"My God, I once had life, I lived and loved it"

Report from Odessa awaiting assault

The text is published in Novaya Gazeta on March 5 with censorship reductions. Below - the text uncensored .

I get to Odessa by train from Lviv. The train is semi -empty. My compartment neighbor - a novel, a lieutenant colonel of the stock of the Ukrainian army - gets from Shchezin, Poland. His family remained there. He expects to get to the war. “First I'll try in my part. I hope they take it, I’m still a military personnel. ” The novel calls his mother and says that he has a complete package of food, but he cannot, he can only drink coffee.

The windows on the train are closed with dense curtains - a lightning, light is turned on only at stops. There is no linen - linen was removed from all Ukrainian trains and gave the army.

Odessa is waiting for landing and assault.

The assault does not happen - a storm is played out on the Black Sea. The ships move back.

Do not approach the sea. Luzanovsky beach - small and most convenient for landing - was mined. On the coastline, fortifications are being built. Only local residents are allowed into residential quarters by the sea.

Teroboron, a volunteer unit formed under the Ukrainian army, exercises control over the city. In Teroboron, they recruited on the second day of the war. After half an hour, the set closed, and now the Odessa residents raise “all connections” to get into the unit. So far, they write down people. In case of advance, they will be called to the city. Teroboron exercises control over strategic objects, checks documents from passers -by, looking for saboteurs and “enemy intelligence”, and delayed looters. Contrary to fears, there was no large -scale looting, but those who are, sophisticated: dress the form of police officers, pretend to be police officers. Marauders here are customary to get tape to lampposts.

Teroborovites wear a yellow bandage from adhesive tape on the right sleeve. Young guys, grandfather with a gray beard, some hide their faces - cold. When the Russian army, Terborne’s army, pass into the partisan regime of war. "We have many surprises."

Andrey Vladimirovich, a former policeman, and now a fighter of the Terborne, says:

- I'm an indigenous Odessa. Born in Odessa. I speak with you in pure Russian. But no one has ever infringed on the tongue here. I am shaking with the miracle of Ukrainian mob. I love two languages, but I love my Ukrainian language more, because it is the language of my state. But I grew up in a Russian -speaking family and speak Russian. And here no one has ever infringed on the rights of the Russian -speaking population. Nobody ever. I once lived in the Russian Federation, in Siberia - there they treated Ukrainians worse than we relate to the Russians here. Do you tell you, we have Bandera? I am not Buv, now I have become it.

I personally detained the saboteur the day before yesterday, who was pretended to be a homeless person. Here in this garbage is picking here. The second day went here to watch our object. And he just turned out to be the perfect face pure. With even white teeth. He said he was a homeless person. In normal sneakers, so that if you run away. He had a passport and Idi is our Ukrainian card. Fresh, issued in December. And our guys, when they already approached, began to check it. They say: "Olegovich?" He: "Alexandrovich!" And according to the passport Vladimirovich. Then we got the documents from him. It turned out to be a military ID. Specialty - shooter. They handed it to counterintelligence.

On the first day of the war, a warehouse was blown up at the industrial unit near the unit. It was not a blow from the air. It was a blow on the ground. But the wrong warehouse was blown up. There, in this warehouse, neither weapons nor ammunition were stored - but in the past it was stored. The information was outdated.

I hope Putin’s mind not to bomb Odessa. Why? Because this is the only city of all millionaires in Ukraine, which they believe that the Russians founded. Purely moral, just not enough conscience. That Catherine the second rebuilt. Odessa for them is some kind of sacred place, I think. Because for them this is a sacred place in theory, after all! Odessaov knows the whole world! How to kill Odessites? With a sense of humor. How is it? This does not fit in their heads. How can they do it? Go just kill the same Russian -speaking as they are. They don’t want to bomb Odessa - neither Putin himself nor generals. They create the appearance that they attacked Odessa. Look. Yesterday the military was bombed. He flew over Odessa and released two missiles near Odessa. Moreover, he allegedly bombed Krasnoselka, there we have a military unit. I released two missiles. To the estuary. The rocket flew to the estuary, and the next rocket to the estuary, and no one was killed, zero victims. That is, the pilot completed the task. Did he complete the task? Completed. Bombed the military unit? Bombed. Well, he just missed. Everyone is happy, no one is offended. Filled an order. Therefore, I think that Odessa will be intact.

And Putin will be either in the Hague, or they will kill his own. You will see. He has only two ways. He will no longer die even by his death.

* * *

On flagpole on Odessa houses are Ukrainian flags. It seems that the holiday has come. The flags are hung in the morning and removed with the onset of commandant hour - they are afraid that at night the flags can steal saboteurs or looters. The flags are cherished. A special explanation was given about the removal of flags for the night - because when the flags began to shoot for the first time, there were many frightened calls.

