Maurice, approaching 45, felt he needed a nap. The clock signalled 16.45. Benedict, who was no younger, wanted to stretch his legs. Maurice lived on the outskirts of a small town bordering a pretty little landscape with lots of plateaus and scattered forests.
Everything he read espoused by a worried West was blatant propaganda on the surface, but there could be no doubt that it reeked of sincerity underneath. Just like the Russian propaganda. At times the confusing and conflicting statements given by the Kremlin was almost hilarious. A situation that almost begged the West to profile them as pathological liars hiding their immense ambitions.
In reality Russia had experienced the very real possibility of another political collapse after the demise of the Soviet Union. They too got scared. Their imperialism concerned consolidation. But expansion could very well become part of that scheme if no guaranteed stability could be derived from static borders.
Anyway, whoever said the Russian logic was entirely rational?
And who in this risk-riddled world could claim otherwise?
Clearly statements from NATO attesting their “neutrality” and offering assurances of being a defence alliance only was not worth the spit you could lay upon them.
See a man in a blue suit, and you immediately know you look at a liar. But again, underneath the ridiculous lies, something real and honest broods.
The West is scared. And ambitious.
The East is scared. And ambitious.
Ukraine is scared. And ambitious.
And all our games on words and narratives does little to alleviate the danger.
What is a million casualties after all? We are fundamentally irrational beings. We would rather incite our fellow citizens to a war than go into a narrow unsafe cave facing our little personal claustrophobia.
Democracy paved the way for political bodies festering with manias and phobias, where hysterias can spread like wildfire.
Maurice was different from Benedict. He had a faith in the reasonability of taking responsibility for the democratic process. He was enamoured with the kind of freedom for ordinary people that would come out of it. Maurice could go to a cafe and be with all the happy young people (allowing for a modern definition of young), and reckon with himself that they not only deserved to be protected from harm. They deserved to own the country.
But these healthy people of sane mind were exactly the ones most liable to lash out in fear. It was exactly their lack of experience and stamina that turned them into a crowd of dangerous and persuadable voters.
When distant thunder arises, what do you do? You go to the Rada or the Duma or the Senate and act fierce and aggressive about some topic, any topic. You put your personality on display for the world, and in the noise, you forget about reality.
But reality is moving closer mercilessly. Thunderclaps are sounding ever more sharp and crackling.
Soldiers know this. The kind that can face danger without being on drugs. The strength in the field comes from a secret pact that is strictly personal. They go to their room and unfold a photograph and whisper promises. When they come out, they are ready to let reality consume them.
01.02.2022
https://www.rada.gov.ua/meeting/stenogr/show/7947.html
When Benedict got back, Maurice was already working hard.
“Zelensky is saying that the economy is bouncing back”
ZELENSKY:
Gold and currency reserves of Ukraine remain at a record level.
“… And now it is time for the golden rule …”
You can be in opposition to the government, you can’t be in opposition to Ukraine.
“UN, EU, NATO, IMF and OSCE supports Ukraine, he says.”
there are 80 representatives of foreign countries and international organizations, they are united in supporting our state.
Benedict was catching up.
Unity unblocked the Normandy format, showed readiness for dialogue, gave hope for de-escalation and a peaceful settlement. For the first time since 2019, all four parties agreed on a joint final statement. We are actively working to agree on a date for the next meeting of advisers in Berlin in the coming days, where we hope that there will be an agreement on the meeting of the leaders of the Normandy Four.
“… The position of the government at this point seems to be: Show strength through international partners, but try to get the Minsk talks going. Unlike the Rada, which seem to want Minsk buried.”
“Zelensky had a better grasp of reality than I had imagined”, noted Maurice.
Our Motherland really has many friends and we are grateful to them once again, but friends have their own Motherland, don’t forget that. Therefore, no one will build Ukraine instead of us, will not protect Ukraine, will not save, will not raise Ukraine up, we have to rely only on ourselves.
“This segment reminds me of something I gave thought to during my walk:”
RUSLAN OLEKSIYOVYCH STEFANCHUK
We respect our past, but we do everything to build the country of the future. We are guided by the most important constitutional principle that a person, his life and health, honor and dignity, freedom and inviolability are the highest social values. We will not allow anyone to question our sovereignty, our territorial integrity, as well as the right to choose our development directions. The time has come for everyone to realize that today Ukraine is an outpost not only of European values, Ukraine is an outpost of the world’s civilizational choice as a whole.
