Russia Cannot Hurl Itself into Oblivion

Like any normal person, I have been looking on in horror at the bombardment of Novorossiya, the destroyed homes, weeping women, and streams of thousands of refugees from Ukraine to Russia.

Sooner or later, wars end in peace, but both sides simply will not be reconciled. The most practical solution is autonomy for Novorossiya — the expansion of its rights. Politically, this is difficult to achieve of course. Moreover, following the elections in October, many radicals, including Banderovites, will come to the Rada.*

But war is devastating, and Ukraine is in a difficult economic position. In the fall, it will feel it fully. Poroshenko and the whole brotherhood from the new government will make concessions only if they understand that a takeover threatens Kiev. I think this is a possibility: The militia army has now closed ranks, while the Ukrainian army is not in the best condition.

When all is said and done, the Americans and Europeans will decide everything, and such a flare of passions and an economic crisis right at the latter’s doorstep are disadvantageous.

It is perfectly obvious that Ukraine is acting under U.S. command. And the politics of fierce Ukrainian nationalism in its worst form – Banderovism – has been thrust upon Ukrainians by the United States. The Central Intelligence Agency has full control over the Security Service of Ukraine and Nalyvaichenko.** They are most likely already American citizens. I do not think it is a blunder that this is well-known, although an intelligence service should not act in such a way. But the Americans are used to it: They are forthright, brutish, and openly hand out military decorations to their Ukrainian partners. I’m not sure it is proper, but one may welcome such openness.

In Novorossiya, in turn, there are a great many volunteers from Russia, and no one can prevent me from going to fight on the side of Novorossiya if I want to. Information about the Russian army’s participation is from fake Ukrainian and American news stories. I have no doubt that our volunteers should be there, but Russia should provide support, and it does provide it, not necessarily directly from the government: Political parties can help here too — all the more so as foreign mercenaries are fighting on the side of Ukraine as well. If there were deployments of our army, we would know about it; there would surely be leaks. Considering the Novorossiya troops’ equipment status, the trophies they have taken from the Ukrainian army, they are not particularly in need of military hardware.

Nevertheless, the war in Novorossiya is a civil war because Novorossiya has not yet become a full-fledged state, and the main motives here are not anti-Russian or pro-Russian but social. Residents of the Donbass are strongly opposed to the oligarchs. Novorossiya is a project of a state without the elements of capitalism. I don’t think there is hatred toward Ukrainians there. That’s absurd.

You see, I was born in Dnepropetrovsk. My mother’s parents, who were doctors, lived there. And she went there to give birth because it seemed safer to her. And then she went back to Moscow. But I lived in Lviv when there were Banderovites there, and I know what they are like. I remember that the Banderovites sent off in milk cans the severed heads of the milkmaids who supplied the city with milk. They were more brutal than the German Fascists.

When I was in Lviv after 1991, they told me not to speak loudly in Russian so as not to elicit a negative reaction from those around me. A friend of mine was living on Matrosov Street, and they renamed the street in honor of some Nalyvaichenko. The city then once again reeked of this Banderovite filth.

The emergence in Ukraine of a generation ill-disposed toward Russia is a colossal foreign policy blunder. In Kiev sits Ambassador Mikhail Zurabov, who should have been replaced long ago. Here, we are eulogizing Chernomyrdin, but he was also at one time the ambassador to Ukraine, and it was his fault too that we overlooked Ukraine. You see, it was at that very time that anti-Russian sentiment was ripening. Yeltsin’s government didn’t understand foreign policy whatsoever. Yeltsin was a provincial leader.

Vladimir Putin has been steering away from Yeltsin’s policies for a long time and only now has arrived at a different understanding of the Ukraine question, but it is already too late because an anti-Russian generation has been raised. They have even rewritten their history. We must find the means to turn Ukraine toward Russia, but doing so is extremely difficult, and at this point, it will not be done under Poroshenko.

The negativity in international relations will gradually fizzle out, and the sanctions will be lifted. Although legally, neither America nor the EU will recognize Crimea. The Americans will also keep a foothold in Ukraine. There are as yet no agreements, but they have put a good face on things. Putin shook Poroshenko’s hand, and that is a good thing. Next, negotiations will be conducted at the technical level. The war must be stopped because Ukraine is dying.

Here everything depends on the disposition of the Americans who are using Ukraine as a Trojan horse on the avenues of approach to Russia. They have created a point of contention; now, they can retarget their missile defense systems. And in general, it is a brilliant excuse for the Americans to create new weapons, to develop the defense sector. If there is peace in Novorossiya, that does not mean Crimea will be in complete safety. Of course, a threat to Crimea exists. We must not forget that the Banderovites have extensive experience with provocations. This is their tactic, and there will be provocations in Crimea; they will try to play a dirty trick on Russia to turn the Crimean Tatars against Russia.

For example, Mustafa Dzhemilev is there. The Americans are already working with him, so we must be on guard. But I feel sorry for anyone who pokes his nose around there.

I don’t care for slogans like “Russia doesn’t desert its own.” It is nice to raise such toasts at the table. We remember, however, that the only thing the governments of Gorbachev and Yeltsin did was desert their own. Did we not desert our own in Germany under Gorbachev during the unification of the western and eastern parts of the country? Yesterday’s allies became unwanted.

Betrayal entered into our politics but fortunately, since Vladimir Putin has been in power, we have not seen anything of the kind. He doesn’t desert his own – on the contrary, he supports them. However, our country has its interests, and Russia cannot hurl itself into oblivion.

* Editor’s note: “Rada” refers to Ukraine’s parliament, Verkhovna Rada.

** Editor’s note: Valentyn Nalyvaichenko is the head of the Security Service of Ukraine.