"We began to cultivate hostility in us"

Ruslana Stelyuk, 22 years old, student

Before the start of hostilities, I worked and studied in Donetsk for a builder-builder. The master's program suggested that we would study for a year and a half, and then we would go to the internship in Vilnius, but I did not learn a year. She worked half -time at the project institute designer of metal structures. I am also a speleologist, a manager, and the head of the Donetsk Channel Luba came to Moscow with me. Now many speleologists who are in Rostov, somewhere in Ukraine, few remained in Donetsk.

We waited a very long time, delayed the move. But in July, the outskirts of the outskirts and the airport closest to my house began to bomb, my boyfriend just lives there. When we left Donetsk, we first left for Dnepropetrovsk, since there were no direct trains. We arrived at night and were shocked that cars are standing on the streets, people walk, cafes work, shops are open. Because when we left, in Donetsk there were people on the street during the day - as usual at midnight. One single passerby along the main street goes, and that’s all. Long before our departure, people began to hide their cars, because they were selected by the militias. First, they took cars from several car dealerships, and then, in fact, from the population. There were no traffic lights in the city, there were no traffic police. It began with the moment when the traffic cops stopped some car and took a bribe, then the next car drove and shot them. After that, all the traffic police officers simply quit or transferred from Donetsk. Cars without numbers drive around the city, violating all conceivable and inconceivable rules of movement, they simply squeeze the bibikalka and go. Set shops that were round-the-clock began to work up to a maximum of six to seven in the evening. Somewhere in the early summer, all travel agencies, hairdressers, salons and other small businesses began to urgently turn off and leave. And people live there, they have apartments there, they are unlikely to buy an apartment in another city.

The militias came with their rule and behave very hard.

I don’t know how true this is, but there were rumors all over the city that just a drunk person from the street could be taken to some work. People began to seriously say that there were no drug addicts in our city. The militias came with their rule and behave very hard. It is understandable, because these are military people, they do not know how to somehow control peacefully.

We went to Moscow, because here we have many friends and a friend who agreed to shelter us for a while. And to be in a foreign city where you do not know anyone is scary.

When we arrived, the number of quotas for refugee status in Moscow was long exhausted, so we entered as guests. The question arose about obtaining a work permit and RVP. We initially wanted to do everything as it should. We received registration, issued all the necessary documents, and we just had to defend the turn and apply for temporary residence. We came to the FMS department at five in the morning on a certain day and signed up on the list. And when we waited for the opening, we were informed that the employee needed to be on vacation, and was offered to come again in a certain day at five in the morning, but not the fact that then this employee will not, for example, on sick leave. This led us to understand that we still need to contact the firms that know when these employees get out of vacations.

At the moment, we have already received a work permit. I work by profession - a designer of facade systems. The young man is still in the search. In general, you are simply impossible to find normal work without permission. Unless to distribute papers and pieces of paper, they require permission for the rest. This is probably good.

I personally worry that I studied for five years at the university and now I can receive a diploma of an unrecognized state.

Now we are in the active phase of the search for an apartment. We are looking for, we agree, here on Monday let's go look. It is very difficult for you to find an apartment in which a cat would be allowed. But we have a reserve option-Muscovite friends invited us to rent a two-room apartment together, for two families, but we are a little afraid that we may not converge in everyday relations. We have to buy new dishes every month.

In Donetsk, I still had one friend who has no opportunity to leave. Now they are in a very distress. The husband works at the metallurgical plant, and the salaries were cut there a lot, and the salary of the worker was already small. Stopped all sorts of benefits. And it turns out that even grandmothers cannot help them. And the family is young, small child. It is one thing - the guy and I quickly gathered and rushed to Moscow, began to actively do documents, look for work, housing. And it is problematic to do it.