The tram depot makes anti -tank hedgehogs from the rails. The yacht club weaves camouflage nets. Two beaches - joy and a Black Sea - are waiting for volunteers: to fall asleep in bags, barricades and checkpoints are strengthened with sand bags. “In the sand”, many have worked these days - “distracts well from thoughts.”

Almost all youth participate in defense. People go around closed cafes, collect bottles and sunflower oil. They are looking for insulin for diabetics - it is not enough. Help refugees get to the border. Odessa tattooists agreed that the entire standard dachshund for tattoos - $ 100 - will be transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The guide is closed. Deribasovskaya is blocked by bags of sand, street tables, concrete blocks. Barricades every 50 meters. Check the documents. The green -eyed bearded guy takes my passport:

- Oh, Russian woman.

The name is comrade.

- Kharkov fired at the city. Now. I myself am Azerbaijani, understand? It will not be forgotten and will not say goodbye. We will never be with you. My son is 15. I will do everything so that he has never had anything to do with you!

Behind him, students fall asleep sand into bags, a barricade is being built from the bags.

The opera theater - the heart of Odessa - is surrounded by barricades.

Nearby, on Richelevskaya - a volunteer center. It is not the only one - but the largest. In other centers, hot and dry dinners are prepared, they collect assistance to old people, children, refugees, and insulin -dependent. Many volunteer groups arose chats in a telegram - and now athletes, chess players, large mothers, lawyers deliver food, deliver people to the border, take medications from the border (Moldovan border guards allow drug transfer). At Richelevskaya they accept and sort the help of Teroboron, Police and the army. Previously, there was a city food center - an open foodmarket, a fashionable place. People in orange and yellow vests, everything is done very quickly. Today 80 people work here.

Inga says:

- We just have enough capacities to do this. And here we have just a team of super -efficient best managers of the city and entrepreneurs, who sent their best resources here in order to organize logistics, acceptance, shipment, order verification, verification of shipments, and delivery confirmation. Therefore, we can, as it were, accept a large number of orders, verify and do.

We work on graphs, by shifts, because, well, this is a very hard work, all day. Still, we are now very strict in stress-we try to replace people. We have a full -time psychologist here, which we asked to be here too. Well, even I can burst into tears several times during the day. When they ask me: “And who were you before the war?”, And you think: “My God, I once had life, I lived and loved it.”

We also conducted the volunteers of the training on the first day to provide medical care - because the time is, and do not give a fight that you could help your friend save your life.

I am a lawyer, owner of a legal company Departments. In a past life, as they say.

The first day of the war. The girl from my team called me, and I, unfortunately or fortunately, I sleep very tightly, that is, I could not wake up with explosions, because I don’t hear anything, but she called in hysteria and says: “Inga, I don’t know what to do, with tears.” She says: "I will leave, my parents are tolerate, go with me." Well, then it has already begun. This, you know, was such a contrast when I remember this morning: there was a beautiful sun, light curtains, this stream of light, and at that moment is a tantrum in the phone: “We were attacked, the bomb flew near my house, I don’t know what it is!” And you just don’t ... and you just look at all this and you have this effect of some kind of surrealism, well, because it is terrible.

- Have you wanted to run?

- Run? On the first day there was such a thought - I come from Western Ukraine. I have my parents there, they call in hysteria: quickly to us! But I thought, pulled myself together and said: "So, sorry, I will not go." I need here, I have high qualifications. I am a lawyer, a good manager, I work perfectly, I have my place, and I can’t leave it at such an hour. I will do everything I can so that the Russian occupier does not come here.

Larecs with coffee are open around the city. Teroboron and police officers are for free. The woman buying pies is suitable for 15 years, black hats are stretched over her nose:

- Excuse me, and we ourselves from Donetsk. Tikali, tickal. Let your brother call. On the speakerphone!

The woman holds out the phone and calmly stands nearby. He takes change from the saleswoman, gives the guys. The saleswoman looks in all eyes and says only when the guys moved away:

- In vain you are local, ours. They dragged me out of that week, grabbed it from my hand! You don't let the phone like that. And do not give money.

“The products will be bought, they will eat,” the woman says. - From a good life they do not lie.

At the shopping center "Gallery of Athena" is a grandmother. Nadezhda Mikhailovna, 76 years old. Bends with a howl:

“Have mercy on us, Lord.” Give us peace on earth, Lord.

She is given bills. She needs to have time to buy products until curfew.

The store is hysterical politeness. Everyone misses each other, please thank you, good day. There is no flour, the bread ends, the canned food was washed. There are fruits, vegetables, sausage. In the early days, salt and matches were purchased. Now everyone was allowed, they take food for a day or two. A man takes 10 bottles of cognac - from tomorrow, alcohol sale is prohibited throughout the Odessa region. “And from some stores have you already removed, can you imagine? They even removed from the shelves. They would leave saliva to let it down. ” A dispute is tied in the queue - will they introduce responsibility for moonshine.

