Beautiful Crimea: A Summer Road Trip
Amid a Fratricidal War
A Note to You Dear Reader
My dear, dear reader, thank you very much for
taking the time and making the effort to find my work and to read it, things
are getting more and more difficult here and around the world for
investigative journalists and anyone who seeks to find the truth. If you are
one of my long time readers or were one of my regular guests then you know
some of the problems I was having in getting out the truth and you know
firsthand what I am talking
about.
In putting this work together I have faced an unusual level of resistance
even from people who have not even read the piece in its entirety.
Whether you are an academic, a government official, someone interested in
intelligence matters or a simple citizen of the world I think you will find
something of interest here. As I am not writing for a commercial outlet or
for the Government of the Russian Federation as I have done for the last 5
years or so there is no limit or “framework” I must work under. I am writing
simply the truth without an editor or board to please, just the truth, plain
simple, uncut, un-slanted without spin or omission. The truth the whole
truth and nothing but the truth, something that “they” do not want and the
most dangerous weapon I have at my disposal. Read on at your own risk and if
the truth makes you uncomfortable wherever it may lead then stop reading
right now.
Another Note to You Dear Reader for
an Unpublished Version
It is a given that any organized system decays with time and left to its own
devises will eventually devolve into its most basic core elements. This is
true of organized matter, such as a car left to the elements, as well as to
complex organizations and systems such as governments and even
civilizations. The Second Law of Thermodynamics proves this thesis, but
humans in their divine struggle, spend all their energy fighting entropy, in
mankind’s eternal battle against the very universe which created it,
attempting to bring it to an ordered and divine state. However mankind is
also subject to the laws of nature and decay and has its own into “baser
elements” such as Nazis, who bring about war and destruction and genocide
and have largely destroyed what at the beginning was a beautiful complex
organized life support system called Earth.
Observations can be made on many levels, as a journalist and truth seeker my
goal in Crimea was to document and observe the reality on the ground in a
completely unbiased and detached manner. This is difficult due to the fact
that when we observe and interact with the world around us, we as observers
have a determined effect on what we observe. Even quantum mechanics has
shown that we as observers have a measured and defined effect on what we
observe, therefore we must be at maximum passivity and peace to observe
correctly without affecting transference on what is observed. Observer
effects range from what is called the Maharishi Effect, when a soul in peace
effects those around it, to quantum mechanics where the observer actually
has an effect on matter in what is called the observer effect. Thus the
documenting of any observations has to take into the account the observer.
Why is all that important? Because I want to present you with a real view of
a place and a situation, the realities of which have been twisted and
misrepresented beyond all proportions.
Demise of Voice of Russia
Now with the liquidation of the Voice of Russia I am attempting to find a
publisher who will have the courage to publish the truth no matter how
inconvenient it may be but it has been hard. The Voice of Russia was the
last major media where the world audience could find the truth and now it is
gone and has unceremoniously been gutted.
Even though hundreds of my regular readers came out in support and wrote
letters to the new management of Rossiya Sevodnya they have been unbending
and continue to follow an editorial line which appeases the West and those
nefarious buriers of the truth who are controlling the western media. I am
now firmly in the belief that soon I will be silenced forever.
Personal Struggle
I would ask you to please take heed
and approach the words you are reading with the grave seriousness they
deserve. Things are getting so bad that these words may in reality possibly
be the last words of a dead man. Sadly this foreboding introduction is not a
dramatic over exaggeration but in fact quite the opposite and more of an
understatement of how far things have gone. I would write about the personal
price I have had to pay but as a realist I know that in today’s world
stories of personal pain and struggle are of little interest and in fact are
for the most part shunned by members of our 21st century world.
However as part of my insurance policy, along with my insurance files and
other measures, my personal struggle will soon be known to anyone who is
interested in delving into it and those who may have not completely lost
every shed of their humanity in our cold and heartless world.
If you came across this article in a
quest for the truth about Crimea and what is currently taking place in
Russia and Ukraine and do not wish to read a personal introduction by the
author or know about his personal plight I beg you to consider that my
plight is directly related to the events at hand. As a member of the Russian
world who enjoyed a certain level of status within that world and who has
now been marginalized for what may seem to be coincidental reasons it is
important to communicate to what has happened to me in order for you to
understand what is happening to the Russian world and to those who support
it and are members of it.
