Crimea: Rebirth

All this was made possible thanks to the referendum held a year ago.

Yes, Crimea was lucky. Lucky that at the crucial moment, when the central government was weak, there were those who dared to defend themselves. Polite people have become the symbol of the Crimean spring. But we must recognize that the resistance in Crimea would not have won if it had not found a leader and an organization capable of taking power. It is to the credit of Russian Unity and Aksenov that this could be said of them.

Unfortunately, in Odessa the whole protest movement was scattered, spontaneous. During the crucial days, the Odessa resistance could not form a single decision-making center. The AntiMaidan organizations did not form a coordinating council.

All attempts to unite the forces of protest in Odessa failed. We must acknowledge that while all were in it together, each group was for itself. As a result, we learned about the routes of demonstrations 15 minutes beforehand, had no opportunity to influence decisions or participate in their development.

If we speak specifically about Borotba (Struggle), we must admit that we were very weak. And in the beginning, unknown. A dozen young, sincere people could not qualify for the seizure of power in Odessa, having no support, political or financial, media or military… But despite this, we did what we could, from introducing the proposal for a referendum in the Regional Council to the storming of the Regional Administration, ending with the creation of a network of autonomous groups, some of whom continue to conduct propaganda in Odessa today.

A year ago, I sincerely rejoiced for Crimeans — they were able to express their defiance to the nationalists and oligarchs. They had the opportunity to decide for themselves how to live. And the Crimean people made their choice. Let all the Ukrainian propagandists tell tall tales of illegitimacy, that the referendum was held at gunpoint, that it brought Crimea only harm — I will never believe it, because I myself have lived here for almost a year.

The referendum brought stability, spared the inhabitants of Crimea from war, gave asylum to hundreds of Ukrainian opposition activists, and most importantly, rejected the policy of nationalism of the last 25 years.

After all, it is no secret that during this time the authorities tried to pit Tatar, Russian, Ukrainian and Karaim people against each other, and financed the activities of various nationalist organizations such as the Majlis. Today, systematic work is carried out among the Crimean youth — international forums are held, the Youth Assembly of the Peoples of Crimea was created, a variety of activities are held aimed at strengthening the friendship of the peoples living in the Crimea, such as the “Crimean Beauty” contest, in which all peoples, traditions and national customs are represented …

This is totally different from what we are used to seeing in Ukraine.

As for the economy, it does not require much to say that the situation is much better now than it would be if the Crimea had stayed in Ukraine. The government has created the conditions for business development by establishing a free economic zone. All Ukrainian media stories about lack of goods, empty shelves and impending famine are not justified, to say the least.

I’m glad that a year ago Crimeans were able to make their choice. And I firmly believe that if we fight the junta of neo-Nazis and the oligarchs – then Odessa will be able to make its choice, too.

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