Benedict returned from another walk.

It was a different shed than the one that stood on that very spot earlier in the summer. Benedict noticed it felt colder and damper. Perhaps the situation had painted it in colours of hope, and that was what he remembered. Hope without hate, hope without dragging your old prejudices with you. In fact, not even hope. The thing the fills the air when something unexpectedly novel breaks the usual patterns. The fact that the world can not only change, but change for the better and even more: The realisation that providence was in the process of evicting your “better” and substituting it with the correct “better” — impartial, just, vigorous.

Maurice was puffing and panting while struggling with firewood on the stove. The old shed was of course also quite a bit darker inside. Benedict missed sitting on the porch, but summer would come again.

Maurice’s efforts had come to fruition, though. The rather small shed was warm now and smelled less moist and stale. Maurice would not allow anyone inside his actual house. That was private territory, off limits to fancy ideas. Benedict preferred meeting here anyway. It had a certain magic, between the village and the woods as it were.

Maurice stood up from the stove with considerable effort and complaints and a boney, crackling sound accompanied him.

“While you were out believing yourself to be a deer in the woods, I prepared the two next days. 15th is an undramatic lead-up to a war and 16th is exciting if road construction can get you heated up.”

“That must be the petition to the president to recognise LPR and DPR.”

Historical events on a Tuesday

“What I find funny, Benedict, is that if you compare the 15th and the 16th, it turns out the real emotions run wild when talking about housing construction projects and infrastructure. Of course the friendship treaty stirred a lot of feelings, but it’s one of those issues that are just close to everybody’s heart. They are pretty much in agreement on the matter. But housing and infrastructure… There’s the real meat.

In essence they agreed to partition the president on the 15th, discussed housing on the 16th, received the news of the recognition on the 22nd and went on vacation. When they got back, their country was involved in a war they had had a finger in.”

Benedict sat down and read Maurice’s notes and the key parts of the discussion.

“It is strange seeing the whole thing — not so much from the perspective of the Russians — more as if it was a dramatisation, a movie in non-linear time. Almost the entire move we witness the macrocosmic catastrophic consequences of some act perpetrated in the past. When the detective of the story finally unravels the inciting event, it is mind-bogglingly closer to earth, nothing that would suit the scale of the consequences.”

“That is an apt description. We have been exposed to a pre-cooked story on what to think about this war ever since the start. But this here… This is just a bunch of people who are frustrated over the plight of their Russian speaking kinsmen across the border. "

“The issue of violence. We talked about earlier how they probably imagined that only a very limited amount of violence would result from their resolution. "

“One man’s ‘only-a-little’ is another woman’s ’that-is-just-too-much’. These members of the Duma don’t see that they control the mighty Russian beast which punches with much bigger fists than their smaller neighbours. "

“Because that is how human psychology works. We do it ourselves when we drive a car. We sit inside and feel like little-ol’-me. But others sees us as aggressive 1.5 ton iron monsters with brutal, evil intentions.”

Maurice leaned back in his chair.

“Okay, so I am a Duma member, and professional politician who cares about what my constituents cares about.”

“I live in ’the other world’, so I see Western statements (those that make the headlines which are often the fiercest) as ’them attacking us without it being properly justified — typically by ignoring both sides of a story’. "

“I spend my days legislating against child abuse, against poverty, against power abuse, against crime, economic or otherwise.”

“I go to Donbas and is besieged with ethnic Russians or Russian speaking people and they all cry for action. »Please help us. Can’t you persuade the president to do something? We die every day«, and now and then the sound of shells in the distance can be heard.”

Maurice breathed heavily as he had a tendency to do when contemplating.

“Of course they can be heard. Because somewhere in the neighbouring country, there is someone who thinks »Donbass is Ukraine! If they can take away one part of the country, they can and will take all of it. The empire lives«.”

“A little bit of marriage counselling could probably have avoided a million dead people.”

“But we don’t do that in the West. Because there is no we-the-West. There is only one guy in the Senate here and another in the House there who both feels the same kind of irritated anger that you and I feel when we notice a person who let their child rampage a convenience store without as much as a word of admonition. The Russians should obey us, no, we mean, sense and justice. They should follow the pattern we have set.”

“But that pattern is easily recognisable by the Russians and the rest of the world as Western hegemony. We never see ourselves as a big car. Only as a small driver in the driver’s seat. But everybody else sees the car and a cowardly face trying to hide behind a windshield.”