I have been told that this piece is a
suicide piece for me as a journalist, something certain people oppose me
calling myself, and that it is an admission of defeat. I disagree, yes I am
writing about my real world problems, and no I am not writing about all of
them, yes I am admitting we have been hit and are struggling to stay afloat,
but NO I am not admitting defeat and I am still fighting for the truth and
this piece is a testament to that.
Third and Final Note to YOU Dear
Reader
I am currently carrying the
workload of 5 people so I have very little time to write and complete this
piece the way I would want to, so I have decided to publish what I have and
will add to it later. Thus this is a work in progress and is not complete by
any means.
A Note on Russian Infrastructure
The drive through Russia from Moscow to Anapa was uneventful as such trips
go. The roads are in wonderful condition other than several hundred
kilometers to the north and south of Rostov-on-the-Don that are for the most
part under varying stages of construction and are being repaired as I write.
The level of infrastructure development throughout Russia on the whole is
progressing at a rapid pace thanks to President Putin and the Russian
Government under his leadership but there are still areas that need to be
further developed.
Failure of Kiev in Crimea and
Elsewhere
This
important on many levels, something I will get into in more detail below as
we enter the Crimea, and is in direct
contrast to what has happened in Ukraine and what is happening in the United
States. As an extreme example, as I found out in Crimea, the Kiev Government
completely ignored the vital infrastructure of the Republic and obviously
spent nothing on roads for decades. I would argue that the eventual loss of
the territory by Kiev was in direct correlation to this negligent attitude
towards the citizens, taxpayers and residents of that area. The same can be
said of other areas of Ukraine which Kiev is also on the verge of losing all
out.
For a wide range of socio-economic and political reasons infrastructure
development and the maintenance of roads and public infrastructure should be
the first priority for any country that wants to stay robust and maintain a
civil society and an economy that is robust, satisfied, strong, and which
will support the state. Any modern government based on a system where they
have the right to tax the citizenry and which depends on citizens for power
and its economic might, cannot escape the reality that their power depends
on the satisfaction of the population.
Although the populace can be bamboozled, lied to and manipulated to some
degree by the media into giving up their rights and overall well-being for
the benefit of the state or the country during difficult times, depending on
this strategy for long term gains will eventually lead to the collapse and
the total demise of the state. The US has done this with the terrorist
boogeyman to enrich the military/industrial/intelligence complex and on a
mini scale Kiev is attempting to do the same after the perpetual lies of the
former Ukrainian oligarchy and their decades of neglect.
Of course the US-installed Kiev nazis understand that without the support of
the people they will also soon be destroyed but rather than attempting to
reach a compromise with the populace and negotiate in good faith they have
been advised or coerced by their western masters into attempting to force
the population to submit to their will. Branding anyone against them as
being terrorists and using all the force at their disposal to destroy them
and all of the infrastructure in the country is a losing proposition for all
involved and by continuing to slaughter the citizenry and destroy the
infrastructure they are signing their own death warrants.
This use of force by the Kiev nazis to bring the people into submission is a
direct microcosm of the strategy used by their US masters and what the US is
attempting to do to the entire planet. It is not a secret and it is visible
everywhere in Crimea and Ukraine. Please read on for more.
Lesson from Russia
During the Yeltsin years, when banditism was ripe and CIA/USAID plans for
the destruction of Russia were progressing along at full steam, money for
roads and infrastructure just disappeared into the pockets and the offshore
accounts of the bandits and oligarchs. Although many of the oligarchs remain
they have made at least a pretense of giving something back to the state and
the people and have contributed to filling the state coffers. The oligarchy,
although choosing for the most part to stay in the shadows, is still strong
in Russia. To the chagrin of many if not all of the western backed
oligarchs, who were responsible for the horrendous outflow of capital from
the Russian Federation during the years following the collapse of the USSR,
President Putin appeared on the scene and reigned them in and saved the
country.
Unfortunately for Ukraine no strong leader such as President Putin appeared
to challenge the oligarchy and save the state, the CIA/USAID/NATO were
allowed to operate unhindered and the president was allowed to be
overthrown, leading to what we have today: a country that has been
completely sold out to the West and a dissatisfied populace that is being
literally wiped off the map. This is the logical conclusion to US plans and
what happens to every country where the US has been allowed to effect regime
change and spread their “democracy”.
