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Pro-Russian and Pro-Kiev Camps Dig In Amid Uneasy Calm in Eastern Ukraine Pro-Russian and Pro-Kiev Camps Dig In Amid Uneasy Calm in Eastern Ukraine
(6 months later)
KHARKIV, Ukraine — The funeral procession for Artyom Zhudov, 19, was led by a Zhiguli subcompact car bearing the orange-and-black standard of St. George, the distinctive and now ubiquitous symbol of support for Russia here in Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine. KHARKIV, Ukraine — The funeral procession for Artyom Zhudov, 19, was led by a Zhiguli subcompact car bearing the orange-and-black standard of St. George, the distinctive and now ubiquitous symbol of support for Russia here in Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine.
A hearse, a refitted taxi van, bore the body of Mr. Zhudov, a pro-Russian activist who was shot in the neck in a clash with nationalist Ukrainians. The fighting left a downtown building scarred from rifle fire and gasoline bombs.A hearse, a refitted taxi van, bore the body of Mr. Zhudov, a pro-Russian activist who was shot in the neck in a clash with nationalist Ukrainians. The fighting left a downtown building scarred from rifle fire and gasoline bombs.
While the bloody events and clashes that left more than a hundred dead in Kiev a month ago have not been repeated in eastern cities like Kharkiv and Donetsk, occasional violence and a powerful propaganda war have created entrenched pro-Russian and pro-Western camps that scarcely existed before.While the bloody events and clashes that left more than a hundred dead in Kiev a month ago have not been repeated in eastern cities like Kharkiv and Donetsk, occasional violence and a powerful propaganda war have created entrenched pro-Russian and pro-Western camps that scarcely existed before.
For the fledgling pro-Western central government in Kiev, which is warily keeping one eye toward a possible invasion from Russia, the growing rift among ordinary Ukrainians and among political elites has laid bare the difficulties of establishing political order even if the unsteady peace lasts.For the fledgling pro-Western central government in Kiev, which is warily keeping one eye toward a possible invasion from Russia, the growing rift among ordinary Ukrainians and among political elites has laid bare the difficulties of establishing political order even if the unsteady peace lasts.
Mr. Zhudov was buried Tuesday in a small, cramped plot on the outskirts of the city. His funeral was attended by hundreds, many of them wearing black-and-orange ribbons on their chests.Mr. Zhudov was buried Tuesday in a small, cramped plot on the outskirts of the city. His funeral was attended by hundreds, many of them wearing black-and-orange ribbons on their chests.
“It should be me in the ground instead of him,” said Sergey Sopin, 48, an actor who had spent time with Mr. Zhudov at Freedom Square in Kharkiv, where a cadre of men perpetually stand guard near a statue of Lenin and demand a referendum that would give the Kharkiv region greater autonomy. Occasionally, during large rallies, they have tried to seize a nearby regional administration building.“It should be me in the ground instead of him,” said Sergey Sopin, 48, an actor who had spent time with Mr. Zhudov at Freedom Square in Kharkiv, where a cadre of men perpetually stand guard near a statue of Lenin and demand a referendum that would give the Kharkiv region greater autonomy. Occasionally, during large rallies, they have tried to seize a nearby regional administration building.
“As far as I believe, nobody is going to protect us except for Russia,” Mr. Sopin said. “Do you think that he would have died if they were here?”“As far as I believe, nobody is going to protect us except for Russia,” Mr. Sopin said. “Do you think that he would have died if they were here?”
Russia, which formalized its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula on Friday at an official ceremony in Moscow, has seemed to step back from threats to use soldiers to protect Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine. In Kharkiv, a city with a large Russian-speaking population a scant 20 miles from the border, the danger of a Russian invasion seems lessened at the moment.Russia, which formalized its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula on Friday at an official ceremony in Moscow, has seemed to step back from threats to use soldiers to protect Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine. In Kharkiv, a city with a large Russian-speaking population a scant 20 miles from the border, the danger of a Russian invasion seems lessened at the moment.
The instability set off by the revolution in Kiev last month and a wave of pro-Russian demonstrations in eastern cities has produced a split among local politicians and businessmen, including fabulously wealthy oligarchs like Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest man, who warily supports the government in Kiev.The instability set off by the revolution in Kiev last month and a wave of pro-Russian demonstrations in eastern cities has produced a split among local politicians and businessmen, including fabulously wealthy oligarchs like Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest man, who warily supports the government in Kiev.
One of those rich men is Gennady A. Kernes, the eccentric mayor of Kharkiv, who has publicly opposed talk of separatism here, theoretically allying himself with Kiev.One of those rich men is Gennady A. Kernes, the eccentric mayor of Kharkiv, who has publicly opposed talk of separatism here, theoretically allying himself with Kiev.