* * *

The military enlistment office has sandbags and a neat queue. A man with a crumpled nose seems to be:

- Dunger Sergey Stepanovich. I was born in the Odessa maternity hospital, the seventh. I live on Krasnov seven, the apartment is 22. How did you find out that the war had begun? It has been coming from us since 2014, and the war is coming to this day. And today I went as a volunteer. Zero on the first of March 2022. On the first day of spring, I went to fight.

Because my brothers are knelt down. Although Russia is also our brothers. I have a family there. But here I have relatives, family. We should not fight. Why we fight - I don't know. Here, I'm not a politician to you. I think, political, some kind of war, inhuman.

Where they will send - I do not want to know. About this. You know, as they say, "God gave - God took."

Sister. She didn't want to let me in. I took everything - the phone, documents. All. But I was accepted because there are my connections. I took everything. And, she said: “You won’t go anywhere! You are under the castle. " Closed in the house. But, each lock is breaking. And by the way! Without a blow. Tell her. The castle is whole! I went like a calm person. And the windows are all intact, honestly. So that she does not worry.

Valentina turned 20 five days ago.

“I went as a volunteer, as it were, because I have no other at home.” Except as Ukraine. And, I knew about the situation there in Donetsk, in Lugansk. And in general, I, on Thursday, did not sleep all night. When I heard Putin’s speech that he began this fist of special operation, explosions begin. I am: "This is an ass!" It is necessary to withdraw your own, somewhere. Hide. And go to fight. He took his own to the village. And he arrived.

Well, in general, before, I was negative about the service. Until this moment. I understand. I asked my work colleague, one girl: do you have someone from friends to fight at all? Because the situation is critical, like the question - either Ukraine, or empty, as they say. She said: "There is no one." And I am: “Yes, your mother! Nobody wants, no one can. " And I thought: "Why not?" I think to go when it all ends, get an officer title. In order for, if God forbid, this will be repeated, to be prepared for everything.

Yes, scary. And where to go? I have an apartment in the center. In conditions of street battle, they simply pack me in a garbage bag and sent to the forefathers, rest. Therefore, I thought it was better, if you die, then resisting. Well, if you survive, then they will cover me with a huge clearing and already in general.

What do I feel in relation to Russian citizens? Anger. Anger. And the rejection of the fact that they do not want to fight for their freedom. These people are afraid of baton, afraid of fines, afraid of prisons. Hello guys! I am now 20 years old, and I am now a volunteer. I am also scared to die! But here is my house! And there you also have your home! And in 20 years you did not see that you have some kind of ass! Your economy is not growing, a recession occurs. And you don’t even go out to defend your opinion. Three months were not enough to finish his studies on the programmer. Therefore, Putin still stole a dream with me. But, I think, that I will survive. And I will finish. And just Ukraine will join the European Union. I don't really believe in God. I believe in the Kalashnikov assault rifle and in the Anonymus group.

Mother says "go. I support you, but more alive than the dead. " And the sister is hee-he-ha ha ... We were now on the checkpoint, we did not miss the car. Sister laughs. I say-I won’t have time to the military enlistment office, then I will go on foot ... She somehow stalled. He will cry along the way. We are twins. She is also 20.
Of course, I'm afraid to die. We are all ordinary, normal people. We are all afraid to die. Anyway, as a programmer who a little helped to lay a couple of Russian sites. They still repress me if the occupation power comes here.

* * *

Next to the military registration and enlistment office, in the depths of Kulikovo Park, the wet house of trade unions is getting dark. May 2, 2014 - what Putin mentioned in his speech, justifying the war. On May 2, 2014, armed clashes of football fans, supporters of Euromaidan and Antimaydan took place in Odessa. People opposing the Maidan retreated from the tent camp on the Kulikovo Field to the House of Trade Unions, which was set on fire by Molotov cocktails. In total, 48 people died in Odessa that day.

Boris Yavorsky is an expert at the Odessa Bureau of forensic medical examination. He knew three of the dead and examined all the bodies. Together with the journalist of Ukrainian Life Taisia ​​Naydenko, they investigated what happened that day for many years. Boris and Taisiya adhere to opposite political views - "we balance each other well."

“I myself almost went to fight after this,” says Boris. - As from my point of view, the story of May 2 became one of those key points that contributed to the fire in the Donetsk region. Many of my friends after Odessa went volunteers to the Donbass. And then after that it was fully flashed there.