Feeling the Death, Decay and the
Tentacles of the CIA
Perceptive, informed and intelligent individuals in countries targeted for
regime change/destruction by the US/NATO/CIA will know exactly what I am
talking about when I say that the effects of the CIA operation in Ukraine
and the rise of the CIA/NATO nazis less than one thousand kilometers from my
home have been felt and noticeable. Those who are aware of soft power
manipulations, civil-society subversion, NGO operations, USAID
“democracy/open society” operations, 5th column support and the
like will know what I mean.
Although Russia has been able to counter most of the standard operations and
methods used by the CIA, something we saw with the Bolotnaya/Pussy Riot
attempts to destabilize Russia, the expulsion of USAID and the law on
“Foreign Agents” subtle and not-so-subtle manifestations of US subversion
are still evident in Russia. Recently I have seen billboards with NATO
soldiers not far from Moscow and the disturbing appearance on social media
by the same company of images of a NATO soldier with a Russian looking baby
in his pocket. This is clearly an attempt to condition the populace to
accept such imagery or a preemptive exploratory PR move.
The most alarming for me personally has been the liquidation of the Voice of
Russia and the silencing of my voice and all of those I attempted to give a
voice to through my journalistic work by certain individuals in the new
parent agency Rossiya Sevodnya, which I have already mentioned. Given that
the Voice of Russia was an effective instrument in the information war, in
promoting Russia and in exposing US illegality, it is alarming that it has
been silenced.
Paying the Price for Opposing the
Empire of Evil
Other than having my US citizenship revoked, my school taken over, my bid
for Russian citizenship interfered with, several attempts by US
color-revolution expert Michael McFaul to have me thrown in prison and
various attempts to demonize me and even make me look as if I am opposed to
the Russian Orthodox Church I have now had to face the alarming slow motion
destruction and silencing of my voice.
What I have been subjected to is one thing but more alarming was the arrest
and detention and then the manipulation of what had been a secret source but
who is now publically known to be connected to me and whose fate I feel
partially responsible for. I am speaking of one idealistic young man named
Sergey Belous who is part of the cleanup and anti-journalism campaign that
the nazis and their CIA backers are engaged in in Russia and Ukraine.
Sadly I am not alone, many of my sources, guests and those who I have worked
with in the past are suffering more than I. Apart from Sergey Belous, many
of my previous sources have become unreachable and/or have disappeared or
suffered harassment or backlash of varying degree. Not only for their
cooperation with me but for their own outspokenness. This is includes many
members of Anonymous, people like Kevin Barret, Jesselyn Radack, Medea
Benjamin, Kristinn Hrafnsson, Rick Rozoff and many of the others who I have
had the honor of interviewing and working with over the years.
Many of the people who spoke out on the Voice of Russia, such as Nathan
Folks, have paid a price for their revelations which would lead one to
question the way the VOR dealt with sources and who was in fact controlling
the flow of information there.
My last work published by the Rossiya Sevodnya site RIA-Novosti, which
liquidated the VOR, exposed a
CIA front company used for rendition flights and actually slowed down the
extradition of Russian citizen Roman Seleznyov who was kidnapped by the
CIA in the Maldives and then taken to Guam and arrested. After that I was
taken off the site, something which should have set off alarms in Russia but
which is being covered up.
The War on Journalism
Make no doubt that we are currently in a state of war. The Ukrainian people
are in a state of hot war and the Russian people and in fact most of the
world are being subjected to an ongoing information and secret undeclared
war being waged by the US/CIA/NATO and all of their client states and
instruments to bring about what the US openly calls Full Spectrum Dominance,
and what you and I can refer to as complete and total global domination.
The United States, which has openly classified journalists and truth seekers
as legitimate targets for surveillance, drone attack and assassination, is
at the forefront of the war on journalism, but the open arrest, detention
and harassment being carried out with impunity by the CIA’s stooges in
Ukraine has brought the war on journalism to a new level.
So with that knowledge in mind and thoughts about how to obtain new
employment, protect myself and my family from a campaign to demonize and
marginalize us, how to help the refugees pouring out of Ukraine and how to
save my young friend Sergey Belous I set off on my journey.
