Translated material
Lucky America!
The inspirer of California separatism forever moved to Yekaterinburg, tied up with politics and stated that he wanted to be a Russian citizen
The leader of the YES California Independence! California Louis Marinelli decided to move to Russia. The 31-year-old activist announced the suspension of the organization of a referendum to leave the United States and urged supporters to engage in the project without its participation.
Marinelli began the California branch in 2015. Almost no one took the idea then seriously, Marinelli himself was called a marginal. But everything changed in the fall of 2016, after the victory of Donald Trump in the presidential election. Marinelli had many supporters, his support was expressed by a famous entrepreneur from Silicon Valley Shervin Pishevar (investor Uber, Slack and Airbnb). With the slogans about the separation of California from the United States, students went to demonstrations. And in the media, the Marinelli project was called CALEXIT - by analogy with Brexit (the exit of Britain from the European Union).
For a referendum, the organizers should have collected 585 407 signatures of the state residents until July 25, 2017.
The idea of separating the largest American state Marinelli explained by the fact that California has “more liberal values and culture” compared to the rest of the country, as well as the rejection of Trump's reactionary policy. Marinelli called the ordinary Americans aggressive conservatives.
The activist’s discontent was also caused by “police orders” in the United States, the injustice and social stratification of society, racist sentiments in the outback. “California compared to other states is another world. People in California are more free and progressive, ”Luis Marinelli said in an interview with the American media.
However, few knew that the inspirer of Calexit, without waiting for the end of the US presidential election, left the country. Before the move, Marinelli lived in San Diego, where he worked at school and at the same time promoted the idea of Calexit. And since September 2016, he has been living in Russia.
Marinelli says that he came to Yekaterinburg to teach English in a local private school. According to the American, he planned to “gain the experience of a new life”, and then return back to the United States in order to continue social activities with updated forces. Having lived in Russia, the American separatist met a Russian girl and realized that he did not want to engage in politics anymore, but intends to devote life to his spiritual development and writing books. And recently, Marinelli said that he submitted documents for Russian citizenship.
“I realized that politics is not mine,” Luis Marinelli now tells me. - I like to live in Russia, I do not want to live under the American flag. I do not like how the United States behaves in relation to other countries, how they behave with their citizens! The government wants to control everything and everyone in the world ...
“ But your new President Trump, on the contrary, says that he will overthrow this policy.”
- He will not turn anything! People in California hate him. We are against his plans to build a wall on the border with Mexico. We are against his immigration policy. We are against the war in Syria and North Korea. According to recent surveys, about 33% of California are ready to vote for independence, another 15% are seriously thinking about it. That is, my project is theoretically supported by 48%!
- Russian media enthusiastically perceive your idea by the collapse of the United States. Are you not afraid that you are just used?
- I think that if California left the United States and the American Union broke up, then in Russia, of course, such an event would be celebrated. So, after all, the Americans did the same when the Soviet Union fell in 1991.
Rejoiced! America had been waiting for a very long time and dreamed about it. So it is natural that Russia now wants something like that in relation to the United States.
- In the USA they say that Russian agents endlessly interfere in the American domestic political process. It turns out that you are a living confirmation of this.
- I have no connections with the Russian government. If there was a connection, I even had money to collect signatures for a referendum. I could use them for this business! But no one gives. Yes, some Americans believe that the Russians played some role in Trump's victory. But I never saw any evidence. No one present them for some reason.
On the contrary, thanks to WikiLeaks, we know that our government has such computer programs that informedly give the impression that Russia or China are behind hacker attacks. Although in fact, our American government made attacks to blame other countries of them. Remember, 10-15 years ago, our government confidently said that Iraq had a chemical weapon, and even showed some kind of powder. Then it turned out that it was complete lies. And how can I now believe the authorities in the USA?
- So now you believe the Russian authorities more?
“I now understand that no one cannot believe.” Russia also still lives with a sense of Cold War and, of course, wants to weaken the United States and strengthen its influence. I don't argue. But America does exactly the same. In every country, she would like to put the power of her president loyal to herself.
Look at the situation in Iraq or Afghanistan. After all, we supported the Taliban before, we created the Osam Ben Laden, we did it al-Qaeda *(organization prohibited in Russia.- *Ed. ) And staged a war in the Middle East. And now the elites in the United States are furious from the fact that Russia, perhaps, somehow influenced our internal affairs.
That is, she did what America herself is doing all over the world!
- But Russia also wages everywhere of war.
- In Ukraine? But Ukraine and Russia - there is a historical connection between them. The first capital of Russia was in Kyiv. And what is the connection between the USA and Afghanistan? In Ukraine, they speak Russian, it was part of Russia, the USSR, there is a common history, culture. And Russia protects the boundaries of its influence, fights for Ukraine.
- Are you generally interested in what is happening in Russia itself?
- I came here to start a new life. So that politics does not occupy me. I want to be a happy person, I want to create a family, calmly, peacefully live, work, travel. I will not constantly see what Putin or Trump says there. I will just live.
- How is an ordinary Russian person?
- Well, I can’t say that I have already become like Russian. Although at first, of course, I wanted to come to Russia and go to the forest, hunt to get food, fish and live so 10-15 years. But then I decided to start a family and live like everything here.
- If you again want to lead the former stormy political life, are you not afraid that you will not work out here with this?
“So I will not lead her.” I know that with human rights here not everything is the same as in the West. But then I will not just go to Red Square and scream about my rights or fight for something. I just want the government to play any role in my life. You have no idea how it works in the United States - there the authorities want to regulate everything in your life, starting from birth to death.
In Russia, I do not feel government in my life at all. I can do what I want, I do not see that power is above my soul and controls every step. Yes, maybe the Russian government is just the same as there and what people have. But I like it.
I do not need any support, as is the case in the States, where you want or not - but the government climbs to your life, says how to lead itself, how to park, how to smile. In Russia, I have more free time, I can be more active here, more free in actions and not be interested in politics. I can do everything I want.
“ Maybe you are missing something American in Yekaterinburg?”
- There are not enough concerns about the ecology, good parks. I would like to have beautiful clean parks in Yekaterinburg so that the forest is cleaner, the water is cleaner. To make more pedestrian zones, so that there are bicycle paths, a space for outdoor activities. There is no such thing here, here the park is a zone with trees and a lawn - that's all. The roads would also like to be better. Such things. And so everything suits me. I want to be a citizen of Russia!