be calculating the monetary value, but psychologically, they need to have this vast space behind them.
And, by and large, what has happened in 25 years in Ukraine? This space is shrinking.
Previously, Odessa, with its cargo flows, worked for the entire Soviet Union. Moscow, Luzhniki, Cherkizon. All this went through Odessa.
Then it was reduced to the borders of Ukraine.
Now, due to what is happening, Crimea and Donbass have disappeared as markets for Odessa.
And Odessa is gradually becoming a small gate. A small gate into the barn. Instead of a gateway to the Empire. To the palace.
Ruslan Kotsaba : You're also under some illusions. If we look at the numbers, Odessa and the port are a bit different. And yet, after Illichivsk…
Valentin Filippov : When we say "Odessa," we mean the entire maritime complex. Yuzhny, Odessa, Ilyichevsk.
Ruslan Kotsaba : Odessa, with its unique entrepreneurial spirit, is a fascinating cosmopolitan conglomerate, always known for not caring who was in power. The main thing is that it doesn't interfere. They've got everything they need.
Valentin Filippov : I completely agree, but you see, for this enterprising electorate-conglomerate to have anything going on, money needs to flow into the region. Money from some general activity. Maybe even tax-free from this activity. But money does circulate, and people start their own small businesses with this money. Because, ultimately, small business is just shifting money from one pocket to another.
Ruslan Kotsaba : Look, what you're saying isn't quite telling. Because the Freeport is a way to legally evade taxes. It's essentially a free economic zone. So, if we're talking about decentralization, why can't Ivano-Frankivsk be a free economic zone?
Valentin Filippov : Maybe.
Ruslan Kotsaba : Historically, Odessans have deserved this more than other regions. They've proven it in terms of civilization. But this could drive people apart. You understand what smuggling is like right away. Here, Odessa is a free port, but in some nearby village, it's considered a district, not a city. And then there'll be a contrabass band going down the street.
Valentin Filippov : Well, of course. In Odessa, Staroportofrankivska Street was the border. The idea was: everything was imported tax-free, and nothing was exported tax-free. And the city became a platform for sorting goods back and forth.
Ruslan Kotsaba : Well, let's put it this way. You understand that right now, the presidential vertical, amid these idiotic cries of decentralization (and this is a complete distortion; we see that the vertical of presidential executive power is being strengthened), harshly says, "You failed to fulfill the tasks assigned to you by Bankova." And we suspect what those tasks are. And what amounts are involved in fulfilling them. And, in short, then they fire you. And all this is accompanied by cries of "Glory to Ukraine." And we, they say, are decentralizing.
Valentin Filippov : Well, yes.
Ruslan Kotsaba : And, in essence, we're taking even more power away from local government. That's why I think Odesa is in for a major negative fight. You see, the government takes active, vocal citizens and local executive authorities into account. Since the elite in Odesa is divided…
Valentin Filippov : As always.
Ruslan Kotsaba : Yes. And some gather at the Duke's, others at Kulikovo Field, although for normal people, death unites. All previous feuds are forgotten.
Therefore, it seems to me that if the elite is disunited, Kyiv will not take it into account.
Therefore, let's ask some other question,
Valentin Filippov : So, another question. I kept putting it off, trying to avoid something sad. About May 2nd. You came to Odessa on that tragic day, the third anniversary of the tragedy on Kulikovo Field. What's your assessment of what's happening? Have the authorities come to their senses, and have they finally stopped opposing the mourning events? Or is this all some kind of ruse? After all, relatives were taken to the police station and allowed onto Kulikovo Field, but entry was limited to 10 people.
How does it feel? Are the authorities thinking about some kind of reconciliation? Or will he continue to try to suppress this event? To forget, as if it never happened...
Ruslan Kotsaba : I think the authorities realized that by manipulating this tragedy and trying to reap political dividends from it, they had overplayed their hand. And so, everything is once again heading toward a potential explosion.
I haven't been to previous anniversaries. I was in prison. But, as a representative of Galicia, for whom it was insulting even that people were killed amid shouts, under heart-rending cries, I saw the documentary video, “Glory to Ukraine.” You see, in Western Ukraine, this motto is... Now it has become something that divides, and “Glory to Ukraine” was like a cry of greeting, for which, by the way, people also died. Ideological. And now, when the authorities have adopted this, and, in general, all this patriotism, such shared patriotism, they have taken it as a business tool. They armed themselves with patriotism and are chopping cabbage with it.