“Then there were actively seizures of administrations throughout the East of Ukraine, so in Odessa everyone was on such a stir, so they were afraid that this would happen in Odessa,” says Taya. - Therefore, in this hysteria it all happened. The tantrum was from this. In March, there were attempts to capture the Odessa administration. These crowds with the columns “We are behind Putin”, with icons, with Putin's portraits, also wandered around Odessa. They walked on one side with a column with Ukrainian flags, and columns with St. George ribbons walked towards them. We also said that Odessa is such a wonderful city. Those go with icons with Putin, and they go with the Ukrainian flag and everything is fine. And then it happened on May 2. And it turned out that we are not such a wonderful city in some sense.

- I was there on these captures. I took pictures there actively there. Well, in fact, there was 50 people on the one hand, 50 people on the other. Mostly grandmothers with icons. I was there from the very beginning to the very end and I can say that there was not even no acceleration. It slowly resonated itself. They burned a couple of flags of each other defiantly, clung to each other and resolved, because it began to began to make it cold.

- Yes, until May 2, everything was very peaceful.

- Here, and on both sides there was even some kind of almost friendly excitement, yes, rather, who is whipping anyone.

- May 2 was supposed to be a big football match. I don’t remember who was to play with whom, I am not a fan of football. And on Cathedral Square ...

- Fans gathered, fans. Before this football match, fans go to columns, they are always there. And since given the events that take place, the squeezing of the Crimea, etc., these fans were especially decorated with national symbols. They, these fans, of course, sports large guys, as always, fans, there are rarely some kind of programmers. They went along the cathedral, to the side ...

- That's exactly from the chess players they went down the Greek.

“They had to go, and now they would have reached the stadium after a few quarters.” This, in principle, is quite a traditional thing: the fans gather, something yelling, they go in a crowd. Then they go back from the stadium, I think it happens everywhere. Sometimes they beat each other, this is also happening there.

-One idiot, or a provocateur from Kulikovo Paul brought his, so to speak, squad and went to meet them, shouting something else.

- And they stood on top of each other hooted and had already begun to spread stones.

• And then suddenly someone shot one of the patriotic party. Biryukov - died first. Moreover, who shot is still unknown. There is no weapon from which a shot was made, nor even the direction is incomprehensible from where.

- And after the first blood spilled, in fact, everyone was stunned and began to fight and kill each other seriously.

- There began a fight at that time, in fact opposite the cathedral. And then someone shouted: “We go to Kulikovo”, because on Kulikovo, everyone knew ... Well, in general, they remembered that “enemies” were under the Kulikov field.

- By May 2, a handful of city crazy, pensioners, picket vests and so on remained on the Kulikovo field, because the entire Antimaydanovskaya battleship was in Baudun, since the entire previous day was joint barbecue of the Maidanists and anti -Maidanists. And in general, these city crazy and religious fanatics and incomprehensible poets, in fact, ended up in the way of this heated blood of the crowd.

- Well, it is interesting that the layman is simple, he easily understands that you can, having grown up in a fight, in a dispute, get to the point that you cut your own wife, right? With which he lived for 20 years. This is what the same thing can happen between two groups of people, for some reason it does not fit in anyone.

- Necessarily "this was the provocateurs!". Well, of course, guys, why provocateurs? Well, just people see blood and just beat. And they beat in response.

“Because of the modern man, the irrational person is inclined to deny.” If something happens, this is the plan. If someone died, it is always someone to blame, people just do not die.

-People in Kulikov first tried to fight back and yell offendous, and then retreated into the house of trade unions.

- With Greek, only a very small part of the fans came to Kulikovo, because they understood that there would be no good there. Only a small part came running, but this small part contributed to the fact that panic began on Kulikov, and these pensioners grabbed their icons with candles and ran to the house of trade unions.

- Burricaded. Well, how were they barricaded? They just piled some woods at the entrance. They just dumped several tables at the entrance and this was “barricaded”.

- And then they began to throw bottles of incendiary mixture into each other. Those who are younger from barricades climbed onto the roof and threw a bottle of incendiary mixture into the crowd from the roof. And those who in the crowd threw upstairs, into the building. But we understand a little how physics works? And the person standing on the street in the crowd is much more difficult than falling the building ...

- Not just a building, but a wooden barricade at the entrance, on a wooden furniture dumped.

- This furniture flashed, the interior decoration of the building has already blazed from it, and then ...

-And then inside everything was lined, as usual, in violation of all the rules of some kind of plastic lining there ...

- And most importantly, the banal physics, the staircase, the central, as a result of a fire from below, immediately turned into a huge chimney and created such a traction that, in fact, a stream of monstrously red -hot air went through it for several minutes or even tens of minutes. That is why all those who at the time of what was happening on the stairs ... staircases and in close proximity were killed immediately, as a result of the action of red -hot air - burns of the respiratory tract. One or two breaths and that’s all-a person died.

