Author Archives: RomanInUkraine

Russian Social Network (Vkontakte) founder fighting hard against Kremlin censorship

Pavel Durov yesterday @ 20:36

December 13, 2013 year FSB demanded from us to give personal data to organizers of group Evromajdana. Our response has been and remains the absolute refusal to Russian jurisdiction does not apply to Ukrainian users Vkontakte. Issuance of identity of Ukrainians to the Russian authorities would not only breach the law, but also a betrayal of all those millions of people in Ukraine who have trusted us.

In the process I had to sacrifice a lot, including my share on Vkontakte. But I have no regrets-the protection of personal data of people worth that and much more. From December 2013 year I have no property, but I have left something more important-clean conscience and ideals that I’m ready to defend.

ADF: March 13, 2014 year Procuracy demanded from me close the anticorruption group, Alexei Navalny, under threat of blocking Facebook. But I don’t shut this group in December 2011, and, of course, not closed now.

Over the past week on me there is pressure from all sides. A variety of methods, I managed to win more than a month, but now it is time to say, neither I nor my team are not going to exercise political censorship. We will not remove any anti-corruption community Bulk, or hundreds of other communities, the blocking of which demanded of us. Freedom of information-the inalienable right of the post-industrial society. That’s right, without which the existence of Facebook makes no sense.

Understanding the East

The mayors in all those small towns like Slaviansk are people from the Party of Regions, they are making deals with the “terrorists” to come in to their towns and occupy administrative buildings. Think about it–the mayors are leading the attacks against their own buildings.

Yes, Russian spets-naz are involved but the other layer is the huge network of criminal corruption trying to save itself or at least gain leverage. That’s why it is important not to see this just as “Russian vs. Ukrainian”–that is only one dimension and doesn’t capture the complexity of what is going on. One way to look at this is that this is the extension of the Maidan to the East. It’s the great front in the battle against criminal corruption. This moment was inevitable. As we now know, Yanukovych’s son has for years been supplementing the low pay of the security services and militia in Donetsk with envelopes of cash. They essentially privatized the security services. But that doesn’t make them reliable in the heat of battle. It’s also why the solution is not as easy and straightforward as it may seem–it’s not a simple military operation.

People are going to have to liberate themselves. And that’s not a bad thing. In Kramatorsk last night, the green men occupied the militia, got drunk, got bored and left. How do you think people in Slaviansk are feeling today? The mayor fled. The local city administration workers were forced to gather and were instructed that “they are now working for them”. What great joy have the armed men brought to their lives? And who can the armed men trust in Slaviansk? This is the problem with occupation. Pretty soon every resident of Slaviansk will start looking like a ‘Banderite”.

The Russian spets-naz are the most lethal and dangerous–but they don’t want to be captured and will try to elude direct confrontation at all costs. The green men, the Crimean blow-hards (sorry for the vulgarity) aren’t nearly as formidable and the local criminal thugs for hire are in it for the money. It’s not a winning formula, especially if the locals begin to fight back, as they seem to be doing. What happened in Zaporizhzhia was instructive, the “pro-Russian” protesters turned out to be mostly members of a local criminal gang, paid to stir up trouble. People came out by the thousands to surround them. It’s no secret that people are organizing and arming themselves in the East in pro-Ukrainian partisan groups.

The battle line is less “Russian” vs. “Ukrainian”–it’s criminal corruption vs. hope for law and order. That is the narrative that should find the greatest resonance. To complicate things further–I think the real target is Dnipropetrovsk. The third layer in all of this is the longstanding war between the Donetskie and the Dnipropetrovskie. But the difference there is that Dnipropetrovsk actually makes money and their guys are less afraid of the EU, as opposed to Donetsk.

http://euromaidanpr.com/2014/04/16/battle-line-is-less-russian-vs-ukrainian-its-criminal-corruption-vs-hope-for-law-and-order/

Moscow offers a how-to guide for Russians who want to raise hell in Ukraine

So, as the “Russian Spring” site recommends, “you should comply with certain rules” and know certain facts. Here is a somewhat abbreviated but informative checklist that suggests, among other things, the kinds of “tourists” likely to be crossing the border:

1. Ukrainian border guards are loyal to Kiev, which has given them the order to look for any reason to refuse entry to people with Russian passports.

2. “Even if you have just one camouflaged T-shirt, some pepper spray or a knife you could be deported back to Russia as a commando. So if you need these things you can purchase them in Ukrainian shops: the prices are not higher than Russians ones.”

3. “We advise you not to publish anti-Bandera [that is, anti-Ukrainian] propaganda on your social network accounts.”

4. “Remember that your mobiles can have undesirable photos such as military patriotic events with your participation. Don’t save SMS texts like, ‘Left for front, glory to Russia!’ and similar ones.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/13/russia-tells-tourists-how-to-go-fight-in-ukraine.html

“Enemy of the People” booth in Crimea

Enemy-of-the-people-booth-Simferopol

An information booth with photos of people who do not support the policies of Russian President Vladimir Putin has been set up in Simferopol. A similar photo has been posted on the Facebook page of the influential Russian blogger Rustem Adagamov, reports Espreso.TV, April 15.

The booth with the heading “Agents of Western Influence” includes photos of Alexei Navalny, Boris Nemtsov, Andrei Makarevich and other Russians who have denounced the annexation of Crimea.

http://euromaidanpr.com/2014/04/15/russians-set-up-enemies-of-the-people-booth-in-simferopol/#more-7126

Story about People in Crimea Lying on Road to Block Russian Tanks

http://joinfo.ua/incidents/896763_Situatsiya-Krimu-Changare-lyudi-lozhatsya-dorogu.html

The incident occurred near the village of Chingar, which is located on the administrative border with Ukraine, Crimea. According to the defense of the Crimea, a few dozen men and women lay on the road, so as not to give a military vehicle to go to the territory of Ukraine. In the Self-Defense Forces of Crimea hope that the media will react adequately to this provocation. Crimean government also called the actions of people – a provocation.

Ukrainian Operation Successful at Kramatorsk – details uncertain

KRAMATORSK, Ukraine (AP) — In the first Ukrainian military action against a pro-Russian uprising in the east, government forces said they clashed Tuesday with about 30 armed gunmen at a small airport.

The clash came hours after Ukraine’s acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, had announced an “anti-terrorist operation” against the armed, pro-Russian insurgents who had seized control of numerous buildings in at least nine cities in Ukraine’s restive east.

The central government has so far been unable to rein in the insurgents, who it says are being stirred up by paid operatives from Russia. The insurgents are demanding broader autonomy and closer ties with Russia, and complicating the political landscape, many local security forces have switched to their side.

The clashes Tuesday came at Kramatorsk airport, just south of the city of Slovyansk, which is 160 kilometers (100 miles) from the Russian border. The city has come under the increasing control of the gunmen who seized it last weekend.

The precise sequence of events in Kramatorsk was mired in confusion amid contradictory official claims.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ukraine-leader-announces-anti-terror-move-east?fb_action_ids=10201314950868456&fb_action_types=og.likes

#Sloviansk mayor, who sided w/ #Russians, switches back: ‘They’re not hiding the fact they’re fr #Crimea,#Russia’ #RussianInvasion #Ukraine

@Ukroblogger

#Sloviansk mayor now calls on locals to stay home. One store looted.

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@LLHelsinki 9h

Mayor of Slovyansk to Ukrainian tv: “I did what I had to do to free the hostages, the attackers were aggressive.” http://112.ua/politika/nelya-shtepa-zayavila-chto-vooruzhennye-lyudi-v-slavyanske-zahvatyvali-zalozhnikov-49457.html

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