George Galloway Beaten
Andrey Stenin Killed
Fact Finding Mission to Crimea and
Rostov/Donetsk/Border Zone
Launching My Private Fact Finding
Mission
As a member of the Russian media establishment who was reporting and
commenting on the situation in Ukraine from day one I had many reasons for
making my trip. Since December I have made many trips to the Russian areas
bordering Ukraine mainly out of personal interest and to help refugees. As a
seeker of the truth it was also important for me personally to verify that
all of the reports of massive troop buildups by Russian forces along the
border were false. Unless Russia has invisible troops and weapons, such as
those which filled the empty space of the humanitarian aid convoy, then
these build ups are 100% fantasy on the part of the West and their nazi
junta in Kiev.
Since the referendum on reunification with Russia and my reports on the
plans by NATO to use extremist Muslim elements among the Crimean Tartar
population I wanted to see firsthand what the situation on the ground was in
Crimea and being as I had my first vacation in over a year (on week paid) I
decided to satisfy my curiosity. I also wanted to see what I could to do to
further assist the refugees pouring out of Ukraine and I needed to find
information and take measures to protect a former source who was kidnapped
by the Right Sector and the Ukrainian SBU.
As I am now on Right Sector/SBU hit lists, along with CIA “WikiLeaks watch
lists” something I am quite proud of in fact, and the US Government decided
to brand me as an enemy of the state and revoke my citizenship, there was
also a covert aspect to my trip which maybe someday I will tell you all
about if I am still alive when this is all over.
6,000 kilometer/3,728 mile road trip
on a shoestring
Back to the launch of my little trip, saying little by no means should
minimize it, I do so merely because time was short, funding was almost
non-existent and I was extremely limited in the scope of what I could
actually do due to those factors and the fact that I cannot cross the
border. If you have been one of my readers for a long time you know I
usually take a road trip or two in the summer and the tell my readers about
it or post photos on my site.
Previous Trip
This time my road trip was a little different than they usually are as you
have gathered. Usually they were just touristic in nature but this time
there is a fratricidal war raging across the border and a new territory
belonging to the Russian Federation to explore.
Due to an almost zero budget and a complete lack of sponsors or even means
to borrow money to finance the trip I came up with an idea and finally used
the internet to positively affect my real world existence. Due to the
liquidation of the Voice of Russia and the disappearance of my 4 week paid
vacation as well as the fact that unlike everyone else who was still left
with a job I was only given one week paid vacation, the money available was
almost nothing.
I registered on several sites for
people wishing to find travel companions and found dozens of other people
who were also interested in travelling to the Crimea or the southern part of
the Russian Federation and in the end took them along with me and had them
pay for the gas. I drove they provided company, paid for fuel and coffee and
were transported almost non-stop to their destinations. So it was a win-win
for all of us involved. One woman actually moved to Anapa and her luggage
filled the back of the vehicle. She paid extra of course.
Underlying Tension
Sadly against the backdrop of everything that is going on here in Russia and
in neighboring Donbass there was little chance to enjoy the trip or to
merely take pleasure in getting away from it all. The topic on everyone’s
mind is what is going on there and most of our conversations were about the
situation and the rise of nazis in Ukraine and Europe in 2014. After almost
10 months of focusing on the western backed destruction of Ukraine rather
than having a vacation to get away from the onslaught of information, I was
figuratively speaking, diving into the heart of the beast. So be it.
Picking Up My Charges
Without boring you with all of the details of my preparations after packing
the things I would need on my trip I set about picking up the passengers who
I was taking on my trip. One was a young man named Michael, another named
Anonymous and the third was a lady named Rita who was moving to Anapa.
For all of us it was the first time organizing and partaking on such a trip
with strangers so we all checked each other’s documents making a note of who
we were riding with. One of the people was a Ukrainian citizen which caused
some unspoken trepidation at first but he seemed well informed and on the
right side so we all relaxed a little after we got to know each other a
little better.
This “trepidation” underlined itself as an example of the successful
division and suspicion that the West and the CIA has installed in Russian
society. Their campaign in Ukraine and against the Slavic peoples is sadly,
successfully sowing divisions.
The First Leg
After picking everyone up we headed off straight away as it was approaching
evening and I wanted to make up for time lost in local Moscow traffic. After
battling the traffic on the MKAD (the Moscow Ring Highway) and getting on
the M-4 the traffic thinned out the further we got from Moscow and we were
able to make good time. The passengers knew beforehand that this was a
smoking flight and the kind of music I liked so we got along well.
First leg
As we settled in for the long trip the conversation immediately turned to
Ukraine and the anti-American sentiment was very clear from the outset,
proving that once again the US has succeeded in making itself hated in yet
another country.