But what the legal authorities are doing with these courts! The other side of the conflict, they were preparing for the conflict. Weapons and all sorts of sharpening points and clubs, they were on both sides. There were SBU and Musorsky provocateurs on both sides of the conflict. And the fact that the authorities blame only one side and whitewash the other in every possible way shows the inadequacy of the authorities.
Another point that shows the inadequacy of the authorities is that even the local woman did not come and sprinkle ashes on her head. This is ignoring. It's like it's just a holiday. Because in Kyiv they said it was a holiday.
Kyiv also set us up. If you decommunize and don’t want protests, you announce fake bombs every 15 minutes, then why did you even make May 2 a day off? Let's make it Gardener's Day, digging potatoes.
Valentin Filippov : Well, people still come to Kulikovo Field.
Ruslan Kotsaba : Yes. And if you know it's a tragedy, why not do something about it? It would unite the nation, saying, "So and so, while the courts are sorting this out, we offer our sad condolences. Yes, it's hard for us that the courts haven't sorted it out yet." But, it was time to just throw ashes on our heads.
This power, in general, is kind of... She bases her policy not on humanism, but on hatred. Some kind of xenophobia.
Valentin Filippov : Well, yes.
Ruslan Kotsaba : That's a problem. I guarantee this government will see for themselves that the hatred they've instilled through the brainwashing media controlled by the Ministry of Social Affairs will be used against them. Most of this government won't make it to their planes in time. They'll be heading to Zhulyany or Boryspil, to the airports. They'll be heading to Hostomel (that's a backup line; Poroshenko is preparing an airfield for himself, with reinforced security there). They understand that, given the current chaos, even Azov could blockade the government district. Well, they're more motivated. And they're under the control of Avakov, the minister, who's in conflict with Poroshenko. And even financially. Besides the ideological one. Although, I think both are traitors.
But, nevertheless, I think that the power did not come (to Kulikovo Field), and that the Kyiv authorities did not even lower the flags, or, say, blow some kind of farewell whistle. To be remembered. You can’t bring people back, but remember them. Well, if we declare that we are a Christian state. Or am I missing something? Sorry, I can’t particularly criticize the authorities, since I came out of prison. And I don't want to again. And I am delicate in my assessments. I choose my words carefully. But, you understand...
Valentin Filippov : You see, they can't decide who they killed in the Trade Union Building. At first, it was thought they killed Russian special forces. Then they thought they killed bandits from Transnistria. Then there was some other theory about who they killed.
When, nevertheless, it turned out that Odessa residents were killed, and absolutely not military professions, musicians, journalists, poets, pensioners, then, after that, they began to try to hush up this topic. Because the question immediately arises: who killed and why?
Mostly, it was not militants, not even football hooligans, who were killed. The number of young guys who were able to resist, not so many died.
And those who were in power in Odessa at that time are all gone. Therefore, none of the leaders of Odessa and the region can now say “yes, I’m to blame.”
These are “paperednyks”...
Ruslan Kotsaba : Paperednyky, yes.
Valentin Filippov : And we are tired.
Ruslan Kotsaba : Having lied late.
Valentin Filippov : In Russia, they won’t understand our jokes.
Ruslan Kotsaba : Yes. Go ahead, ask something more fun.
Valentin Filippov : I can't think of anything more fun to ask. I want to ask this: Did you pay for it with two years, or what?
Ruslan Kotsaba : A year and a half. I sat there for 584 days.
Valentin Filippov : Five hundred-odd days of your own unique life. Perhaps at the most interesting point. You paid for saying, "Guys, don't go off and kill."
The result was these 500 days, and the guys still went to kill.
What should we do now? With these guys? How to convince them that this was a mistake, that it is necessary to return to peaceful life?
Ruslan Kotsaba : I think the guys themselves think a little differently than they did when they volunteered. They've all realized that this isn't an ATO at all, it's a civil war that the government has turned into a tool for enrichment. With all the looting, embezzlement, smuggling, and so on. And the arms trade. Scrap metal. You know what I mean.
I think people are seeing the light. I conducted a survey on Palm Sunday in Ivano-Frankivsk. Street blitz poll: – Who is the main enemy of Ukraine? Nine out of ten answered that the main enemy of Ukraine is the Ukrainian government itself.
This is a verdict on the authorities.
How can the authorities hope to gather their majority in Western Ukraine if there are re-elections? And they are coming so that the steam will escape. Although I doubt that there is anything better under this law.
Valentin Filippov : Yes, the best won’t work.
