Native harbor turned out to be a pirate bay

U continuing the series of interviews with Crimeans who are now living in occupation, today we will talk about what has changed on the occupied peninsula after the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine, how it affected the consciousness of Crimeans and whether it is safe to stay there as a Ukrainian now?

Our interlocutor lives permanently in the occupied Crimea, so for security reasons we do not disclose his name.

- So, please tell us, what changes in the minds of Crimeans have you observed over the past three years, in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war?  

- I should say that as soon as all this happened, I mean the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, everyone, of course, was mostly in shock - both pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian Crimeans. After all, both of them, even despite the 8 years of occupation at that time, still had at least some ties with Ukraine. Moreover, at that time, everyone had somehow either adapted or resigned themselves to this situation. Someone traveled through the checkpoints to mainland Ukraine, someone came here from there, mostly to visit relatives. 

What happened on February 24, 2022, put a big fat point not only on all these movements, but also on any relations between Crimeans and mainland Ukrainians in general. 

Initially, it was a shock and complete rejection of everything that was happening. However, a little later, Russian propaganda did fromplayed its role. When it became clear that they would not take Kyiv so easily, they began to invent all sorts of nonsense to justify their actions. The Crimean "authorities", of course, did not lag behind in this." 

As a result, pro-Russian Crimeans finally became convinced of the "rightness" of the military actions conducted by the occupying power in Ukraine. And pro-Ukrainian Crimeans, in my opinion, simply went into so-called internal emigration. They realized that it was simply life-threatening to prove anything to the contrary. That's why everyone stopped talking about these topics, at least in public." 

Well, during these three years, Russian propaganda continued to "brainwash" its citizens, and it seems to me that it is the Crimeans who believe the "TV" the most. 

In general, to be honest, it is difficult to say what opinions and sentiments about the Russian-Ukrainian war prevail in reality. No one will ever say in public what they really think. Sometimes you can still read on Internet forums what Crimeans think about "grandiose" road or house construction or other everyday problems, and sometimes the statements can be quite sharp, but there is not a word about the war. Everyone knows how those cases ended when people dared to say something about the war on social media. That's why they are mostly silent." 

- Is it possible to preserve Ukrainian national identity in such conditions? If it is, what advice would you give?

- I think it all depends on the family. If people in the family share the same opinion about the war, then it is possible to remain Ukrainian, at least in your immediate environment. It is difficult, but somehow you can carefully explain all this to children. Although in the current situation, children are under particular pressure. At school, they hear a lot of lies, and it is very difficult for Ukrainian children to endure this, because an adult can somehow cope with their emotions about lies or injustice, but children cannot." 

I must admit that the occupiers are very persistently and purposefully "educating" little Crimeans in a "patriotic" direction. Starting from kindergarten and continuing at school, they instill in them "love for the Motherland," create all kinds of cadet classes to foster in them the desire to "defend their state," which for some reason is constantly being attacked. In general, militarism in Crimean schools is off the charts, and it seems that this did not exist even in the Soviet Union. Therefore, in these conditions, it is very difficult to keep children Ukrainian now." But it has to be done. 

By brainwashing children with its propaganda, Russia is trying to deprive Ukraine of an entire generation in the future. This is already being felt now. After almost 11 years of occupation, children born in 2014 have already started school, and they do not know any other school but Russian. Therefore, pro-Ukrainian Ukrainians who want to preserve their national identity have a crucial task to do - to preserve and raise their children as Ukrainians. I said pro-Ukrainian Ukrainians for a reason, because I know many examples of Ukrainians by nationality who enthusiastically support the occupiers, perhaps even more than Russians. And this is very sad." 

-What is the dynamics of Crimeans' desire to fight against Ukraine?

- I must admit that at first there were indeed a lot of volunteers, because, again, Russian propaganda played a role. Later, especially when partial mobilization was announced in September 2022, there were fewer volunteers. Many left Crimea, fearing that they would be taken to war. Especially many Crimean Tatars left, who, of course, did not want to participate in this war. In Simferopol, it was very noticeable on the buses, and there were fewer drivers, because many Crimean Tatars worked and still work in public transportation. And in general, it was clear that people did not want to go to war, everyone began to worry about their husbands, sons, and brothers. The strange thing is that instead of trying to stop this war, to take to the streets against this government, they were just hiding...

At the moment, I think there are still volunteers to fight, because the main incentive for them is financial support, and the occupiers periodically increase these payments. That's why people go. There is no question of any moral principles or common sense at all."

-How do local residents perceive Russians who come from Russia and settle in Crimea?