Sitting in traffic on the wide multi-lane Moscow Ring Highway, four souls
brought together by fate, longing for open highways, a return to peace in
the world and the soft caress of ocean breezes (not necessarily in that
order). We crawled along on our way to the M-4, the sun getting low on the
horizon, all of us filled with our own private expectations of the long trip
ahead, 1,600 kilometers for them, almost 6,000 for me. Even trapped among
people stuck in rush hour attempting to get home in their daily grind we
felt wonderfully free, soon we would be out in the clear open spaces with
wonderful asphalt passing below our spinning wheels heading into the future.
Our first stop was a town not far from Rostov on the Don, approximately 600
kilometers from Moscow and one which I will not name for security reasons
because the town is a meeting place and somewhat of a base of operations for
the flow of people coming in and out of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s
Republics crossing the border of Russia.
Our road of choice was federal highway M-4 which has been recently repaved,
widened, rebuilt and includes several hundred kilometers of sections where
toll must be paid. As a controlled access multilane highway it is world
class in its markings, emergency services and overall construction. The toll
sections, which are in fact part of one long toll road, bypass most of the
cities and towns on the way, and are well lit, beautifully paved and marked
and access ramps are well engineered to make incoming and exiting traffic
move in such a way as to cause no effect on the main traffic flow. Long exit
and entrance ramps, long acceleration/merge lanes and wide shoulders leave
plenty of room for even the slowest vehicles to accelerate and smoothly join
the flow of traffic. The entire length costs about 300 rubles for a car.
Another feature of the toll roads is an active emergency road service, we
ran out of gas at about 1:30 in the morning on an empty stretch of road and
within 3 minutes the emergency truck was behind us with yellow flashing
lights as I poured gas from my 10 gallon container into the tank.
As I prefer to make such trips during the night, at least the main chunks,
M-4 is ideal as it allows for maximum speed and land coverage with a speed
limit of 130 kilometers per hour for most of the route. Even for the most
heavy-footed drivers this is perfectly adequate and few vehicles travelled
much faster. Traffic is very light at night, especially in the wee hours, so
we were able to make excellent time. During the winter months this is also
true but in the summer it is much better. Again our first real stop was
about 600 kilometers out, which is a healthy sized jump. We did stop after
about 300 kilometers at a little diner and I had some borsch, a steak and
refilled my coffee thermos for about 200 rubles. Our Ukrainian friend had
some vodka and fell asleep soon after until we got to stop 2.
If you have travelled in Russia you know that you have to take food, drinks
and anything else you might need during the journey with you because there
are few places to stop quickly and buy things. Even wandering into some of
the towns you might meet along the way seeking supermarkets and the like can
be an arduous and time consuming process and may be fruitless. That is
during the day. At night forget it. This is changing as there are more and
more service stations with cafes or minimarkets. On the toll road these are
even less shops and such than usual and to find a diner and shower and motel
you have to leave the toll road.
I once spent 2 hours searching towns for something to eat when we left
Moscow with nothing. That was two years ago but the memory is clear.
In the case of M-4 with the toll section starting at the 48 kilometer marker
and finishing at the 464 kilometer marker, which is still 600 kilometers
north of Rostov on the Don, after reaching Voronezh there are more diners
and such and as anyone road savvy road warrior knows the best places to stop
and eat are where the long-haul drivers stop. South of Voronezh there are
several such places.
This is me driving through Voronezh.
Voronezh and Sergey Belous
Voronezh
After leaving our anonymous young male companion somewhere South of Voronezh
around noon the following day Mikhail decided to go on with me and Rita to
Anapa as he had friends there who would meet him.
For some reason driving through Rostov on the Don is always a pain in the
posterior. It seems like they change the route every time due to
construction. This time I thought I had it all worked out and decided to go
straight through the center and cross the main bridge over the Don but lo
and behold it was closed for construction and we had to drive around the
center looking for a detour for about an hour.
Leaving Krasnodar
After finally leaving Rostov on the Don and heading across the Krasnodar
Region things seemed to be looking good and we were making pretty good time.
After leaving the M-4 near Kushevskaya the road turns into a two lane
nightmare. The distances across the Krasnodar Region are great and during
the day the mix of farm vehicles, heavy trucks, local cross traffic and
speeding cars driven by people ready to risk life and limb to gain three
seconds makes for a dangerous mix.
