Russia. Crimea. History. Nikolay Starikov

amazing picture on the Hrushevsky street. The confrontation between the militants and the police forces actually was taking place only on this street! Moreover, only on just one side of the street. Accesses to the administrative buildings on another side of the street are guarded only by a thin police line. The militants stubbornly attacked only from one (another) side.

      And all of a sudden, “Berkut” swooped forth, and just a mere handful of policemen took control over a barricade on the Hrushevsky street. Later it would be proven that there were no command to attack, the “Berkut”-guys just threw several stun grenades, and then – seeing fleeing militants – decided to move out forth on their own initiative. However, since there was no command – “Berkut” had to draw back to their initial position. After that in the social networks were flooded with the news: two people killed by “pro-Government snipers”. In fact, the police recovered two dead bodies[52]. Despite the attempts to make of those two unfortunates as victims of the “sanguinary regime”, the Interior Ministry claimed that these people were killed by a hunting shot and from a close range. Most likely – they were the specially prepared “sacred and sacral” victims of the revolution. This assumption is indirectly supported by the origin of the victims: one of them was a Belarusian, the second one – an Armenian nationalist. Seems, as if Ukrainian nationalists were specially left untouched. The Armenian guy just before his death read poems of the Ukrainian poet Shevchenko in front of a video camera with the flaming barricades as a background. Very romantic. Interesting, whether all militants recite poems, or only those, who then will be “accidentally” killed?[53]

      23 January 2014. The negotiations between Yanukovich and the opposition leaders lasted for five hours. After that, the opposition declared that an agreement was reached: the arrested protesters would be let free in return of de-blocking of the Governmental quarter and the Hrushevsky street. However, the people’s assembly rejected this proposal. After that, Arseniy Yatsenyuk declared that the Maidan would extend and would occupy the Hrushevsky street[54].

      28 January 2014. Most of the “dictatorial laws of 16 January 2014” were cancelled by the Rada majority vote. The Party of the Regions – on Yanukovich’s command – voted for the abolition of the laws, which were adopted by the very same deputies only two weeks ago. These “laws of 16 January” were finally annulled on 31 January 2014 by a special decree of the President Yanukovich No.732-VII[55]. The same day the President accepted the resignation of the Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov and the entire Government[56]. After some time the President proposed the position of the Prime Minister to Arseniy Yatsenyuk. The latter has turned down the offer. His aim was to become a Prime Minister without Yanukovich, and he was ready to pay for this with hundreds of human lives during the unrest and the coup.

      • Crimea. A mass meeting took place in Simferopol “against the dictatorship in Ukraine”. It was organized by the Majlis of the Crimean-Tatar people. The action was supported also by the “Euromaidan – Crimea” movement. The demonstration took place in front of the building of the office of the President of Ukraine in Crimea instead of the central square of Simferopol – at this square an anti-Maidan rally started at almost the same time.[57]

      1 February 2014. The opposition leaders Klitschko and Yatsenyuk participated in a Munich Conference where they had several meetings with the US Secretary of State John Kerry and some European leaders[58].

      4 February 2014.

      • The leader of the “UDAR” fraction Vitaly Klitschko called upon the Supreme Rada to vote for the enactment of the Constitution of 2004. The “Bat’kivshchina” leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk supported this proposal[59].

      • At the same time, Yulia Timoshenko had sent a letter from prison calling upon the “Bat’kivshchina” fraction to opt out the return to the 2004 Constitution and to start preparations for the new Presidential campaign instead.

      • Crimea. The Presidium of the Crimean Supreme Council has resolved “in the circumstances of zeal for power of national-fascist groups” to initiate a pan-Crimean poll about the state status of the Crimean Peninsula[60].

      12 February 2014. President Yanukovich agreed for a coalition government. By the day of 15 February, all arrested rioters were released from jails and were put under home detention in the scope of an amnesty. During the night from 15 to 16 February, the protesters unblocked all regional administrative buildings[61]. Seemed that the “orange scenario”, with all this violent fighting with police, with throwing “Molotov’s cocktails”, was about to fail. But at this moment, the USA just within one day switched from the “peaceful protest” onto the scenario of a violent coup.

      18 February 2014 – the crucial day. A drastic aggravation of the situation happened in the morning. It was accompanied by mass bloodshed. At the session of the Supreme Rada, the opposition has demanded an immediate roll back to the Parliamentary– Presidential form of the state governance, and return to the 2004 Constitution.

      • Approximately, at 11 o’clock the opposition leaders started the so called “peaceful assault” of the Supreme Rada. Several thousands of the Euro-Maidan activists rallied towards the Parliament building. The procession was headed by Andrey Ilienko, Oleg Tyagnibok, Oleg Lyashko and Andrey Parubiy. The “peaceful mode” of the demonstration “evaporated” at a distance of 100 meters from the walls of the Parliament. The protesters began stoning the police, and set fire on parked cars and trucks using bottles filled with flammable liquids. Fierce clashes began between the militants and the police forces, which were guarding the accesses to the Parliamentary building[62].