- Nobody went from attackers into the building. It was impossible to enter the building. The building was unmeasured survivors - almost everyone who did not find themselves near the staircase span survived and did not jump from the windows. The most reasonable part of the people slowly went upstairs, they concentrated on the roof of the building, where they were later adopted by cops.

- And then on Facebook there were reports that all those who died in the house of trade unions are militants from Russia and Transnistria. And all Ukrainian publications and most of the Russian were repostated as a fact. But I, as an expert, saw the documents. Of the dead there were only two nonresident: one from the Nikolaev region, the other from Vinnitsa. All the rest are residents of Odessa and Odessa region. But this lie launched a completely monstrous reaction - mockery began. It was completely disgusting. And not even the events themselves, but these mockery became the reason for so many Ukrainians to understand that this is no longer disagreement in the vision of the future, this is already hatred and enmity, this is already a desire for each other's death. This has already gone beyond the ideological confrontation and has become a fatal confrontation. And very many Odessans after that, in fact, from Odessa went to Donetsk. Among my very close acquaintances, ten people. Many people, ten people. And now one of them is going to go to Odessa with the Russian army.

But this is a war. As a result, the feeling that the situation has changed, strong polarization in society. As a result of what happened, in fact, the traditional confrontation, which lasted all these eight years, conventional Maidanists and anti-Maidanists, had gone somewhere. Everything is somehow unexpected for themselves, apparently, they lost this feeling of contradiction and hostility to each other in the face of a more, so to speak, actual enemy.

“It just works,” Taya says. - -You can say, as many loved: "Yes, this is a policy, we do not understand it, everyone lies, everything is clear." But when something flies from the sky to you, you see the living houses exploding at home and you understand, everything becomes quite clear.

We have those who smoke a pipe are called pipes. In Odessa, in the Trubo-Koskoye Odessa club, there are workers-builders and patriots who fought in the ATO, and Odessa businessmen, customs officers, and forensic expert, and cotton wool, that is, whoever is just not there. There the cut is very ... a very interesting audience, because people unite only that they smoke the phone.

And that’s why you see very different people with very different opinions, and I understand that in the Odessa club actively acting people is about forty people. And now, now, as far as I understand now, we have expelled one of all the chats, because he regularly praised Putin. And the guys just said to him: “Seryoga, you are right now. You are now ready to admit that this is a war, that this is all seriously? " Well, Seryoga began in response: “Everything is not so clear ... We don’t know who is right, who is to blame, guys.” Well, in response to this, he was removed from all chats, because in these chats they are discussing, among other things, combat information, some kind of tactical information. There is still three or four people who: “Fuck, I don’t like all of you at all!” That is, three or four people who "I don’t like you, well, if they are bombing, we will protect Odessa." And all the rest: who is already fighting, who is preparing to fight, who is going to the Teroboron to sign up. That is, here is a cut - on average men in Odessa. And this is very different, I repeat, a slice, because there is different age, different financial position, that is, people are united by a random parameter, very much. A very random sample, so especially interesting.

And it is especially funny against this background to read that three fascists are sitting here in Odessa, and the rest of the Odessa residents are sitting and waiting for them to come and save all the disgrace from this.

* * *

The mayor of Odessa Gennady Leonidovich Trukhanov also walks with yellow tape on the sleeve. “Every five years before the elections - either a separatist, then a bander, then it is not clear who.” Since the introduction of martial law, the city has passed under the management of the military. The mayor with the team moved to the former party office - but there is practically no here, he travels around the city:

- Explosions. It was an understanding and a feeling of the war. Because they talked about the war much before. But until you feel the shudder of the earth and night shots under your feet, you will not see them - then there really came an understanding, the realization that the war began. It was the 24th, struck at the echo-gallocation station, it felt bad, it was very well audible.

All according to the old scheme, at night. This is military tactics - those who were on duty at night already at the end of the Force, and those who had to stand in the morning have not yet come. Therefore, this is such military tactics, military wisdom, if it can be called wisdom - to attack at a time when people are most defenseless and relaxed.

I immediately got dressed and went to work, gathered all the deputies, and began to work.

This week has succeeded, a shock pace. Firstly, we were able to reorient by our utilities, all services for work in wartime. It seems simple, but it is very difficult. Employees need to come to work at the commandant for an hour, leave and so on. To ensure the release of communal equipment, emergency equipment, heating systems, because both breakthroughs and accidents are possible. All this is coordinated with the military, already patrolling the city, and people are already on a platoon, in every car they are looking for disguised enemies of disguised people. I understand them on the one hand, because there is information that sabotage groups work here, and at first everyone looked with increased excitement, a suspicious person seemed to everyone, it seems that this is an enemy, and then shooting began without a reason. And people themselves did not understand why this was happening. I myself saw a man, with a backpack. They ask him: where are you going? He answers: I am home. They say to him: stop. He says: yes I am home, I live there. There were shots, there were quarrels, there were scandals, they were indignant that you allow yourself. Now the understanding has come.

