Translated material
Voices in exchange for chickens
By May, Russia partially occupied five Ukrainian regions: Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhya, Kharkov and Kherson regions. The Kremlin is preparing to hold referenda there, but so far this process is delayed. Russia has no high -profile victories, and it is pointless to hold referenda without taken Donbass. “Important stories” tell how Russia is trying to establish its power in the occupied territories through bribery, torture and threats.
Chickens for passport data
In 2018, in the city of Volnovakha, Donetsk region, local activists demanded to rename the street on May 1 and name it in honor of the heroes of the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) who died in 2014. Then, under the village in battles with the separatists, 18 Ukrainian military died . In March 2022, the street was again renamed the street - this time the head of the DPR Denis Pushilin and a prominent Russian politician, deputy chairman of the Federation Council, secretary of the United Russia General Council Andrei Turchak. The leader of United Russia personally knocked out a tablet with a new name of the street in honor of the deceased battalion of the Sparta intelligence battalion Vladimir Zhoga to the house with broken windows. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, since mid -March, Volnovakha has been occupied by Russian troops. According to the results of "special operations", 85 % of houses in the city are not subject to restoration.
Eight years ago, a separatist referendum on the self -determination of the LPR was already in Volnovakha, but then the city remained Ukrainian. Now on the territory of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, referendum scenarios on the accession of the DPR and the LPR to Russia are being worked out, the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Human Rights, de -Commanding and Reintegration of temporarily occupied territories Dmitry Lubinets tells “important stories”. Lubinets recalls that in 2014, a tent for voting was also put in the city on the square, but no one knew about it in advance and could not fix how many people went there to vote. “She did not stand for long, and then we read that a referendum took place in the territory of the city of Volnovakha: 99 % of the population came, 98 % of them for the creation of a Donetsk People’s Republic,” he added.
In all regions controlled by Russia, the same scenario is now, Lubinets says: as soon as the troops enter the settlement, temporary authorities are appointed for several days, after which the process of “identification” of citizens who have not left is launched. First of all, they check whether a person belongs to law enforcement agencies of Ukraine, the judiciary, local governments and state bodies. They are immediately offered to swear the LPR or DPR. “If they refuse health, then they don’t really touch it, but if health allows, then a person has a choice: to leave arrested in Donetsk or sign the oath and go to work in new organs in the morning,” Lubinets explains.
He adds that the military uses any possible budget organizations with personal data of citizens to rewrite them into their base of future voters. These data will help you draw up lists of referendums and falsify the results. “For example, they immediately say to pensioners that for a week they need to contact the Pension Fund of the DPR and LPR, which has already opened somewhere nearby and you will receive a Russian pension,” Lubinets describes the process of receiving personal data.
The village of Rozovka, Donetsk region, has been occupied by Russia since the beginning of the war and in April had already held a referendum there about joining the DPR. On April 19, the military unit of VGTRK was posted in his telegram channel video , which shows how mostly elderly people gathered in the assembly hall, and the female voice, most likely, according to the Lubinz, belonging to the former deputy of the village, behind the frame asks: “Who is for the temporary accession of the Rozovsky district to the Donetsk People’s Republic?” There are no abstracts - it means that it is accepted, she concludes. Later it became known that residents gathered in the House of Culture to discuss a pension and household problems. The current head of the village, Alexander Shcherban, was abducted by the Russian military, but soon returned. On April 24, Rossiyskaya Gazeta called it the temporarily acting village head: the newspaper’s report also describes how smiling coffee saleswomen are interested in rubles and how much residents need the help and official status of the DPR. “This is such a clear public appeal that deserves special respect,” commented the referendum in Rozovka, the head of the DPR Denis Pushilin, speaking on the air of the Russia 1 television channel. However, when and how the rose is part of the DPR, he did not say: "This issue will be resolved later."
“They call the director of the communal enterprise on a mobile phone and say:“ It is necessary to provide lists. ” If someone does not make contact, does not take the phone, then they come to his house with machine guns "
Berdyansk has also been occupied by the Russian military since the end of February, but it turned out to be more difficult to hold a referendum in it. The acting mayor of Berdyansk Alexander Svidlo told “important stories” that none of the leaders of the executive committee of the city and from the deputies of the city council began to support them. The director of all schools and medical institutions refused to cooperate in the same way. In March, the military distributed leaflets in the city with an appeal “to create conditions for the unification of Ukraine and Russia”, but now there are no announcements of referenda in the city, an employee of the Berdyansk mayor's office told “important stories” on the basis of anonymity. The townspeople actively protested against the Russian occupation, but the last rally was March 21 - they were stopped conducting after acceleration and torture of activists. At the same time, the “People’s Police” is already following the order in Berdyansk: the city hall official claims that most of its employees used to be ordinary Berdyansk police, but after serious threats to their families and torture in the “basements”, they switched to the Russian side. So far, the military has not applied to the staff of the election commissions, and the official suggests that it is possible to engage in residents of Crimea or LDNR to hold a referendum. The local telegram channel “Berdyansk in the occupation” said that humanitarian assistance in instead of personal data of citizens is already distributing in the city.
Most of the deputies of the Energodar City Council in the Zaporizhzhya region resigned their powers so as not to cooperate with the Russian military. Energodar mayor Dmitry Orlov left the city and continues to manage them remotely: to solve the issues of supplying humanitarian aid and evacuation. He told “important stories” that so far there is no news about the upcoming referendum, but the Russian military has been looking for opportunities for the collection of personal data of residents. “They collect data on communal enterprises, on the administrations of budgetary organizations of the city, for city -forming enterprises. They just throw an ad [in telegram channels]: “<...> in order to get some material assistance, you need to come and sign up”-and thus receive personal data, ”says Orlov. “They call the director of the communal enterprise on a mobile phone and say:“ It is necessary to provide lists. ” If someone does not make contact, does not take the phone, then they come to his house with machine guns, ”the mayor says. At the end of April, in order to get the passport data of the inhabitants, they were recorded in the queue, promising issuing 10 thousand rubles.