Maurice and Benedict were overwhelmed at how fast their replay developed into the same old trap. They looked gravely at each other. By now they had both gained extensive knowledge of the arguments on both sides, and it was getting clearer by the second that the knot was helplessly tied.

“Should we get started?”

15.02.2022

http://transcript.duma.gov.ru/node/5781/

“This day the proposal to recognise LPR, DPR is finally put for the vote. It seems the drafts were either built over the old ones by CPRF which we have talked about earlier, or they were concocted by Kalashnikov of Committee on CIS Affairs or some obscure thing in-between.”

Benedict reminisced back to the same day in the Rada.

“You remember how we felt when we read the 15.02.2022 from the Rada transcript? How European Solidarity stated that »Today, the State Duma received an order to recognize pseudo-republics. This is how Russia completes the destruction of the Minsk agreements, thereby giving Ukraine the full right to abandon its obligations.«?”

“Yes. We were standing at a mountain peak and staring into the fog to spot another remote peak. Now we are really standing at that other peak. Notice how the Duma and the Rada watch each other:”

LEONID KALASHNIKOV, CPRF, chairman of the CIS Committee

[…] today I read the Nezavisimaya Gazeta, they quote the words of the Ukrainian speaker Stefanchuk that they are waiting impatiently for the Duma to vote

“The difference in worlds shows. We all have a bad habit of using colours from a palette that matches our hate or love, envy or revulsion, hurt or displeasure.

The Duma didn’t receive an order. They rather sent out an appeal. It was written by United Russia, Putin’s party. But CPRF reminds us that their age-old version was stronger in its wording.”

“European Solidarity’s claim that they are certainly off the hook regarding Minsk is a statement driven by emotions. Interestingly, the Duma discusses the subject. Leonid Kalashnikov of CPRF actually agrees.”

LEONID KALASHNIKOV, CPRF, CHAIRMAN OF THE CIS COMMITTEE

And the Minsk agreements, which imply its destruction in the event of a decision (though later, by the president) on whether we recognize the DPR and LPR, yes, they are destroyed.

“Though the context rather is that Russia is freed from its own obligations. Remember that in their mindset, Ukraine has never done anything to live up to Minsk. So the question becomes: Will the president’s recognition release Russia from its obligations. Artem Urov of United Russia says:”

ARTEM UROV, UNITED RUSSIA

Since 2015, when the Minsk agreements were adopted, official Kiev has done everything possible to destroy this system, not a single point on the peaceful settlement of the conflict in Donbas has been fulfilled. Regular shelling continues, heavy weapons are located in the demarcation zone, multiple launch systems that should not be there, civilians are killed, children are killed, social infrastructure is destroyed, cities and villages in Donbas are destroyed.

“Kalashnikov emphasises that in the end, the Duma can only recommend. Putin alone can decide. But also note that this their discussion is surprisingly serious. Kalashnikov talks as if they are bound, they are bound in relation to legal agreements and treaties.”

LEONID KALASHNIKOV, CPRF, CHAIRMAN OF THE CIS COMMITTEE

but there is one nuance here, which also applies to those sitting here in the hall: the implementation of international treaties. Russia still has to implement them in accordance with its legislation, yes, it is. The Security Council resolution, which is often referred to, was, in fact, legally legalized by us as a permanent member of this body, and in this sense the authors of the second draft resolution also use this argument.

— A preemptive strike or a pure aggression? —

Benedict brought up a difficult subject:

“From the current mood in the Duma, one gets the impression that they hope for peace through the recognition of Donetsk and Lugansk republics. The question becomes whether Putin in the end acted according to the Duma’s hopes and wishes.”

“I think some of the members speaking are more of an inside club than others. Clearly New People are those voicing the concern of escalation and the need to calm down a bit.”

ARTEM TUROV, UNITED RUSSIA

As we know, Russia is doing everything possible from a diplomatic point of view to implement the Minsk agreements, so that there is peace in the Donbas. I repeat, Kiev is doing the opposite, constantly escalating the situation in Donbass.

AVKSENTIEVA VLADIMIROVNA, NEW PEOPLE

I urge you not to succumb to the temptations to evade our main work, to go about your business and give the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the opportunity to do its job. Moreover, harsh statements and incessant shakes with fists today can provoke a real conflict, for which real human lives will have to be paid.