“Look at all these pretty words! They spread them out like butter over mammalian behaviour just like that. A mother looses her child when a bomb explodes, and is consumed with grief and anger. Her mental space is brimful of fingers pointing to the enemy. But somewhere in the crowd someone knows that the shell was a response to a mother loosing her child on the other side. Nobody stops it, but perpetuates the lie that where we have real feelings, the enemy have only cruelty.”
“I happen to like those fine words! I’m with Hobbes, cave in to the state of nature, and we’re all at war with each other. Democracy instills decency in us. Instead of being selfish, we practice giving our daily sacrifice every day so we collectively can preserve our honour and dignity.”
Benedict looked at him in a funny way. “… When do we sacrifice?”
“When we participate in debate. We align ourselves. We change opinion, we give up on what we were without loosing our centre. We give something valuable to our fellow man, assuming we are decent people.”
Benedict wanted to accept this proposition to make Maurice happy, but this time they would forever have to live in separate worlds.
— The conflict in a nutshell —
“Here is a complete summary of the reason the tension erupted to war:”
if it were not for the fact that the same Russia created the last crisis with its ultimatums
“Likely these proposals agreement on measureres NATO / RF and treaty between USA and RF”
“The pain points are of course well known.”
if it were not for the fact that calls for a united people are constantly heard from the Kremlin
“Likely the speech about the historical unity of Russians and Ukrainians
if not the hybrid war that has been going on in Ukraine for eight years
“Something to wonder about: What would the situation be, if Crimea and Donbass had not happened? Putin would certainly still be on a quest to secure Russia militarily, so the US and NATO proposals would probably still have been on the table. And the Ukraine war also given the country’s track to NATO membership.”
if the accumulation of Russian troops on the borders of our country had not continued
“Likely Putin grew more and more determined to push back NATO and slowly believed threat to be the only way.”
— The continuing squabble —
“Another deputy complains in the Rada that he is victim of a politicised investigation: Oleh Voronko”
Namely: against the thoughtless sale of Ukrainian land - in red, against the legalization of the gambling business - in red, against the treasonous dismissal of the Speaker of the Parliament.
[…]
simultaneous searches at seven o’clock in the morning on Friday with the involvement of armed special forces at my house, my son’s house, my relatives and friends.
“… Then some others raise awareness of political prisoners in the occupied Crimea.”
“… Many calls for unity against the aggressor state.”
SERHII VOLODYMYROVYCH VLASENKO (FATHERLAND)
Putin is trying to force Ukraine to fulfill the “Minsk Agreements”. Why? Because it can lead to an absolute increase in the influence of the aggressor country
[…]
This will be a complete disaster for Ukraine, it is absolutely unacceptable for Ukraine, so Ukraine is obliged and must look for other ways. One of these ways is the implementation of the provisions of the Budapest Memorandum
“Western media completely bungled up explaining the situation.
Putin wants to stronghold Ukraine into a scheme where he can control NATO membership. Implying political influence. Unacceptable to Ukraine. Only alternative: Stick to Budapest Memorandum. Thus leading to war. Simple.”
“Opposition Platform - For Life don’t believe a war is coming.”
“Poroshenko himself speaks: He thinks Zelensky is ignoring the danger.”
PETRO POROSHENKO (EUROPEAN SOLIDARITY)
So far, our Western partners are increasingly wondering through the media: what is the point of supplying weapons to Ukraine, if its leadership publicly denies Putin’s aggressive intentions and makes no effort to strengthen the army.
“You must like that… Zelensky is less belligerent than most MPs.”
“Yes… The invasion did change his outlook, but hey, not unfair.
Then more daily stuff. Then Nestor of Opposition Platform:”
Dear colleagues, I hear with such tension the desire to fight. We should not provoke any escalation with our speeches today. The President just told you: “Don’t panic.”
“Yeah, he’s alone. Most MPs really wants to both win the war and hope there won’t be a war. They are all very confident they can manage the enemy.”
— Who wants Minsk? —
The two simultaneously arrived at 11:49:42 - decision time for proposal 5647 - an appeal to the Normandy Four states to to hold a meeting to end the escalation.
While the result was expected, their jaws dropped in surprise.
“For: 26… Rejected. Slap in the face of pro-Russian parties.”
“Let there be no doubt: Ukraine did not want Minsk II to happen!
Eight years of civil war has only rendered people from West Ukraine more sour, mistrusting.”
“I do want to make a quick note here: This conflict runs in parallel with the development in Russia regarding consolidation. Putin is escalating the pushback on NATO. Minsk II was taken hostage in this pushback as well.”