- You know, during these more than 10 years of occupation, a lot has changed in terms of the perception of visiting Russians: from love to complete hatred. If at first the Crimeans were waiting for them and were happy, then later, after getting to know them better, so to speak, they began to irritate them. The locals thought that now money would flow into their pockets, especially during the holiday season. However, everything turned out to be quite different. First of all, state employees from the most remote regions of Russia went to Crimea in the summer. Someone had to fill the Crimean sanatoriums with people. And these people did not have much money. Many people recalled that only Ukrainians used to come to the sea with their potatoes, but it turned out that the new "compatriots" were in no hurry to spend money at the resort either. Moreover, they were constantly comparing prices in resort towns and in their regions, noting that even in Moscow it was cheaper.  

And the Russians behaved like masters in Crimea, which also irritated the Crimeans. 

At the moment, there are a lot of Russians who came to Crimea to work, who have already adapted and consider themselves Crimeans. I must say that many Crimeans have also moved to Russia, so the process of migration does not stop. When the Ukrainian armed forces started shelling military targets on the peninsula, some non-locals, of course, left, but in fact there are not many of them, a small percentage of the total number of visitors. I would like to see more... 

- How do you assess the standard of living in Crimea at the moment, what are the salaries, prices, is it possible to survive in these conditions? 16.719999px; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-decoration: none; text-align: justify">- I must say that prices are constantly rising, almost every month by 10-20 rubles, which is not much, but it is noticeable. Visitors from Russia often complain that prices in Crimea are very high, like in Moscow. Recently, everyone was "surprised" by the price of butter - 1500 rubles per kg (750 hryvnias). 

But salaries in Crimea are many times lower than in Moscow. Although statistics give an average salary in Crimea of about 50 thousand rubles (25 thousand hryvnias), and this is considered a good salary, but in practice the figures are different - about 30-40 thousand (15-20 thousand hryvnias), sometimes even less. 

Well, the minimum pension is 15 thousand rubles. It is very difficult to live on this money. And an interesting fact: those who retired before the occupation and then received the so-called recalculation receive twice as much as those who were already receiving pensions from the Russian Federation.

Every six months, starting from 2014, utility tariffs have been growing, and at the moment, during the heating season, for example, for a 3-room apartment per month, you need to pay an average of 7-8 thousand rubles (3.5-4 thousand hryvnias).

- To what extent do such large-scale projects of the Russian Federation in Crimea, such as the construction of "New Chersonese" in Sevastopol, affect the consciousness of Crimeans, especially pro-Ukrainian residents?

- Of course, such "grandiose" projects of the occupiers affect everyone. Their supporters beat their chests, saying: "Look how great this country is! How much it cares about people and culture!" At the same time, forgetting that the very "New Chersonese" was built on an archaeological site, thus burying new finds and new discoveries forever." In general, in my opinion, the construction of this "New Chersonese" is a purely propaganda affair, everything is created with only one purpose - to show all the "greatness" of Russia in order to hide the realities of the war and convince people that they and their relatives are not going to war and die in vain, as if it were their great sacrifice for the "greatness" of their "great" homeland.

However, it must be said that not all of the occupiers' "mega-projects" are to the liking of even their supporters. Some have already realized that the native harbor to which they all returned together turned out to be a pirate bay, and the only goal of the Russian Federation in Crimea is to loot as much as possible.    

I am sure that these "grandiose" projects do not affect the pro-Ukrainian Crimeans, they understand why all this is done and are waiting for only one thing - the liberation of the peninsula from the occupiers.

- How do you assess the level of security for life in 2014-2022 and since 2022? What are the differences, examples? How complicated or simple is everything, tolerable or intolerable.

- I am sure that the level of security has become much more difficult than it was before 2022. Previously, Crimeans still traveled to mainland Ukraine, even pro-Russian people went to get foreign biometric passports. Of course, the "witch hunt" was going on even then. But after the outbreak of a full-scale war, it became unbearable. Being a Ukrainian, especially a conscious one, is very difficult and dangerous." 

I was told a story about how in kindergarten on unity day (Russian holiday celebrated on November 4 - author.), during the performance of children wearing national costumes, including Ukrainian ones, one mother made a scandal about the presence of the Ukrainian component at this event. She said that her husband was at war, and here they were demonstrating costumes and signs of Ukrainianness. She filed a complaint with the higher authorities, and in response, the head of the kindergarten was punished, although she tried to explain that there are Ukrainians in Crimea, and how not to talk about them. 

Thus, it is very dangerous to show signs of Ukrainianness on the occupied peninsula. From time to time, the media reports that someone has been detained somewhere, and it is clear that this is mostly done to intimidate people, but it definitely has its impact.

The most important and at the same time the saddest thing is that in these realities, pro-Ukrainian Ukrainians are finally losing hope for the liberation of the peninsula from occupation. It is said that the darkest night is before the dawn, and I really want to believe that this darkness, in which not only Ukrainians, but also conscious people of other nationalities live in the occupied Crimea, will finally change into a Ukrainian dawn... 

Vlada Serik spoke

 Photo from open sources