MAKAROV VYACHESLAV SERAFIMOVICH, UNITED RUSSIA

Aggression is something that Russia has never done, does not do and will not do.

KSENIA GORYACHEVA ALEXANDROVNA, NEW PEOPLE

[…] when every day the international community receives false information about Russia’s alleged impending attack on Ukraine,

AVKSENTIEVA SARDAN VLADIMIROVNA, NEW PEOPLE

If we remember what the situation was like almost eight years ago, when people were dying in Donbass, on the streets of Donetsk, when children were really sitting in basements, recently, thanks to joint efforts, the situation has been more or less managed to keep within the diplomatic format, as much as possible, and the intensity of clashes, as we see, has decreased. In this regard, I trust our diplomats and believe that they are doing very important work for which our diplomats have all the necessary competencies.

“Some statements are enigmatically double pointed. This is probably the insiders who sits on committees or are more proficient with the international aspect.”

KAZBEK KUTSUKOVICH TAYSAEV, CPRF

We firmly know that the people of Russia and Ukraine do not need war. We Communists are convinced that the guys from Kharkov and Sumy, Zaporizhzhia and Kiev should not be at odds with their peers from Ryazan and Khabarovsk, Arkhangelsk and Moscow. These guys, like all of us, have the same names and surnames, common roots and faith, relatives on both sides of the border. The time has come to drive out all the enemies of our people.

Maurice was thinking.

“Those people are hard to read. There are many mentions of a possibility for outbreak of hostilities, mostly from the Ukrainian army. They appear to be in the dark with the direction things can go.”

ARTEM TUROV, UNITED RUSSIA

according to various sources, numbers from 100 to 150 thousand soldiers of the armed forces of Ukraine, as well as national battalions, which are now fully armed with the help of a number of NATO countries and are ready, as it seems to us, for the transition – this was stopped in 2014 – to a state of war. Just last week there was an explosion near Donetsk – as it turned out, it was mine clearance services of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which checked, prepared a corridor for equipment, it is literally a few kilometers from Donetsk.

“Benedict, I think our main goal here should be to learn what kind of reality these people exist in.”

“I agree. We cannot know the mind of Putin or other members of the executive branch. Not unless we find better sources. But the Duma and Rada discuss in public.”

“You know, let me consult my own operatives in the field. You’re not the only one with connections.”

Benedict grinned and followed Maurice as he moved over to his own computer. He sent an email and stepped outside apparently to wait. Benedict followed him and they both took a break.

“The situation is tense. I think we underestimate how volatile everything is when the pot is really stewing.”

“The Cuba Crisis could also easily have gone the other way. Peace is simply not guaranteed.”

“We have talked about it before, but it is worth repeating: While there is a chance that the Duma members are putting on a show, I am proceeding as if they are as honest as can be.”

“I won’t form an opinion. At least not yet. There may be hidden rules about avoiding certain topics, but I sense at least some degree of sincerity.”

A loud chime told Maurice that an email had arrived.

“Quite fast too.”

They stepped inside.

“Here is a graph over reported ceasefire violations by the OSCE’s special monitoring mission.”

“Somewhat in the grey area, but if you are inclined to pessimism, it could easily be interpreted as something wicked this way a-coming.”

“Combined with reports about a serious inflow of weapons, the uncertainty alone could have moved many closer to an »act now or regret forever« state of mind.”

KOLOMEITSEV NIKOLAI VASILYEVICH, CPRF

[…] during this time dozens of planes with hundreds of tons of lethal weapons have arrived in Ukraine. In Ukraine, I personally saw […] Polish special forces on that side; in the area of Mariupol on the contact line - the “Grey Wolves”, Turkish special forces; in the area of Shirokino - British special forces. On what basis? Or maybe you do not know that in the eight years, while we are mumbling here and do not want to make a decision, three major US and NATO military bases are being built on the territory of Ukraine. In the area of Nikolaev, a base is almost ready - the military, those who are there, know about it - and a powerful base at that. In the area of Mariupol, construction of a seaport has begun. What do you think this is aimed at? To legitimize the provocations regarding the Crimean Bridge. There are two biolabs in the Kharkov and Chernigov area, and, as in Georgia, Ukrainian scientists do not go there and have no right to… On one of the floors of the SBU, Ukrainian generals, including the heads of the SBU, only go by invitation. If you don’t know this…

“They all seem to have this dire, bleak picture of the escalation of armed forces in Ukraine.”