Now many are going back, but the question is how to live there. After all, the banking system does not work there, that is, if a person is a pensioner or works in some kind of budget sphere, then he is simply not transferred to his salary. If earlier, when I, studying, getting a scholarship and working for a half-time, could live normally with my parents, now the dad who once worked at a communal enterprise does not go on state payments, scholarships and salaries to the State Institute are not going to the State Institute either. What to live for?

You need to contact firms that know when the UFMS employees leave the vacations.

Most hospitals, universities and other institutions have passed under the full control of militias. I personally worry that I studied for five years at the university and now I can receive a diploma of an unrecognized state. For the New Year I had to have protection, now it is not known what would happen. In Moscow, you can apply for paid, of course, but very expensive.

Parents now left Donetsk for a while, because there was a case with the participation of militias who threatened their lives. My dad works in the state administration, and since the militias have only combat forces, they need to establish life. And so they just approached two people who left the state administration, and said: “Oh! But we need you to build an infrastructure for us. Let you help us? Or do you want - can we reduce you on an excursion to the SBU? " My parents called me in the evening, told me in a stifled voice, and left in the morning. But they hope, as soon as it becomes calmer, to return home.

Plus everyone is very worried about the problem of the heating season. The question is that most of our local power plants worked on local coals. But now we have about 80% of mines are flooded or filled with methane, there is simply no coal. So, there is hardly a lot of electricity. To be honest, I am very scared by the fact that many of the continuous cycle enterprises were suspended. Coksochemical enterprises were suspended, where there are also things that cannot be stopped. Our blast, in my opinion, also got up. You understand that when the blast furnace stops, it freezes with the metal. Then it is demolished and built a new one, and this stove is the size of a five -story building. I am anxious for the welfare of the people who live there, because it is economically scary.

Let you help us? Or do you want - can we reduce you on an excursion to the SBU?

People work in hospitals, gardens, shelters, but do not receive a salary. My grandmother, for example, works in a psychiatric hospital, and if earlier patients were fed quite tolerably, now some collective farm sent a couple of grain bags to them-that's all. People in such institutions simply starve.

It is difficult for me to talk about the Maidan and the EU, I am very poorly versed in economics and politics. But it seems to me that, as in most countries, there are people who are unhappy with their government. Maidan is the will of dissatisfied people. It is not dispersed, the government is re-elected in some ways. Then this happens in Donetsk, but this time they try to disperse the crowd. Why? If you did not disperse in one case, then you should not disperse in another. The feeling that someone is playing from above.

Before the Maidan, people around me shared somewhere equally into those who are, and those who are against the EU. After the bombing in Slavyansk, the people began to say massively: "Anything, if only it was calm." In fact, most of us, ordinary people, do not know much. We can see only one move from this multi -way party. We never know why something is doing this, and not differently. I personally wanted to just work calmly, study, someday get married. And it does not care at all that there is upstairs, I just want peace and tranquility.

People in the psychiatric hospital just starve.

The conversations that the Russian-speaking population was somehow pressed is greatly exaggerated. We spoke perfectly in Russian, wrote in Russian, at school one class could study in Russian, and the second in Ukrainian, if desired. Then we introduced the law that all government officials are filled in Ukrainian, and we all reacted normally.

We treat the western regions of Ukraine well. There are attractions, very pleasant people live. And before we have not noticed any dissonance in relations with them. They did not suspect that there was some difference between us. But we began to cultivate this hostility in us. Until 2004, before Yushchenko came to power and arranged an “orange revolution”, we did not feel any difference between the West and East of Ukraine at all. It was Yushchenko who began to incite this conflict in his speeches. In the wake of nationalism, he managed to rock the people and begin to cultivate such an attitude. Immediately appeared language issues.

While I plan to live and work in Moscow. However, I want to return home, of course, but only when it will be calm there and it will be possible to receive at least some salary. The institute in which I worked was almost the only place where people were taken immediately after the university. I got there for a minimum salary, if only to the mind, they taught me there. And now they take something there, but they don’t pay any money. I want the economic situation to stabilize there. Then, of course, home.