I am a dog man, I go out to the park in the morning. People are suitable, and I understand that even if I become a target in a sense, in direct and in a figurative one. But when people see it, but mostly women walk, they say: when we see you that you have gone with dogs, it means that we will be normal for another day. If you are here, then everything will be fine.

My wife is here. A daughter with her grandchildren - yesterday I am simply by force, with tears, they are now on the border. Now I am saying with the hope that she will not unfold and will not return. All with tears, and I said: let's stay there for 3 days and return.

I walk in the park, they come up to me and ask: did you see that they are doing near the opera? I ask: what are they doing near the opera? They put two BMPs. I did not understand this either. I came to them and say: guys, you put an BMP near the architectural monument. If you were responding to military equipment, they can also get into the opera. They delicately said nothing. Then the barricades began. I think: “What to do? Why near the opera barricade? That we - let them go to the city, it turns out? ”

There is no looting. God grant that it continues so. You know, in general, as it turned out, for all the history of our city, the labels “stole in Odessa, gangster city” - enemies.

We have 353 bomb shelters. Of these, 85 are communal property, that is, mine, for which I am responsible. Here I put all 85 bomb shelters in 2014-15 in order. The only thing I could not do is the ventilation system. There are large filters of production of the Soviet Union. Back in 2014, I wrote letters to the Prime Minister and said: “You see, this is a fiction, people will not stand there, please change filters in bomb shelters.” Today is 22 years old - nothing has been done.

- That is, in 2014 you foresaw that there could be a war?

- Listen, then everything moved in this direction too. There were explosions in Odessa, sabotage groups worked. Something exploded two or three times a week.

The city says I have a Russian passport. There is no passport, there is no citizenship. But we have people here with a Russian passport, but they are completely normal people, adequate, otherwise the Russian passport is some kind of sentence. It was 2014 - but they said to the elections to withdraw me from the elections. I turned to the Consulate General of Russia, as expected. The official answer is the answer of the Consulate General. I have no Russian citizenship.

I stand on the principles and I will stand on them that I will go on May 9, that I go to the church of the Moscow Patriarchate. But I am not going to change my church, which I go to and the father, whom I confess, because someone does not like it. I do not see that he conscientiously serves God and his work. And they begin to remind you that I did not say that. It was in 2015, I went to the alley of Glory on May 9, I had a St. George ribbon. They ran to me, they started asking. I tell them that for me a St. George ribbon is not some kind of enemy there, this is military valor, glory. In any country they are proud of their soldiers. Then they began to ask about Crimea. I do not like situations when everyone is so aggressive. I answer them: what I know, I say. You may not like it. We had troops there, sea infantry. I did not hear a single shot. On the other hand, I hear statements that the parliament gathered and voted. I do not know whether the muzzle or not. What do you want to hear from me?

- I also wanted to ask about May 2. I personally know two people, one of them is a soldier of the Russian army, who was wounded when the Debaltsevsky boiler was closed, and the other volunteer who went to fight in the Donbass, and they were the main motivation why they entered into the conflict, called the tragedy on May 2.

- For Odessa, this is an unhealed wound, in such a peaceful friendly city there has never been such a massacre. And not just the murders, but the cynical murder, when they finished off people who have already fallen, broke their legs - they were killed. This is barbarism. They do not like it when I say this to them, because they believe that they fought with the enemies of Ukraine. About May 2, I can tell a lot, because I did everything so that it would not be. There were 14 large tents on the Kulikovo field. Until May 2, I was able to negotiate and ask them to remove seven tents.

I came to Kulikovo Field. I told them: “Look, I came. You say that I'm hiding somewhere. But then you will come to me and explain what you are doing in the city. Do you understand that you are pushing people to death? What are you fighting for? ” “But corruption, low salaries” is a regular set. I say: “Okay guys, you are cool, only the Maidan - exactly with such requirements. The difference is that they are under Ukrainian flags, and you stand under various others, including Russians. Look at the requirements of the Maidan and yours, they are similar, only the forms are completely different. You are very young, you, the morons, are stupefied, you will run into very serious troubles. At least you will be put in jail for this, and will have every right to do so. Take the tents. You have no cars, generator - I will give you everything. Just remove the tents. " Well, seven tents turn off and leave. The second part is more radical. Okay, I'll talk with them. All television channels come with me, there is a police chief. We go to the Kulikovo field, there are the remaining tents. “I ask you - remove it all, it's wrong. I came to you in peace, here is my phone. ” The negotiators come: "Well, if you help us with the move." I say: "Okay, I will help." And we agree with them that on May 2, after football, they all move away. И я хочу задать вопрос тем, кто сильно выступает и рассказывает о трагедии 2 мая: когда Россия говорит, что мы придём и накажем за 2 мая, я бы ответил одно: вы начните там у себя их наказывать. Дмитрий Фучеджи (бывший заместитель начальника милиции Одессы – Е.К.) – он сейчас в России, интервью раздает — он отвечал за общественный порядок. Он должен был встать между противоборствующими сторонами вместе с полицейскими. Один носил мундир офицера полиции, спрятаться ему негде было, ранили его в руку – надо посмотреть фильмы про войну, как люди без рук воевали, как люди с ранением в головы воевали дальше и стреляли, без руки дальше. А здесь ранили в плечо — вышел из боя.