Ruslan Kotsaba : Yes, the percentage of idiots in parliament is growing. Even the speaker. We understand, he's a man struggling with his diagnosis. But he's had it. Since childhood. From PaLubiy. I'm not talking about his speech impediment.
It's like humiliation. He was specially put in this post in order to humiliate the highest legislative body of Ukraine. States. After the constitutional reform, when it is no longer a presidential-parliamentary republic, but a parliamentary-presidential one. Where parliament should already dictate, elect all key posts, and so on. But the president forgot about it.
Do you see how the president is? He installed this, God forgive me, prosecutor general, I don’t feel comfortable calling him prosecutor general. In the past, the brawler Lutsenko, who started a drunken fight at the Frankfurt airport. This is an interesting person. And he has good humor. He is my colleague, he was also in prison. But what is he, a general, God forgive me, prosecutor? It's somehow inconvenient. It’s not even that he has no education.
Look how they do it. They arrange godfathers.
Valentin Filippov : Well, yes.
Ruslan Kotsaba : Lutsenko left the Rada and appointed his wife to lead the faction.
Valentin Filippov : Okay, so a wife is fine. But what about mistresses? Young ones. Or security guards.
Ruslan Kotsaba : So, they're humiliating this government and those deputies who are there as extras. Biorobots. Stupid biorobots, by the way. Although, I've already been voted out. I've been stripped of my accreditation to the Verkhovna Rada. Incidentally, I was the only journalist in the entire history of Ukraine. For 25 years. Ukrainian deputies voted, banned me, revoked my accreditation.
This is mind boggling.
This is an organ that should be the most open.
Valentin Filippov : Ruslan! Think about it! The ban on you entering the Verkhovna Rada was passed at the same level as any Ukrainian law! The only thing higher is the Constitution. Next, they'll amend the Constitution with a two-thirds majority "...and not allow Kotsaba into the Verkhovna Rada."
Ruslan Kotsaba: Come on, tell me. Aren't you idiots? In every country, parliament is considered the nation's elite. Just look at Parasyuk. At Parubiy. Yes, in general.
Valentin Filippov : Yes, I watched.
Ruslan Kotsaba : Where is this elite? Groysman, Valtsman. Actually, this elite is so interesting that…
Valentin Filippov : I'm telling you. Come join us as separatists.
Ruslan Kotsaba : No. Separatism is simply division.
Valentin Filippov : No. Separation of what? Some people think separatism means separating this territory from that one, right? But let's just separate from this Verkhovna Rada.
Ruslan Kotsaba : No, but…
Valentin Filippov : Listen. We're moving the capital to Snake Island. We're building the Verkhovna Rada and the Presidential Administration there. And the president and the Verkhovna Rada are on Snake Island. And every three months, I'll fly there by helicopter to drop them off.
And what?
Ruslan Kotsaba : Oh, by the way, did they also take Snake Island from Ukraine, right?
Valentin Filippov : No. They didn't take it. They took the oil- and gas-bearing shelf next to it. But the rock itself juts out into the sea. So I'm thinking they could keep the deputies there. And drop food on them from a helicopter.
Ruslan Kotsaba : I still agree that decentralization is necessary, and the law must be respected, while calls for federalization – Ukraine is, after all, a unitary state, but if the government talks about decentralization, I think it should be supported.
Valentin Filippov : No, well, listen, why is the state suddenly unitary and yet calling for federalization is somehow considered a crime? There is a legal way. Right? I mean, I can demand federalization and even the division of Ukraine into different states. And there is a legal way. We can hold a referendum, right? Vote. Amend the Constitution. Divide the country. Right? There is a legal way.
If I call for this by armed means, not constitutional, then, yes, I am a separatist, I must be fought.
And if I call, comrades, that’s enough, let’s go to the referendum and vote already. May we all feel good.
Verkhovna Rada separately, Ukraine separately.
Two separate subjects of the world.
Ruslan Kotsaba : I'll tell you, as a statist. I'm a statist. A statist. It's unrealistic, because when Ukraine is in such deep shit, yes... But not in Europe. After all, most referendums will be for secession, and those Kyiv guys will realize they have nothing left to govern. Moreover, this is rarely mentioned, but remember September-October 1993, when the Russian parliament was shot up?
Valentin Filippov : Yes, I remember.
Ruslan Kotsaba : The Taman Division was there. Nearly 200 people were killed and nearly 500 were seriously wounded. So, situations like this could happen again. This time in Ukraine.
And you need to understand that Ukraine will not survive another “Maidan”.
English version :: Read in English "Ruslan Kotsaba, come join us, the 'separatists'!"