Last week, Mr. Kernes rushed to calm pro-Russian activists calling for secession, appeared as a mediator at the shootout where Mr. Zhudov was killed and met behind closed doors with representatives of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is tasked with preventing conflict and promoting democracy. (On Saturday, Russia endorsed the deployment of a team of 100 international monitors approved by the O.S.C.E. in places outside Crimea, saying the team had no mandate there.) Yet with the fear of war abating, Mr. Kernes, who has dominated politics here for several years, has resumed his role as one of Kiev’s fiercest critics, accusing top officials of pursuing political retribution and calling the new government tyrannical and illegitimate.Last week, Mr. Kernes rushed to calm pro-Russian activists calling for secession, appeared as a mediator at the shootout where Mr. Zhudov was killed and met behind closed doors with representatives of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is tasked with preventing conflict and promoting democracy. (On Saturday, Russia endorsed the deployment of a team of 100 international monitors approved by the O.S.C.E. in places outside Crimea, saying the team had no mandate there.) Yet with the fear of war abating, Mr. Kernes, who has dominated politics here for several years, has resumed his role as one of Kiev’s fiercest critics, accusing top officials of pursuing political retribution and calling the new government tyrannical and illegitimate.
“People ask if I like the new authorities, but I prefer a different question: Does the new government actually like our people, with their demands, their desires, their dreams?” Mr. Kernes said in a recent interview between spoonfuls of raspberry jam in a restaurant at the downtown hotel he owns.“People ask if I like the new authorities, but I prefer a different question: Does the new government actually like our people, with their demands, their desires, their dreams?” Mr. Kernes said in a recent interview between spoonfuls of raspberry jam in a restaurant at the downtown hotel he owns.
Mr. Kernes, who lives a lavish lifestyle and has been rumored to have ties to organized crime, was accused of murder and kidnapping last week. He denied the accusations and said they were politically motivated attacks from a former political rival, now the country’s interior minister, Arsen B. Avakov.Mr. Kernes, who lives a lavish lifestyle and has been rumored to have ties to organized crime, was accused of murder and kidnapping last week. He denied the accusations and said they were politically motivated attacks from a former political rival, now the country’s interior minister, Arsen B. Avakov.
The Kiev government has also attacked Mr. Kernes’s closest political ally, Mikhail M. Dobkin, the former regional governor and now a presidential candidate, accusing him of “threatening the territorial integrity” of Ukraine.The Kiev government has also attacked Mr. Kernes’s closest political ally, Mikhail M. Dobkin, the former regional governor and now a presidential candidate, accusing him of “threatening the territorial integrity” of Ukraine.
The charges, which set off tremors through the political establishment here, are fueling disillusionment with the government.The charges, which set off tremors through the political establishment here, are fueling disillusionment with the government.
“Here we have an acting president,” Mr. Kernes said, referring to the interim president, Oleksandr V. Turchinov. “In Russia, they have a president. There they don’t have political chaos, and here what do we see? Political chaos.”“Here we have an acting president,” Mr. Kernes said, referring to the interim president, Oleksandr V. Turchinov. “In Russia, they have a president. There they don’t have political chaos, and here what do we see? Political chaos.”
Many on both sides have begun to take matters into their own hands, forming impromptu self-defense groups.Many on both sides have begun to take matters into their own hands, forming impromptu self-defense groups.
On a recent afternoon, while pro-Russian demonstrators were at Freedom Square, about 125 men and a few women met in one of the parking lots beside Metalist Stadium, used by the city’s popular soccer club. They were forming sotni — neighborhood watch groups that, they said, would be the seeds of a partisan insurgency should Russia invade. They were small in number, but a sign that eastern Ukraine is not uniformly pro-Russian, as it is often portrayed in Russia.On a recent afternoon, while pro-Russian demonstrators were at Freedom Square, about 125 men and a few women met in one of the parking lots beside Metalist Stadium, used by the city’s popular soccer club. They were forming sotni — neighborhood watch groups that, they said, would be the seeds of a partisan insurgency should Russia invade. They were small in number, but a sign that eastern Ukraine is not uniformly pro-Russian, as it is often portrayed in Russia.
“I am ready to fight,” said one of them, Alexander Melnichin, 22. “A lot of my friends are ready to fight. They don’t want to. But they are ready.”“I am ready to fight,” said one of them, Alexander Melnichin, 22. “A lot of my friends are ready to fight. They don’t want to. But they are ready.”
The anger has been compounded by Kharkiv’s proximity to Russia. Russian men cross the border to visit the clubs in Kharkiv on the weekends, and many here had seen Russia as a stable, familiar neighbor.The anger has been compounded by Kharkiv’s proximity to Russia. Russian men cross the border to visit the clubs in Kharkiv on the weekends, and many here had seen Russia as a stable, familiar neighbor.
“People are still in shock,” said Andrey Maluga, the director of a technology company who supported the revolution. “We had always thought of Russia as having a wise and competent leader, much better than our guys.“People are still in shock,” said Andrey Maluga, the director of a technology company who supported the revolution. “We had always thought of Russia as having a wise and competent leader, much better than our guys.
“But then we saw the tanks in Belgorod,” he added, referring to a Russian city 25 miles north of the border, “and we thought: We have to start arming ourselves.”“But then we saw the tanks in Belgorod,” he added, referring to a Russian city 25 miles north of the border, “and we thought: We have to start arming ourselves.”