“No, I don’t completely agree: Minsk II demanded Ukraine never entered NATO. But people seem to roll Minsk and the two previously mentioned draft proposals to USA and NATO into one whole bargain. And why not? Once it was out of the box that Russia wanted NATO to retreat, Minsk could only be interpreted as a piece in that puzzle.”
“Non-membership in NATO was also Ukraine’s red line.”
“It also means war was inevitable. This is who we are: When I despise everything you stand for, I want you to go to hell. If you try anything, I will inflict pain.”
“And since post-Soviet Russia doesn’t really stand for anything, they just try all the attempts at explaining and persuading they can come up with, which only makes matters worse. We are doomed to view them as cunning, trying everything (which they really are) to make us fit their scheme (which they are not).”
— Crimea annexation, a demand for an investigation —
“Back to miners, accusations of graft, corruption, scholarship discussions, some special ‘sanatorium schools’, and many discussions on the procedure in the Rada.”
“Gerasimov of European Solidarity still pushes for the 50 billion army funding bill.”
“Then comes 4657 - investigate why Crimea could be annexed. This bill has a history, proposed first time 27.01.2021, signed 02.03.2022, so a month and a day from now.”
Elizaveta Bogutska
BOGUTSKA ELIZAVETA PETRIVNA (SERVANT OF THE PEOPLE)
[Churchill:] “If a country, choosing between war and shame, chooses shame, it will get both war and shame.”
At the end of February 14th, the occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation began. There is no doubt that it was Putin who gave the orders to seize the peninsula, hold an illegal referendum there, and that it was he, as the President of Russia, who later accepted the Autonomous Republic of Crimea into the Russian Federation as a separate Federal District of Russia, which is not recognized by all democratic countries of the world.
Benedict gave Maurice a sad look, he had seen many times before. Maurice had come to learn what Benedict felt on these occasions. Sadness that the Winstons of the world could follow their philosophy without ever knowing devastating loss, not that they never lost anything, but it didn’t break their spirit. Or they frankly didn’t care that much.
Benedict’s spirit was broken, and could only be mended by having him humiliate himself before a pacifist Goddess. He needed constant forgiveness for something nobody in the world, not even his best friend, knew what was. He was neither a Churchill nor a Putin. He did not convert the world into his own home. Being in the world made him loose his home, his family.
Maurice broke the silence.
“They want to criminally prosecute anyone that may have facilitated the annexation.”
Yevheniya Kravchuk
YEVHENIYA MYKHAILIVNA KRAVCHUK (SERVANT OF THE PEOPLE)
The fact that the main culprit and aggressor is Russia is not in doubt, but there were also those who simplified the task of our enemy by their actions or criminal inaction, and in order for everyone to feel responsibility, it is necessary to realize its inevitability.
“Someone also wants to include Battle of Debaltseve and Battle of Ilovaisk into the investigation.”
“People frenetically exclaims »aha! Proof! Russia is lying! There really was Russian soldiers in DPR, LPR, Crimea!«
I don’t see why it is such a wonder? I mean try imagining you live in a place where borders between Ukraine, Russia and other USSR member states are more or less fluid. Suddenly those borders exist, and you are captured on the wrong side. A civil war erupts and you get help from your friends just across the border that now exists only because some shrill nationalists in the other end of a huge country imagine them to be real.
Sure, I believe that soldiers crossed. I also believe it was out of pure brotherly protectionists reasons, not for geo-political advantages. If Putin commanded it, it is because he - again, like Trump - is in line with his own people and their needs.”
Viktoria Siumar
VIKTORIA SIUMAR (EUROPEAN SOLIDARITY)
But to those who are now talking about “not a single shot in Crimea” and the surrender of Crimea, I want to tell you one simple thing. And what has changed, colleagues, since 2014? In the legal sense, Crimea is Ukraine. If you so want to shoot there, go with weapons in your hands, liberate Crimea. Go with weapons in your hands and liberate the Ukrainian Donbas, and don’t continue shooting this cheap PR and TV series when it’s time to talk.
“They mean business, these people. Members of Opposition Platform looks like they would end up in the hot cauldron.
MYKOLA SKORYK (OPPOSITION PLATFORM - FOR LIFE)
as a former Minister of Finance of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, I would gladly vote for this resolution and find out together with the people of Ukraine what Ukrainian high-ranking officials did in February 2014. when Ukraine lost Crimea. But I won’t do that, I’ll explain why.