      • A little bit later, the militants stormed and seized the Kiev office of the Party of Regions. During the assault, all windows were broken and internal rooms burned. All cars in a garage as well as the ones parked around the building were crashed. During the storming, the militants were throwing bottles with “Molotov’s cocktails” into the windows. When female employees were leaving out the building, the crowd tore off from them their hats and knick-knackery[63]. Two employees of the Party of Regions office were killed during the storming. The first one – when he went out to negotiate with the militants about letting women to leave the building. The second body was recovered after the fire was extinguished[64]. Almost simultaneously, the Euro-Maidan protesters seized the House of Officers, which is located at the crossroads of the Krepostnoy (Fortress) alley and the Hrushevsky street near the building of the Supreme Rada – just opposite to the Mariinsky Park.

      • At 13:00 started an active violent confrontation between the police and the Euromaidan activists in Mariinsky Park. Militants began erecting barricades there. Stones, fireworks, firecrackers, Molotov cocktails were throwing to the police rows. The law enforcement forces used stun grenades, traumatic weapons in response. There were tens of wounded from the both sides[65]. There were documented cases of using firearms and sniper rifles by militants. The battlefield has spread over the park from the Square of the Constitution (where the building of the Supreme Rada is located) to the Hrushevsky street 9A. Medical doctors confirmed the death of three people in the House of Officers. Two of them were wounded with firearms, the third was fatally injured in a car accident. One more victim of the unrest passed away in an Ambulance after a fatal bullet wound at Mazepa street[66]. According to the Department of Health of the Kiev City Administration, there were about 165 calls to emergency medical aid services from injured protesters. 109 of them were hospitalized. Reasons for complaints – injuries and chemical burns of eyes. According to the

52

D. Deriy, A. Katashinskaya. At Hrushevsky street two demonstrators killed, the death of the third is refuted. http://kp.ua/politics/434458-na-hrushevskoho-pohybly-dva-demonstranta-tretui-smert-oproverhly (in Russian).

53

So far, the cause of these deaths, the circumstances of the murder are not made public. The murderers are still not found.

54

Yanukovich bargained from the opposition a truce. http://15minut.org/article/janukovich-vytorgoval-u-oppozicii-peremirie-protestujuschie-krichat-ganba-2014 (in Russian).

55

Yanukovich canceled the “laws of 16 January”, and approved the amnesty. http://www.bbc.co.uk/russian/international/2014/01/140131_yanukovich_signs_amnesty.shtml (in Russian).

56

Nikolay Azarov has resigned from the post of Prime Minister of Ukraine. http://www.kmu.gov.ua/control/ru/publish/article?art_id=247006410&cat_id=244843950 (in Russian).

57

A. Zhukova. Mejlis accused the Crimean authorities of provocations. http://15minut.org/article/medzhlis-i-evromajdan-obvinili-krymskuju-vlast-v-provokacijah-2014–01–28–13–02 (in Russian).

58

Yatsenyuk will find a way to resolve the Ukrainian conflict in Munich. http://thekievtimes.ua/politics/315235-yacenyuk-najdet-sposob-razreshit-ukrainskij-konflikt-v-myunxene.html (in Russian).

59

Klitschko has urged deputies of the Supreme Rada to vote for a return to the 2004 Constitution. http://www.unian.net/politics/880283-v-vr-klichko-prizval-deputatov-progolosovat-za-vozvraschenie-k-konstitutsii-2004-goda. html (in Russian).

60

Mogilev (then Crimean Prime Minister) did not notice a separatism in the statement of the Crimean Parliament with the request to send the Russian troops. http://www.ostro.org/general/politics/news/437311/ (in Russian).

61

I. Kharitonova. Yanukovich agreed for a coalition apolitical government. http://novayagazeta-ug.ru/news/u217/2014/02/12/40715 (in Russian).

62

Radicals set fire to trucks, which blocked the passage to Parliament. http://news.mail.ru/politics/17006804/ (in Russian).

63

When the militants of the radical opposition captured the office of the Party of Regions, two employees were killed. http://anna-news.info/node/13595 (in Russian).

64

In the office of the Party of Regions on Lipskaya street found dead men. http://inpress.ua/ru/politics/25613-protestuyuschie-zverski-ubili-khozrabochego-na-lipskoy-foto (in Russian).

65

Euromaidan captured the House of Officers in Kiev. http://kievvlast.com.ua/news/evromajdan_zahvatil_dom_oficerov_v_kieve.html (in Russian).

66

Kiev in the fire: nine people became victims of the riots. http://www.vesti.ru/doc.html?id=1298243 (in Russian).