Translated by Nikita Che
18:28:19
21/11/2016
By Pavel Klimov
Today is not just another humdrum Monday in Ukraine – it is one of the essential state holidays – “Dignity and Freedom day”. Two most black days of independent Ukraine’s history that gave birth to the “Orange Revolution” and “Euromaidan” have united in one in order to sweeten the pill of misery with a dash of “dignity”. So what are the Ukrainians supposed to celebrate this chilly autumn day?
“One day it’s the ringing of the bells and the casting down of the evil tyrant, and the next it’s everybody sitting around complaining that ever since the tyrant was overthrown no-one’s been taking out the trash,” a deceased classic wrote once, without having thought that these words will ultimately fit the humdrum Ukraine reality.
But everything happened exactly in this way, starting with a short lapse of euphoria when “air of freedom” besotted violent “revolutionaries”. Then came a painful insight, that the freedom was something like a Tic-Tac candy, freshness in 2 calories. It could be good after a rich lunch, but not instead of it. Though it also was taken away soon.
Now there are two sorts of Ukrainians who are ready to enjoy the 3rd anniversary of Maidan – all the beneficiaries (from the President to paid bloggers) of the most huge and bloody Ukrainian escapade, and diverse lunatics.
All the others are sobering bit by bit and are looking at the unfolding reality around them with dazed eyes. Having enjoyed “coffee and good mood” *, they have made such a mess that for half a hundred years they have not cleaned up this muddle. The most pessimistic predictions said by opponents of the “revolution” in November 2013 have indeed come true.
It should be clear that no revolution, despite what the current Ukrainian politician declares, happened. The politician thimblerig resulted in replacing one oligarchic clan with another one at the budget trough. The format of the state remained the same. Moreover, if the previous version of the oligarch setup attempted to look like democrats, the new one clearly smells like a “banana” dictatorship.
Tightening the screws has, mainly, assisted in inflaming the civil war in Donbass, unleashed by Kiev’s rulers on purpose to solve some issues: the first – to sweep the crowd of “revolutionaries” away, who intended to “control the power”, out of downtown Kiev. These ones were either successfully grinded in Ilovaysk, Debaltsevo, and other cauldrons, or named, with aid of the sold-out MSM outlets, as “alcoholics” and “trash”.
The second – the war freed politicians’ hands, allowing them to make a true police state. The third – the massacre in Donbass turned out as an effective distracting manoeuvre to loot their own people without any risk.
As of now, the loss of a great part of the territories, in the form of Crimea and Donbass not recognizing the coup, is disguised by the authorities with the myth of “Russian aggression”. Though there are fewer numbers of those who still believe this fable (because of the fact that Poroshenko leads a successful business in Russia’s Lipetsk, too), there is a real threat of new losses of territory.
It concerns, of course, the country’s West. For example, Poland is casting an interested glance at previously lost areas. Now, due to the “wise” Ukraine government’s decisions, some “European partners” got a chance to take the areas back. The first real actions for restitution have already been done.
Most likely, residents of West Ukraine would be only glad about it. Immigration from the country is highly increasing indeed. Queues on the Polish border are really huge, resembling those seen at the checkpoints in the so-called ATO zone.
One shouldn’t be surprised, given all the other fruits of the coup. The national currency is dropping, enterprises, being unable to do their business under new circumstances, are shutting down, and millions are losing their jobs. The loss of the Russian market played a vital role, yet European countries didn’t open their markets for Ukrainian producers.
Meanwhile, whilst Ukrainians were savvy on how not to die of hunger in conditions of “freedom and democracy”, food prices and utility fees started to grow rapidly. Today, one could pay bills for heating, for example, at 1,500 hryvnas, which is an incredibly high cost. And one couldn’t avoid paying bills, as it had been sort of allowed during the previous “criminal regime”. According to new lows, debtors will merely lose their apartments (which they had received from another, Soviet-era, “criminal regime”.)
Despite this, officials and politicians, due to this “democracy”, had unprecedented chances to report to the poverty-stricken people, honestly and openly, that they have financial gains in last three post-“revolution” years.
For example, Sergey Pashinsky, who is remembered by the fact that he rode out in an unknown direction a man with a sniper rifle right after the Maidan massacre, noted in his declaration two business-class cars, a boat valued at some UAH 1,000,000, and a pile of expensive watches, together with his wife he possess some millions of Hryvnia in cash in different currencies, as well as a modest house of 1000 m2.
One could endlessly list Pashinsky’s “gains”, as well as those of others Maidan leaders, who “succeeded”. The ongoing political scandal on declarations awakened many eyes to real aims of the “revolutionaries”. The scandal with e-declarations, which opened many’s eyes to the true motives of the “revolutionaries”, has continued unabated to this day. Over a hundred protesters and police were killed during Maidan riots, the criminal investigation is not conducted yet. And probably never will be.
And the country paid an enormous cost for the richness of Ukrainian officials. According to just official data, the number of forced migrants because of the civil war is close to two million. The data on the deceased, those gone missing, and immigrating individuals will be available only after the next Ukraine population census. According to the plan, it was supposed to happen a long time ago, however, the government is clearly afraid of the results. Already somehow they have to arrange the visa-free regime, which never happened, to explain it. How then to tell people about how quickly this visa-free regime ended before it began!
Devastation, poverty, exorbitant levels of crime and civil war, the end of which is not visible, it is what Ukrainians are celebrating today. Officially, in different cities of the country, nearly four hundred mass events are planned, which will be overseen by 18,000 police officers. After all, the “shake-up“ plan has not been canceled yet by anyone. Freedom has never been so “free”.
The only thing that remains to be done is to congratulate Ukrainians on this wonderful feast of decomposition and degradation. We hope that “coffee and good mood” was worth millions of taken away and destroyed human lives. It’s only the beginning.
*The immediate igniter of Maidan, Mystafa Nayem, called people to join the event, asking them to bring their “friends, coffee, and good mood”.
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