SLUTSKY LEONID EDUARDOVICH, LDPR

And we see what is happening in Ukraine: recently there are massive deliveries of lethal weapons — the United States, Great Britain, Lithuania and a number of other countries. Ukraine has never had as many lethal weapons as it has received in the last six months alone.

— Other considerations —

“Tkachev Anton Olegovich of New People actually worry about the sanctions.”

TKACHEV ANTON OLEGOVICH, NEW PEOPLE

Catastrophes may not happen, but damage to the economy and the well-being of citizens in any case can be done. Are you sure that Russian citizens, according to experts, are ready to give up another third of their salary and part of their refrigerator?

“That is a lonely bird. Everybody else feels they need to protect their kinsmen.”

“Not altogether that lonely. It depends on whether you see the war as winding down or escalating.”

KSENIA GORYACHEVA ALEXANDROVNA, NEW PEOPLE

Don’t you think that before making any serious decisions that will definitely entail serious diplomatic problems, it is necessary to know the opinion of the residents of these territories that they need to vote again – what do they want now?

“Let’s move on to the next day.”

16.02.2022

http://transcript.duma.gov.ru/node/5782/

“Honestly, I think we should skip this day entirely.”

“You mean the gigantic discussion on road and building construction is irrelevant to our investigation?”

“Donbas is a major concern, but their heart is also, and perhaps even more invested in building and fixing their country.”

“Many a person with a prejudice against Russians could do well in reading their 16:26 discussion on torture in Russian prisons. Our slanderous smearing campaign equating them with orcs and mongols (the old kind) falls flat when trying to apply it to real people.”

“I know, Benedict, but we are almost three years behind. We need to work in a different way if we want to catch up to the present.”

“I understand. Last meeting before the war breaks out.”

Many wheels in motion

Maurice was the game master.

“Alright, so the Duma sets wheels in motion. From the meeting in the Russian Security Council, it appears that LPR, DPR independently have sent forth a similar appeal. Anyway, the time was ripe for a decision, and Putin decided to make one.”

“Let’s make a timeline of events.

• On the 15th February, the Duma decided to send an appeal to Putin to recognise LPR, DPR
• On the 21st February, Russia’s security council holds a meeting in which all speakers advices Putin to accept the appeal and recognise the republics.
• Later on the 21st, Putin holds the famous TV address where he recognises the republics.
• Later on the 21st, Putin signs such drafted documents.
• The president and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs drafts friendship treaties and sends them back to the Duma.”
• On the 22nd February, the Duma discusses these friendship treaties and ratifies them.”

“Kalashnikov on the 22nd describes it as a window of opportunity for Ukraine:”

LEONID KALASHNIKOV, CPRF, CHAIRMAN OF THE CIS COMMITTEE

It was not easy for our committee and for those political parties that were then defined in this “road map”. We said then that this appeal gives the Ukrainian authorities a chance - a week ago, on February 15! - to come to their senses, make a decision to de-escalate the situation and begin to implement at least one point of the Minsk agreements.

Maurice (who was slowly taking over the role as the thoughtful of the two) looked at Benedict.

“There is a lot of psychology in motion. A lot of broken conversations. In our group, we form a circle and hold hands in unity against the other team. Our approach is unity and the goal is blocking out an encroaching reality. They both do it. What good is an ultimatum, if the opponent doesn’t even acknowledge it as such. Remember how they spoke in the Rada about being ready for war?”

“Yes. The very threat of attack probably galvanised them even further. But realistically: Neither diplomacy nor threats worked at all. And this has to do with a mindset we have developed in the West.”

“I think we should spend tomorrow looking at those other developments in the Security Council and Putin’s speeches. A lot of things happen fast all of a sudden.”

22.02.2022

http://transcript.duma.gov.ru/node/5793/

“We will. Let’s finish the 22nd first. By the time of this session, The Russian Federation has formally recognised the republics as new entities. Andrey Rudenko lays out the land.”

ANDREY RUDENKO, REPRESENTATIVE OF RF. DEP MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

The treaties determine that the contracting parties build their relations as friendly states, consistently guided by the principles of mutual respect for state sovereignty and territorial integrity, peaceful settlement of disputes and non-use of force or threat of force, as well as other generally recognized principles and norms of international law.

“Ukraine would have liked such a deal.”