Пожарный Боделан (бывший начальник облуправления ГСЧС – Е.К.) , который сейчас чиновник в Крыму, — пусть он ответит, почему здание не тушилось? Где были наши пожарники, когда люди горели. Одна машина выехала, её захватили – всё? У нас в Одессе пожарный отряд из одной машины состоит? Перепугались? Так надо было не бояться, это долг его. Он должен был выехать и спасать людей, которые горели там, – но я их там не видел. Если пожарный – он должен тушить пожар. Он должен выезжать по критической ситуации. Я слышал от них: «Нам команда не поступила». Какая команда должна быть, если горит здание и гибнут люди? Если ты действительно человек долга и чести — сядь в машину и езжай спасать людей. А сегодня они раздают интервью. Да вы извинитесь сначала, за то, что вы не выполнили свой долг. Вам государство за это деньги платило, звания давало. Вот так просто спросить, а то ищут они, кого карать здесь. Да, система должна работать эффективней, прокуратура должна…я уверен, что правовая оценка все равно будет дана.

— Разве не было уголовного дела?

— Уголовное дело есть, просто оно не движется никуда. Мы вспоминаем только про 2 мая только перед выборами. Когда партия, которая за это переживает, особенно активничает, когда ей надо собрать голоса одесситов. Это такой цинизм, кощунство – не знаю, какие ещё слова подобрать.

От меня сейчас требуют, чтоб я на камеру сказал: русский корабль, иди нахуй. Но я в принципе таких слов не говорю. Предложат сдать город? Нужно ещё спросить мнение жителей города. Мы город сдать не согласимся. Во-первых, я уверен в уровне наших вооружённых сил, что они не сдадут город. Ну и жители города – тоже. Знаете, это просто какой-то звездец, не знаю, какое ещё слово… чтобы русские люди, русская армия (…) Одессу. Этого никто не может себе представить, даже в теории. Под видом того, что нас освобождают от кого-то, помогают, справедливо карают тех, кто 2 мая устроил.

На Соборной площади в крытом павильончике мужики режутся в шахматы. Два столика – быстрые шахматы по таймеру и медленные. Холодно, но не замечают. До комендантского часа еще два часа, времени полно.

— На авантюру пойду слоном ходить. Кого мне тут боятся?

На черно-белых досках разворачиваются бескровные сражения.

— Что, Семен, обижают тебя? Я бы уже проиграл. В крайнем случае сдался бы и все.

— Что это за ход, вот что это за ход, кто знает, что это за ход?

— Пойдем пока сюда. Называется - фиг вам. Фиг вам — он и в африке фиг вам.

Разговоры про войну за шахматами запрещены.

— Зачем я так позорно играю? – говорит Леня. — Третью партию играю черную и играю ерунду. Зачем я брал, не видел, что под конем стоит?

— Третью пешку давай.

— Не дам.

— Жмот.

— Придется-таки тикать, — говорит Леня и уводит слона из под удара.

— Сгорел забор, гори и хата!

— Пошли сюда и даже меня не спросили, можно ли так.

Airy anxiety. Сирена воет. Мужики продолжают играть в шахматы, их ходы ускоряются. Но наконец складывают фигурки в мешочек.

Люди бегут в подземный переход — «не подвал, но все же».

Сирена звучит и звучит. Девятилетняя Лена (очки, косичка) успокаивает собачку Асю. Ася на руках у Лениной мамы. Каждый раз, когда сирена берет высокую ноту, собака вытягивается и хрипит. «Асечка, не бойся, — говорит Лена. — Ты собачка, ты не бойся». Лена забирает Асю на руки и собака утыкается в плечо, утихает. Ася — жесткошерстный терьер, и мама выщипывает жесткую шерсть, показывает – надо тримировать.

Тревога стихает. Мама хочет пройтись еще, Лена говорит взрослым голосом: «Не будем сегодня больше ходить, незачем».

