Monday, March 14, 2022

A war "that doesn't exist." Russia suppresses anti-war protest in Crimea


2022-03-13
Source: Sergey Mokrushin, for Krym.Realii

Today's Crimea seems to be copied from George Orwell's novel "1984". Posters "war is peace" and "freedom is slavery" on the peninsula have not yet been seen, but Crimea is dotted in abundance with billboards with photos of Russian President Vladimir Putin. With them, big Brother (crossed out) the President of Russia convinces the Crimeans that Russia's war against Ukraine is a "special operation", the purpose of which is the "demilitarization" and "denazification" of Ukraine.

Not everyone in Crimea clearly agrees with Putin:

"Those who are for Putin say that there is no war, and they are for peace. Another option is that he was forced to do so, "says Ruslana, a resident of Crimea (the name of the interlocutor has been changed for security reasons - KR), recounts the conversations of others. - Now they talk about war all the time. One way or another it is called, but they watch videos, listen to Russian news, some people watch Ukrainian news. They condemn Galkin (the Russian media launched a campaign of harassment for the anti-war position of the artist - KR), repeat TV clichés. Not massively, but actively, especially among their own, at work. In transport, they talk about it less."


City box with the image and quote of V. Putin in Feodosia, March 2022

It is very difficult to judge the mood on the peninsula from information in the public sphere. If only because it is practically non-existent. Since February 24, military censorship has been de facto established in Crimea: the local Crimean media, no matter what happens, generally prefer to remain silent both about the war and about the mood in society, and the central Crimean and Russian media have actually turned into mouthpieces of the Russian Ministry of Defense. The TV channel "Crimea24", controlled by the Russian regime in the Crimea, completely stylized its logo under the Latin Z, which marks Russian military equipment transferred to war through the Crimea.


But the war is a war on that, that its presence is noticeable even in conditions of strict military censorship. And although such a word is prohibited in the Crimea, the war is still present in the publications of the media and Crimean public in social networks: in addition to the reposts of the propaganda media, they write about the exchange rate and the constant recalculation of prices, the shortage of products (sugar and some cereals are released by 2-5 kg in one hand), the abundance of soldiers and military equipment in the Crimea, overcrowded military hospitals.
Stylized under the Latin letter Z logo of the TV channel "Krym24" (in the upper right corner). This letter marks Russian military equipment transferred to the war through the Crimea. Screenshot

Against the backdrop of de facto censorship and frontal propaganda, from the first day of the new stage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, voices of anti-war protest are heard from Crimea. And from the same day, Crimeans began to be frightened with articles about treason and fake information for any anti-war publication or publication of information that differs from the propaganda of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Billboard with the image and quote of Vladimir Putin in Feodosia, March 2022

And not only to frighten. On March 4, the Russian Federation Council approved a new law providing for liability for "discrediting the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation", and on March 7, the Crimean Department of the Russian Police reported: in one day, on March 6, the police revealed 4 cases of such "discrediting". According to natalia Kashkarova, the speaker of the Crimean department of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the content of posters on single pickets of Crimeans "discredited the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation."
A Crimean citizen on a single picket with an anti-war poster, the content of which in the video is retouched by the Russian police, March 2022

On the video of the Russian police, these posters are retouched, but not very carefully: on one of the frames you can see part of the poster - "***E!" allowing you to guess with a high degree of reliability all the short and simple text. Information that discredits, according to the police, the Russian army is the slogan "No to war!". News without blocking and censorship! Install the krym.Realii app for iOS and Android.

The Russian-controlled courts of Crimea promptly issued decisions: an unnamed resident of Yalta was fined 50 thousand rubles, "persons from Simferopol" - 35 thousand, and a resident of Feodosia for anti-war protest was fined 30 thousand rubles. Whether they had the opportunity to defend themselves in court, and whether these decisions will be challenged, is still unknown.



On the same day, the Russian police of Crimea reported on the capture of a 17-year-old Crimean citizen who, according to investigators, poured paint on a monument to "polite people", that is, Russian invaders in Simferopol. The FSB was involved in the capture of the teenager, now he remains under his own recognizance.

Monument to "polite people" in the center of Simferopol. Archival photo

Krym.Realii at the moment could not contact the Crimeans who suffered for anti-war slogans, or their lawyers. If they want to indicate their position on the pages of the Krym.Realii website, we will provide such an opportunity.

On March 4, A Crimean Tatar, Emil Emirov, was searched in Bakhchysarai and arrested on charges of "high treason." Nasrulla Seydaliyev was arrested in Simferopol district. He is accused of involvement in "illegal armed formations" – the battalion of Noman Çelebicihan, known in connection with the civil blockade of Crimea.

In addition, Crimean Tatar activists receive warnings from the Russian police about the inadmissibility of participating in protest actions.

Despite the fact that the penalties for solidarity with the people of Ukraine in Crimea have already been put on stream, the Crimeans find an opportunity to express it. On March 9, the birthday of Taras Shevchenko, Crimeans brought flowers to his monument in Shevchenko Park. Russian police have reported another report for an anti-war poster.
Monument to Taras Shevchenko in Kerch, March 9, 2022

Deputy Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Tamila Tasheva believes that the Crimeans accused of cooperation with the "right sector" and the Çelebicikhan battalion could also suffer in this way for their anti-war position. "We are well aware that these are most likely anti-war activists. Now it is difficult to verify information about what is happening in Crimea, but I am more than sure that these people most likely took part in this (anti-war protest – KR), but they are accused of preparing sabotage. We have been observing this in Crimea for the past 8 years," says Tasheva.
Tamila Tasheva, Deputy Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea

Speaking about the mass propaganda of the Russian "special operation" and the ban on the word "war", Tamila Tasheva says that the objective reality makes many doubt the narratives that the Kremlin media are building in the Crimea.

"Part of the population, I think, believes. But a large part of the population was sown doubts. Because when they are told "our military is not killed, our military is not captured," they see that corpses are returning to Crimea from mainland Ukraine, and military hospitals are being organized in civilian hospitals. Of course, these are thousands of doctors who work with these cases, they have families, they spread this information. When subpoenas come, it becomes clear that this is the mobilization of a large part of the male population, of course this is spread and discussed. The peninsula is not so large, although there is a lot of newcomers, as the Crimeans say, "newcomers". The very reality that the Russian authorities tried to hide is breaking through."

Source: Sergey Mokrushin, for Krym.Realii

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