The roads themselves are well paved but there are few signs to point the
way. It is a running joke that the only people who can travel these roads
are the natives because routes are purposefully obfuscated. For example
every town has a roundabout at the entry point and exit point, and each one
has a minimum of three options, almost all of them unmarked.
About two hours across the Krasnodar Region we were almost involved in an
accident when a woman driver decided to slam on the breaks and allow a moped
to cross the road. I was luck and dived to the side but the big truck that
was behind me hit a Zhiguli which he catapulted forward and which hit
another car, all the while me in the middle.
An Attempt to Take Me Out?
The white square was my vehicle which I deleted for security reasons. The
video was given to me by the driver of the Scania which almost took us out.
After causing the pile up the woman who stopped for the moped just continued
on her way. The stop was unnecessary because we were moving on a the main
road with right of way and all side traffic is supposed to yield.
We were lucky not to suffer a scratch but I helped the truck driver download
the video and share it with all of the other drivers involved. The poor guy
in the Zhiguli pretty much had his car totaled.
After making sure everyone was okay we proceeded on to Anapa making it there
by evening, about 26 hours after leaving Moscow. Rita invited everyone up
after we helped carry all of her stuff into her new home and Mikhail and I
washed up. I had not slept since I left Moscow and in fact since finishing
my night shift on the day of leaving so I was exhausted.
Mikhail met up with his friends and as Rita was nice enough to put me up for
the night as I had not slept for almost two days, I indulged in trying what
I was told was a locally made moonshine called Chachi, which Mikhail’s
friends offered me. We toasted in parting and I did the bottoms up.
Unfortunately for me there was no water or anything to wash it down with
because the Chachi burned going all the way down. The closest thing I can
think of to Chachi is Absinth, however Chachi has more of a vodka
aftertaste. I had to shots and feeling comfortably tipsy went to sleep.
The Next Mystery Traveler
At about 22:00 that evening, between the Chachi and bed I got a message from
a young lady named Alyeona. She was interested in the Anapa/Crimea/Moscow
leg of my journey and came out to meet me. The next morning we met up and
she helped to sponsor the rest of the trip.
14 Kilometers in 36 Hours
We headed off early at about 10 am and made it to the line for the ferry
from Russia to Crimea at about 11:30 am. All told we would spend about 36
hours waiting in line and covering 14 kilometers of road to the ferry
staging area and the 40 minute ferry ride which cost about 3,000 rubles
before finally crossing the straight and landing in Crimea.
33 hours like this
As I was very interested in the people this was
a good chance to get a feel for the mood of Crimeans and I had many
conversations with many of the people waiting patiently in line. There were
many cars with Ukrainian plates and cars which we thought were filled with
Muscovites as they had the 777 code, but later we learned they were also
distributed to people in Sevastopol and some other Crimean areas.
With temperatures hovering around 34 Celsius
and not a cloud in the sky or shade to hide under what would seem for
someone from the south as a benign northern sun, baked us and kept us
sweltering. For me personally after almost 20 years of rarely leaving Moscow
it was very uncomfortable.
Under such condition travelling 14 kilometers
in 33 hours when you cannot sleep because the cars move a few meters every
15 minutes or so the nerves can become frayed rather quickly but the people
were for the most part incredibly patient although there were almost fights
on a few occasions when certain drivers attempted to by-pass the line.
At the beginning of the line there were police
who were controlling those who attempted to by-pass the line and who very
helpful when we first stopped. They warned us immediately that the wait
would be about 40 hours.
Since my vacation was only one week almost two
days waiting in line and the approximately 39 hours spent just getting to
that line this meant I did not have much time. In fact I had to extend the
vacation for a couple of days. The fact that I should have had at least a
month of paid vacation was a constant irritant in the back of my mind but
one which the RS management explained by saying as the Voice of Russia had
been liquidated we had all lost our vacations, seniority and even our
bonuses. In reality this was just another way to save money or redirect it
into someone else’s pocket. It was really just another slap in the face
after more than 5 years of endless work, blind loyalty and slaving away day
and night at such a temp that at times it seemed they were literally trying
to work me to death, but that is another story.