“It would appear they had one. We should check out the Ukrainian thoughts behind this claim.”

By the way, the same treaty was signed with Ukraine on May 31, 1997, but in 2018 Kyiv unilaterally terminated it, after which the treaty officially ceased to be effective on April 1, 2019.

“More treaties will follow later:

• border protection
• dual citizenship
• minorities protection
• Banking cooperation
• Rubble as currency
• Crime
• Healthcare”

“The following debate in the Duma is not a debate at all. All parties agree to signing friendship treaties. Their accounts of course constitutes serious accusations levelled against the West.”

“Particularly, they are not levelled against the fraternal people - as they call Ukrainians and Belarusians. There is a widespread agreement that a foreign mentality had infiltrated the ruling class. The disease of Nazi-Banderites has taken hold.”

— CPRF —

ZYUGANOV ANDREEVICH, CPRF

We have always separated and continue to separate historical Ukraine and the Nazi-Bandera regime. The programs constantly criticize Ukraine - I think this is an absolutely wrong approach, because the Ukrainian people themselves suffer the most from this occupation.

“Just like you, Maurice, I am perfectly aware of the possibility of a certain level of delusion on behalf of the Russians.

We in the West have our own prejudices about people further east. When we call Russians Mongols (which must really irk the nice, democratic people of Mongolia), we equally refer to their cultural backwardness as well. That sentiment — the feeling of Russian’s cultural inferiority, is also prolific in Ukrainian Rada discussions and most US senate hearings I have heard.

If the population in general has the same opinion, then the Russians live in a fantasy world, when they talk of fraternal people. But I can’t say how most Ukrainians feel, because of the lack of well-articulated non-propaganda voices in Ukraine.”

— LDPR —

“Zhirinovski is not present. He finally caught Covid. He may not be likeable seen with Western eyes, but he is a giant in the Post-Soviet universe.”

“LDPR reminds us about the strategic enmity.”

I would like to recall the words of the famous anti-Soviet, opponent of Russia Zbigniew Brzezinski, who in his famous book “The Grand Chessboard” directly said that Russia, in order to return its imperial ambitions, needs to annex Ukraine. They narrow-mindedly continue to think exclusively about some of our mythical imperial ambitions, and we only want to ensure the security of our country, our families, our children, nothing more.

[…]

In fact, when we talk about recognizing the LPR and DPR, we are directly declaring our desire to protect the Slavic world from the revival of fascism and nationalism

— JUST RUSSIA —

MIRONOV SERGEY MIKHAILOVICH, JUST RUSSIA - FOR THE TRUTH

He [Zelensky] is a liar because when he ran for office, he promised that he would bring peace back to the southeast of Ukraine - and he lied.

[…]

Today, our brothers in Donbass are celebrating and eagerly awaiting today’s ratification decision from the State Duma and the Federation Council.

— NEW PEOPLE —

DAVANKOV VLADISLAV ANDREEVICH, NEW PEOPLE

[…] despite all the efforts of our diplomats, the negotiation process has simply reached a dead end, and the president has made the right decision.

— UNITED RUSSIA —

VASILYEV VLADIMIR ABDUALIEVICH, UNITED RUSSIA

Today we remembered Crimea. […] I will never forget the eyes of the woman who ran after our minibus and asked: take us away from here! Why did people flee from there? Because they were faced with robberies, violence, ignoring their basic rights, nationalism, neo-nationalism, which immediately blossomed in Ukraine

“The West sanctioned most of the Duma members, but in that vein they probably could have sanctioned the entire people of Russia. The problem is that what motivates these people is simply sympathy with their own.”

“The upper echelons of the CPRF and United Russia seem to be in closer proximity to the possibility of hostile actions. They think in larger strategic connections, and they know they can’t cooperate with the West.”

Maurice stepped outside in the grey October afternoon. The light was still bright, but the shortened days could be felt now.

Benedict felt – frankly to his delight – that Maurice had grown more advanced. He was still harsh, defiant, but his intellect was no longer a knife pointing in only one direction. It could actually turn as he saw fit. For the time being, Benedict had the luck of being a coworker with Maurice, and Maurice was no longer attacking Benedict’s points of view directly. But he was still attacking simplemindedness.

“I think I’d like to go to a second hand shop and get some books on politics. I need to clear my head. Let us stop for today. What about you? Care for a visit to a book store?”

/PARADOX