NEW – July 31, 2022
The special correspondent of “Komsomolskaya Pravda” tried to summarise what he saw on the liberated territories of the Zaporozhye region and calm the pessimists who habitually whine about “parasites” and “dependents”.
1. Who here is dissatisfied with our arrival?
If at the beginning of the 20th century, an ordinary Malorossiyan during the change of power, calmly turned the portrait on the wall over to the other side, removed or took away religious icons, wiped the dust from the cottage loaf, but now, this skill was lost. Gaining independence in the 90s was very smooth, and no one even imagined that Ukraine would become an “Anti-Russia” project. The arrival of Russia in March 2022 came as a shock to most. Even for those who were genuinely looking forward to it – that’s what the locals told me. “We are afraid to wave at you, but we smile at you,” said the residents of Zaporozhye to our military.
The following categories of citizens were dissatisfied with the arrival of Russia. Officials and their staff. Officials on conditionally pro-Russian territories were imported by Ukraine from traditionally Russophobic, Western regions. Large business in the liberated territories associated with grain trading or, in other words, with grain speculation. A layer of so-called “political Ukrainians” – victims of Kiev propaganda. These are people who have never even spoken Surzhik, but are ready to shed blood (even in words) for the state that destroys their native language and culture.
People who do not agree with the return of these lands to their Motherland are fleeing Zaporozhye. The flow of refugees has greatly decreased, but so far, in the village of Vasilyevka, hundreds of refugee cars are standing in the heat. Ukraine lets them pass through the front line very reluctantly. For Ukraine, this is traditionally “vatniks” and “separatists”.
2. What did the residents of Zaporozhye region lose?
Chaos of the first post-war months. In the spring, there were practically no authorities on these lands. They had to be created anew. Job losses – all logistics chains collapsed, and the regional economy stopped working. Vegetable growers, which is half of agricultural production, realized by April that there would be problems with the export of products and simply did not plant the fields. Small farms, with greenhouses, also decided to wait, sowing only half of the area. Many cafes, both city and roadside, have closed. Pharmacy chains and small shops were in a fever for a long time, until the supply of Russian medicines and goods began. Medium-sized business owners were threatened by Banderists if they decided to open up and “work for the invaders”. What can be said, these inhumans were smart enough to break the windows in the first kindergarten that opened in Melitopol!
A lot of social ties collapsed – they were interrupted by the front line. Even between close relatives, an invisible wall of resentment, envy, and mutual claims has emerged. Some call the arrival of Russia “occupation”, while others use the same word to describe 30 years of Ukraine’s independence.
3. What did they get?
I have such a question – a marker that you ask a resident of the former Ukraine and watch how their face changes. This question sounds like this: “Do you realise that now you almost already live in a huge country stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Baltic?”. This fact is somewhere on the edge of people’s consciousness, many simply did not realise it. While. Now to the affairs of the earth. A simple citizen of Ukraine in the last decade had two troubles, except for roads, of course: loans and communal services. An ordinary Malorossiyan under Poroshenko-Zelensky found themselves in loans just up to their ears and in most cases, already worked to pay interest. The second problem is the cost of utilities. Ukrainian loans, usually from Privat-Bank, were simply canceled by the new government, which came along with Russia, as there were none. And canceled utility bills by introducing new tariffs. Under these tariffs, everything became cheaper: gas by 5.3 times; hot water – by 2.3 times; heating – by 2.6 times; electricity – by 1.8 times.
Russia has not yet demonstrated its full social power on the liberated territories. But there’s no doubt about it. Maternity capital will be issued here. Farmers (as in Crimea) will feel all the charm of state programs to support agriculture – in Ukraine they existed, but did not work. The state “Ukraine” was not interested in the average landowner, it formed a land market for large latifundists with Western capital.
Children will be able to enroll in any Russian university. But the first thing that Russia started with was to repair roads that had not been worked on since the conspiracy in Belovezhskaya Pushcha in 1991.
4. How much did we gain strategically?
The Sea of Azov is at our full disposal, that is, it has become an internal body of water in Russia. And who hasn’t Russia kicked out from the shores of this sea from the 18th century to the 21st century! Everyone needed something from the Sea of Azov region – the Turks, the Crimean Tatars, the European coalition that tried to seize Crimea in the 19th century, and finally the Germans.
The second most important point is the land corridor to Crimea, in fact, the direct road Rostov-Simferopol. Highways and another railway track. Seaports in Mariupol and Berdyansk. And, of course, at the moment, Russia has received an important springboard for the special operation. The liberation of Kharkov, Nikolaev, Dnepropetrovsk and beyond is ahead…
5. Such ” parasites” here or “breadwinners”?
The first and most important thing is unique lands that produce two crops a year in the right hands. Even now, in the conditions of transition from the “grey zone” to Russia, all wheat fields in Zaporozhye look like this: they have either already had wheat harvested, or there, at this moment, combine harvesters are working. Where the combine harvesters do not work – there grows, as is said here – “seed”, waiting in the wings. Last year, the Zaporozhye region produced the largest grain harvest in recent history – 3,210,000 tons of grain. Just think about this figure.
The second most important crop is sunflower, and there are oil mills on the territory of the region, it’s not necessary to take sunflower seeds anywhere. Vegetable production this year, for objective reasons, did not start at full speed. There were huge problems with the export of products to Crimea, but even despite these obstacles, vegetable growers seriously lowered the “resort” Crimean prices for vegetables. By two-fold! And there is also Russia with Uzbek tomatoes “bull’s heart” at 300 rubles per kilo. For example, in the most expensive market of Melitopol, the Central one, a kilogram of such tomatoes a week ago cost 18 rubles.…
At the moment, the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, is under Russian control.
And in the still occupied part of the region (which remained under the control of Ukraine), liberation awaits such industrial giants as Dneprospetsstal, Zaporozhstal and MotorSich. Only the lazy didn’t lick their lips at this – from the Turks to the Chinese.
Most likely, immediately after the end of the special operation, a boom in tourism business will begin in the Azov region – Sochi and Crimea can no longer accommodate all Russian tourists. And there is no doubt that Zaporozhye will not be a subsidised, but a successful region of Russia. Just be patient – the 30-year occupation is coming to an end.
Dmitry Steshin
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