— Пятая станция, бомбануло хорошо.

Мужики перетаскивают лавочки от уличных кафе, спущенные в переход.

— Вы в бога верите? – спрашивает охранник. — Спускайтесь.

Нижний храм Спасо-Преображенского собора стал самым большим бомбоубежищем Одессы. Золотые стены, витые колонны, темные фигуры святых. На кафельном полу у стен – ковры, на которых расстелены одеяла. На одеялах – люди. В собор не пускают домашних животных, но люди проносят кошек внутри сумок.

Старший сын Кристины – ему восемь – собирает пазл, только начал, и не видно, что за картинка. Младший – ему четыре — сидит в телефоне. Семья Кристины ночует в соборе третий день.

— Мы живем на Софиевской, у нас дом без подвала. Расклеили листочки на подъездах с адресами, где бомбоубежища. Что во всех больницах можно укрыться. На Пастера две больницы обошла, на Дворянской — нигде ничего нет, говорят – дезинформация. На Торговой, 20, бомбоубежище есть, но там местные жители — «мы оборудовали для себя, для двора, пустим, если останутся места». А как мы туда под тревогой побежим, как узнаем, есть места или нет?

Несколько секунд Кристина плачет. Ее дети этого не видят.

— С утра идешь домой. Тормозок собрали – еды на день, на ночь. Пообщаться с родными во всех уголках — кто жив, кто не жив. Помыться. Потом сюда опять.

— Здесь такая аура. Спокойнее здесь, — говорит Кристина. — Не думаешь о плохом, как-то яснеет.

— Аура? – говорит босой парень рядом. – Нет, церковь бомбить не будут. Они веруют.

— А дома бомбят? - говорит женщина из угла. – Веруют? В кого?

— Я за политику не хочу говорить, - говорит Кристина. - Хочу спросить — за что. Но не знаю, кого.

— Русских спроси, — говорит женщина из угла.

— Моя родня по отцу в России. Я отовсюду их поудаляла. У них своя правда. У нас своя. Мы ее переживаем.

* * *

Вика готовит пшенную кашу и жарит яйца. Она официантка, но ее кафе закрыто. Сегодня она собирала по городу дренаж для авокадо — прорастила из косточки, нужны камешки, но к пляжу сейчас не спустишься, заминирован. Вика проращивает авокадо и лимоны. Спускается на квартиру ниже, к Вере Григорьевне. Вере Григорьевне 85 лет. С начала войны она читает Агату Кристи – целый день, том за томом. Она почти совсем не слышит.

Вера Григорьевна говорит:

— Пусть бы Путин завоевал это страну! Свобода ценой жизни – мне это не нравится. Знаете, как тяжело жить в стране, которую ненавидишь? Меня аж трясет, насколько мне это не нравится. Украина должна быть с Россией. Я и патрулю сказала – я шпион. In whose favor? В пользу русских. Он так зло на меня посмотрел!

Закрыли столовую, которая пенсионеров кормила. На плаву нас держала. И голод был, и репрессии, и сейчас что – а все равно хочу быть c Россией. Многие так думают. But they are afraid. What are they afraid? Ну боязливые, привыкли бояться. Незалежна? От всех залежна. Нищая, нищая.

— Киев бомбят, Вера Григорьевна, – говорит Вика.

— Как бомбят? Kyiv? Я не верю тебе, Вика.

Вера Григорьевна садится есть, Вика присаживается рядом. Вике 17, розовые тени к вискам. Она из Можняковки, Луганская область. Ее отец сейчас в Харькове, под артобстрелом. Ее мама – в ЛНР.

— У меня слишком много родственников. 20 человек, по всей стране. Техникум в Старобельске, в который я поступила, разбомбили. Я теперь только под утро засыпаю. Я не буду говорить, что я думаю. Я выросла в Молжняковке. Там 1500 человек. Идешь по улице, тебя спрашивают – Россия или Украина? Если говоришь «Россия», тебя бьют. Если говоришь «Украина», тебя бьют. Надо догадываться, кому чего говорить. Я лучше молчу.

Вера Григорьевна ест. Вика вычесывает кошку.

— Что вам за сны снятся?

— Ничего хорошего, одни гадости.

— Стоит вспоминать сон, как вы летали над Одессой, — говорит Вика. — Можно потом Агату взять почитать?

— Естественно да, чего спрашиваешь, — говорит Вера Григорьевна.

Вика моет посуду. Вера Григорьевна идет в соседнюю комнату и достает конверты с фотографиями. Конверты рассыпаются от старости. Подписано – «мама», «друзья», «свадьба,» спокойные черно-белые лица. Вера Григорьевна придирчиво выбирает мертвых, которых будет спасать с собой в бомбоубежище.