[…]
Because during this term, our faction has repeatedly raised the issue of the restoration of the temporary investigative commission regarding the events on the Maidan, the killing of people on the Maidan, and the events of May 2, 2014 in Odesa.
“Father Stefanchuk urges mutual respect in the parliament.”
PRESIDING. Dear colleagues, let’s… Dear colleagues, I would still ask for mutual respect in the hall for each other.
“… To little avail …”
Solomiia Bobrovska
SOLOMIA BOBROVSKA (VOICE)
Because many of our friends, both civilians and military, were present there with their tasks and operations, and they are still asking how it happened. And I would like this TSK to answer why the previous acting Minister of Finance of the Republic of Crimea is standing in our parliament today, and not sitting behind bars.
“The Rada is just as split between pro and anti Russian as the country itself.”
“Proposal was accepted, 229 for.”
“Following that, a longer debacle on land reforms which went less than well. Look like the state was lugging on to the land for some time. Publiv vs private. They only real discussion worth having for a capitalist.”
“Following that, a request for investigation of the murders of Oleksandr Lobodenko (judge in case against pro-EU activists) and Oleh Babaiev (mayor) who looks rather neutral.”
“Followin that, a proposal, 0064 to withdraw from a CIS treaty”
— Withdrawing from CIS and CSTO treaties —
SOLOMIA BOBROVSKA (VOICE)
Therefore, unequivocally - in favor, and once again the parliament will see who in this hall stands for the vector of development, which, in principle, is already enshrined in our Constitution.
“If you vote against ending all the last of CIS cooperation, you are going against our constitution, and we know who you are. You cannot go against Ukraine.”
Nestor Shufrych
SHUFRYCH N.I. (OPPOSITION PLATFORM - FOR LIFE)
The CIS is not only and not so much Russia, it is also many other countries that are friendly towards us, that consider us as their friends and partners. And these nations also perceive Ukrainians as friendly.
“Sorry Nestor, the time for friendship is past. We’re at war now with the aggressor.”
The first quote from a famous Ukrainian classic: “We must learn to hear ourselves as Ukrainians - not Galician, not Bukovinian Ukrainians, but Ukrainians without official borders.” Who do you think said that? This was said by the great Ivan Franko. He understood that Ukraine should be united and strong in its diversity. And CIS countries are treated differently in different regions.
And one more quote, it is from a Russian classic. I ordered a translation, you can use headphones. Oleksandr Pushkin: “Feared by external enemies, we are killed from within, but the motto of the tsars has not changed over the years: steal and lie!”.
[…]
And today I am asking the authorities not to lie, not to steal, not to steal, but to take care of the people of Ukraine and to serve what you called yourself - the people of Ukraine, and to fight for peace and prosperity.
“But the rest of the hall wants to exit both CIS and CSTO”
Oleksiy Goncharenko
HONCHARENKO OLEKSIY OLEKSIYOVYCH
we have legislation on joint anti-terrorist activities with the Commonwealth of Independent States, with the CIS, which means with Putin. Yes, Putin is the number one terrorist in the world. A person who kills in Ukraine, in Syria, in Africa, poisons people with “Novichok” in Salisbury, kills on the streets of Berlin, blows up warehouses in the Czech Republic. This is the main terrorist of the world.
[…]
So, friends, away from Putin, we announce a global anti-terrorist operation to destroy the main terrorist of the world - Putin.
“What the hell …? Proposal not accepted? How on earth?”
Benedict sighed and leaned back. So many voices all saying the same thing. Clearly he was absorbing these expressions of liberty and self-respect. After a while he started speaking.
“They really cannot live a life knowing that a blow has been struck against their fatherland, their pride.”
“Good grief, no! But why does it bother you so much?”
“Because I have seen the beautiful force they now draw the curtain on.”
As usual Maurice had no idea what he was talking about.
“What if the roles were reversed? If Ukraine annexed something from Russia? Would they still be in touch with their God if they did not defend their country?”
“Maybe that is my point? Russia to Russians is completely different than Ukraine is to Ukrainians.
And maybe it isn’t”, he sighed.
On this vital point, Maurice suddenly felt unsure too. He knew this was not about symmetry.
Perhaps Benedict had seen that both Ukrainians and Russians were not the real article. That a deeper connection to the land could exist than both knew. Not to be compared, the Ukrainian European of the future and the Russian peasant of the past. One country looking forward, one yearning back.
After all, what was left of the old peasantry who lived on the land without silly ideas serving to detach them from lived experience?
/PARADOX