Of course I brought this up with management but
they have no interest and operate with the attitude “if you don’t like it:
quit”. I was originally promised 2 weeks paid holiday but this was just
another lie and I was informed on my way to Crimea that it would only be
one. There are no unions and the rights of workers are completely ignored in
the new Russia, thank you capitalism. Also with my status of refugee they
know I am in a vulnerable position and use this constantly. I was being paid
one good salary but doing the work of 5 to 7 people, effectively being a
slave and spending all my money to merely survive and keeping working round
the clock. But anyway back to the line and the 36 hours.
You might say I am whining or complaining but
in reality things are much worse, I am just getting sick of covering for
people who are exploiting me and give a rat’s ass as to my well-being. This
can be also said of the 36 hour wait. In any normal situation if people had
to spend 36 hours in a traffic jam there would be screams of discontent but
this was an unusual situation and all of the people knew it, so we all
waited patiently.
What would you do in a baking car for 36 hours?
We talked, we listened to music, we tanned, we read, we ate, we poured water
on our heads to stay cool and Alyeona even went swimming, to the left of the
road was a fresh water reservoir and to the right was the Sea of Azov (my
favorite sea other than the Caribbean where I was born). The main 14
kilometer stretch is on a sort of land bridge that separates these two
bodies of water.
On the left this fresh water reservoir
On the right the Sea of Azov
So between moving the car every few minutes,
trying to keep cool and generally just dealing with the situation we did
meet a lot of people. I was particularly interested in the views people had
about Crimea’s reunification with Russia and their attitude to the West and
to Kiev.
As this was the main topic on most people’s
minds it did not take any prodding or questioning whatsoever to hear what
the people really felt. These are not the neo-liberal monied Muscovites or
the carefully diplomatic and perpetually neutral types you often meet in
Moscow, people who hide their true feelings or opinions, these are people
who have obviously been oppressed for so long that they are just bursting
with joy and hope for the future. But I am sure if a group of American
neo-cons or a group of Ukrainian Nazis or nationalists showed up, they would
have been quite literally ripped to shreds.
For the men it is a question of defending their
families, homes, honor and homeland, and the level of patriotism and love
for Russia was something you do not see in Moscow, where the neo-liberal US
5th column has been at it for decades trying to “westernize”
Moscow.
In the middle of the night we finally made it
to a staging area where they measured the vehicles and we had to present
passports, car insurance papers, car registration, driver’s licenses and pay
for the ferry tickets.
The staging area was the only place I finally
got some sleep and it is a very good place for the FSB to verify who is
crossing and what everyone is doing there, which I am sure they did, in a
completely discreet and invisible manner.
While we were waiting in line to buy the
tickets, after receiving a document stating the length and class of our
vehicle, a former Ukrainian citizen in the line saw my refugee booklet and
showed me theirs. Normally this is something you have to hide in Moscow and
it is almost an object of shame, like the Star of David Jews were forced to
wear, but this time it was a matter of pride and people looked at me with
admiration when they found out I had said no to America and was fighting for
Russia. Especially when the conversation was about how the US should pay for
what they did to Ukraine and how NATO should be destroyed and how a nuclear
bomb should be set off in Washington eliminating the entire US Government
which would solve all of the problems of the American people and bring about
world peace. Really.
3 hours here
Another ferry loading as we leave the Russian mainland
Inside the ferry
We were followed
Entering Crimea: Kerch and a Strange
Smell
It is unfortunate that on our way back Alyeona’s camera was stolen as the
batterry in mine
had died and all of the initial pictures of Kerch and many of Crimea we had
ended up taking with hers as it was of better quality than my old Panasonic.
After the 36 hours in the vehicle we were tired, dirty and hungry. We were
also almost out of gas even though we had used what was left in the gas can.
So the first thing we needed was a supermarket and a gas station. We had
enough to make it to Kerch from the ferry area, about 12 kilometers. Anyone
planning such a trip take note. Fill up on the Russian side because gas is
much more expensive in Crimea. My last fill up in Russia was 29 rubles a
liter; however the cheapest we found in Crimea was 39 rubles a liter.
Entering Kerch we were first struck by the horrible condition of the roads.
Here was a city where the roads did not suffer the brutal expansions and
freezing/thawings of the Russian winter, yet the condition was worse than
even some of what I had seen even in the far north.
Although it was getting late we were also struck by the absolutely empty
streets. We did not see a single soul walking a dog or riding a bike or just
walking. We were also struck by the almost complete lack of road traffic and
the fact that all of the cars we did see seemed in a hurry to get off the
roads or hide. The overall feeling was eerie and not helped by the strange
smell that was pervading the entire city, a sickly sweet nauseating smell of
chemicals and detergent which seemed to have been spread over the city like
a toxic cloud.
