Ukrainians tend to get their stereotypes about the "DPR"
primarily from distorted media reports and have not been to Donetsk or other
currently "republican" cities since they were seized. Some had a
little experience of life in "Novorossia" and left, still believing
that nothing has changed there since summer 2014.
One such
myth is about a certain collective "they" (as in "What do they want
over there in their DPR?" or "When are theyfinally going to
settle down?"). Those who stick to this stereotype generally believe that
there is a certain mass of people united by the desire to destroy Ukraine, and
that these people are concentrated in the "DPR". However,
"they" do not exist. Instead, the following groups do:
1. People
who guard separatist checkpoints because they get a wage for it. They do not
risk their lives and get bonus money in bribes from the huge flow of cars.
2. Those who
fled from or quit the "people's militia" and returned to their
familiar social fringe consisting of alcohol and drugs, and odd jobs
3. An
extremely small number of idea-driven fighters who started out with Igor
Strelkov in Sloviansk and still believe in a "country from Odesa to
Kharkiv". One of their key characteristics is the inability to do anything
except wage war. This keeps them in their militia barracks despite the complete
dissatisfaction with everything in the "new republics".
4. Finally,
the absolutely cynical and pragmatic leadership, who do not care about all of
the above and have misappropriated everything they possibly could, taken
control of all cash flows and follow any instructions from Moscow to the
letter. This is more like a kind of the "republican middle class"
that is no more interested in war than an ordinary resident of any town in
Ukraine, because it has already given them its main rewards in the form of
stolen villas and fancy cars. The continuation of active war would only subject
these people to unnecessary risks once again.
I have said
nothing about the bulk of the "people's militia" – mostly traditional
salaried labourers who show no more initiative than builders constructing a
house do. Living hand-to-mouth, these people resorted to voluntary military
service. Most of them openly say that they could not care less about Odesa and
Kharkiv, while the perspective of many does not even reach the coast and
Mariupol.
The second
stereotype is that “everyone has left the republics", meaning that people
with patriotic pro-Ukrainian views have supposedly completely abandoned their
cities. This is especially annoying to hear and hurts for two reasons: firstly,
because it is not true, and secondly because this view is often voiced by
journalists who actually left Donetsk themselves. In percentage terms, I think
at least a quarter of the "stragglers" are loyal to the Ukrainian
authorities. Following recent "failures of the republic" on elections
and gas, the number of people dissatisfied with the "DPR" has grown
noticeably, even compared to this summer.
This
stereotype often leads straight into the next one: if there is "no one
left" there anymore, we should cut absolutely all ties with the
"republic", then the food, energy and transport standstill will
supposedly ensure victory in the war and "they will beg to come
back". They will not. The "DPR" has switched to the Russian
market for 99% of its supplies – Donetsk imports not only must-have goods, but
also salmon, squid, shrimp, caviar, expensive champagne and wine. The same goes
for the non-food sphere, although the prices really hit hard. Roughly the same
processes are occurring now in the car gas sector to re-orientate towards
Russian suppliers. And anyone can easily get into Ukraine through Russia to
avoid checkpoints.
Another
issue is safety. Many in Ukraine believe that the 1930s have come to Donetsk
and that people are all but grabbed on the streets to be thrown in the cells.
There is some truth to this, but only in the sense that there is de facto no
legal system in the "DPR" and that the level of one's innocence is
measured by the presence or absence of a machine gun on one's chest. One can be
arrested for a suspicious glance towards "commanders" or locked in a
basement on suspicions of espionage, while overt displays of anything Ukrainian
(flag, colors, national symbols, etc.) are indeed subject to strict
prosecution. But all Donetsk residents know this very well, so you will not
find any blue and yellow flags there and will only see rare passers-by next to
the "DPR's" Ministry of State Security and Commandant's Office. In
conversation (even with friends), you will feel an unusual restraint and
coolness due to mutual distrust and the fear that someone could turn you in. So
there is no total repression there – no one walks around blocks of flats at
night shouting "Open up, NKVD!" and so on. The only existing legal
reality here is military dictatorship.
Finally, a
few words about Donetsk – only because I recently happened to see a rather
unpleasant documentary about the city on Ukrainian TV channels, where several
black-and-white shots of the empty city, filmed last year, were shown on a
loop. Propaganda, of course, is an important thing, and it is hard to argue
with the fact that showing the "republics" in a good light would only
hurt us. But the geographical truth is as follows (Donetsk residents will
understand the reference points): if you connect the railway station, Motel Bus
Station and Southern Bus Station with a straight line, you get a tidy and
sparking clean triangle of open cafes, theatres, retail chains, several
restaurants and nightclubs. Further is the normal city that Donetsk was before
this war. The closer you get to the outskirts, the more often you find ruined
roads and buildings destroyed by shelling. There are only scattered patches,
such as the district Oktiabrskiy, with almost no signs of life.
The
population of "republican" Donetsk is many times smaller than before.
You are constantly on edge there because of machine-gun fire and explosions
that can sometimes be heard. There is absolutely no legal system or security
guarantees. But those who claim that the city has turned into Stalingrad or
Prypiat simply do not know Donetsk.
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