I have only encountered anything similar in the Caribbean when they gassed
the towns to kill mosquitoes but this was something different. That was an
acrid acidic smell. The smell in Kerch was a sweet pungent toxic smell mixed with a sugary
washing power odor. Extremely unpleasant.
We finally found a large supermarket in Kerch called Fresh, which was on the
main route, and thought we had found civilization only to be faced with what
would be the first of many rude surprises.
Unfortunately we have no photos as Alyeona’s camera was stolen so you will just have to believe me on this one. We entered the supermarket, which was large, well lit and had all the markings of being a big chain but all of the refrigerated cases and food displays were empty and we could not even find cheese or white bread.
All of
the displays and signs were in Ukrainian and it had a feeling of empty decay
and quite frankly death. Maybe I was tired but this feeling of moldy decay,
smothered evil and death was pounding the senses like a drum beating just below
the auditory threshold.
In the supermarket we did find some beer (the only thing in abundance) about 30 different kinds of Ukrainian beer, for about
20 rubles a bottle but other than that pretty much empty. We also bought
some bananas which were turning black and which we ended up never eating.
In Kerch for example the above suppermarket which we visited seemed strange
indeed. Now I might have to live there for a long period of time to actually
prove this wrong but all of the clientelle, the cashiers, the shop help and
the managers
This constant reminder to the Russian speaking
populace th
E-97 M-17
The road from hell is a good characterization. In the introduction to this piece I brought up the topic of entropy and the breaking down of organized systems. The reason for doing so was to underline the obvious effect of what happens when something such as a road is completely neglected for decades. This is also true of all of the visible state maintained infrastructure in areas where Kiev was responsible for maintenance. Most services that usually are delegated to the city level are in fairly good condition but the M-17 highway, which should have had a federal ranking and literally connects the major cities of the peninsula from East to West. The M-17 is the main road in Crimea and the condition is deplorable.
Even in the vehicle we were travelling in (one with very sturdy suspension) I was only able to maintain a speed of about 50 kilometers an hour for almost the entire length, from Kerch to Sevastopol. Near Sevastopol it does smooth out a little which makes it better for local Sevastopol traffic.
The condition of the infrastructure makes it clear that Kiev did not spend a dime in Crimea and underlines the way the territory was treated as an unimportant marginalized area. This obvious neglect by Kiev of the roads was not an exception but the overall policy it had towards Crimea and the Crimean people, hence their joy in finally finding someone (Russia) who is interested in their fate.
Mike Tyson
Sevastopol
Rock and Roll
Yalta
THE TRIP BACK
The Russian Road Trip Near a War
Zone
Germans Who Tried to Run Me Off the Road
NOTE: NO
TIME FOR WRITE UP YET BUT HERE ARE SOME OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS OF AREAS WHERE
THERE IS SUPPOSED TO BE A HUGE RUSSIAN MILITARY BUILDUP
According to the US/CIA/NATO there is a massive presence of Russian troops
in these areas. LOOK CLOSELY
Smoke from fighting in Ukraine. Photo from Russian side of border. No
Russian troops.
No Russian troops
No Russian troops
No Russian troops
No Russian troops
No Russian troops
No Russian troops
No Russian troops
No Russian troops
Izvarino. Sign riddled with Ukrainian bullet holes
Results of Ukrainian Bombing
Refugees
Grandma, Valia, Julia, Yaroslav, Burning Fields, Drones, Ambulances
America Deserves to be Bombed and an
Armed Uprising is the Only Way
The Rising Tide of Nazism in Russia
The US/NATO Operation which some have dubbed “Gladio 2” continues unabated
in Ukraine with more and more reports coming out of the country of dissent
in the ranks of those sent as meat into the meat grinder that is the war the
nazi junta in Kiev have launched against the civilian population in the east
of Ukraine.
The Nazi Junta Continues to Kill the
Civilians in the East
New revelations and continued silent collusion from the West
VOR advisors pushing agenda
Dumbing down
A year ago we stopped NATO
The Silencing of the Voice of Russia
President Putin Knows
International Peacekeeping Mission
Fratricidal Conflict
Division of the Slavic World
Endless war
I can be reached at jar2@jar2.com