In addition to the “People’s Police”, the Russian Guard is already working in Energodar and Berdyansk: it set up the Safe City City Curiosity system, which allows you to recognize persons ( Energodar began to be used since 2019. - Approx. Ed. ). In Russia, a “safe city” is also used to track the movement of people who are interested in the police.
The preparation for a referendum in Kherson is much more noticeable. At the end of April, the mayor of Kherson, Igor Kolykhaev, said that instead of a referendum, the Kherson region would simply be included in the Crimea, but the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense found out that Russian troops are already using local printing houses for printing ballots and propaganda posters. At the end of April, the Russian military captured the Kherson City Council: the Ukrainian flag was removed from the building and replaced the guard. Now, upon receipt of humanitarian aid, residents must fill out a questionnaire indicating personal data.
“Indeed, in lines in return for a grocery set they ask to fill out something. I have not seen these documents, but I heard about it more than once, ”says a volunteer from Kherson. According to her, mainly in lines behind the sets are elderly or dysfunctional people and those who do not care, from whom to receive products.
The first information about the forced census of the Khersonites began to appear back in mid -March. So, in the group chat of the Kherson kindergarten, in which there is also an interlocutor of “important stories”, the teacher wrote that the leaders of the association of co -owners of apartment buildings (OSMD) are called in the city to give lists of residents. In return, they offer Chernobaevsky chickens. The interlocutor noted that hens are rather an excuse to lure the information. “There are more than 200 thousand people in Kherson. Well, where is so much [chickens]? " She is surprised. In this house they did not give out lists of the military. But they require lists from both enterprises and state institutions, and also require passers -by leave data on checkpoints.
Screenshot from the chat interlocutor of "important stories"A journalist from Kherson ( we do not call him a name for security purposes. - Approx. Ed. ) Told “important stories” that in the Kakhovsky district the local occupation authorities demanded from the heads of the OSMD and from the elders to provide lists of unwacued people. “There was an announcement that in Kherson the gas service employees would walk around the houses, supposedly check the counters. This can be a veiled census, ”he said. Soon, messages from residents began to appear in Kherson's house chats that the Russian military did not let them out of the city to a referendum. “They said that neither today, nor tomorrow, nor the day after tomorrow they would release anyone: until the referendum passes, the city is closed,” the girl shared in one of these chats.
In April, the head of the Provisional Civil Administration of the Kharkov Region Vitaly Ganchev said that a referendum or “Polling citizens about the political future of the region” may take place in the region. On April 21, he said on the video of RIA News that, most likely, the decision to hold a referendum will be made after the territory of the region is “denaced and released”. Advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko wrote in his telegram channel that in 2013, Gankchev worked as a deputy chief of the Dergachevsky regional police department with the rank of lieutenant colonel. “After 2014, due to the reasons known for such collaborators, he fled to Lugansk, where he lived and“ worked ”for the good of the LPR police,” Gerashchenko added.
Subscribe to our mailing lifeline will be able to block the lastIntelligence of Great Britain and Ukraine claim that the Russian military plans to hold a referendum before May 9 on the creation of the “Kherson People's Republic”, because it is important for Putin to show success in the war before the Victory Day. Medusa, citing its sources, reported that this could happen later, in mid -May. The interlocutor of “important stories” close to the Kremlin doubts that in the current conditions it is possible: “Donbass is not taken, despite Shoiga's statement about Mariupol. There is a sluggish preparation for referendum, but it is still impossible to compare it with the activity that was in 2014 - there are still no visible victories that can be presented to the people. ”
In addition to Turchak, the Kremlin sent to the republics to “resolve humanitarian issues” of the leader of Anti-Maidan Dmitry Sablin and the uninstall deputy Artem Turov. Turov has already stated that branches of Russian political organizations will be opened in the republics: the first thing they will open the “Young Guard of United Russia”. The United Russia itself, with the participation of Turchak, Sablin and Turov, at the end of March, under its emblem, opened the Humanitarian Assistance Center in Mariupol. Turchak regularly visits occupied villages and cities. In addition to renaming the street in Volnovakha, he managed to hang out the Russian flag on the building of the Rozovka administration - apparently, now the public reception of the head of the DPR will be located there. Turchak is present there on behalf of the Kremlin, looks at local politicians and is working on a possible scenario of the republics into Russia, the interlocutor of “important stories”, close to the Kremlin, believes.
In May, the new Kremlin curator of the unrecognized republics in May was the first deputy head of the administration Sergey Kiriyenko, who replaced the deputy head of the administration Dmitry Kozak. Kiriyenko is already holding meetings to restore Donbass, but there have been no orders for new elections or referenda in the occupied territories. “Apparently, they will wait for army exploits,” says the interlocutor of “important stories”, who was present at such a meeting. Together with Kiriyenko in the Kremlin, his deputy and curator of domestic politics Andrei Yarin will now be responsible for this direction - both officials have already come to Donetsk. And on May 5, Kiriyenko and Pushilin visited the veteran of the Great Patriotic War and the rear of the rear in Mariupol. Under the cells of the State Academy of Sciences, the head of the DPR handed them the DPR passport with the words: "Given the fact that Mariupol is already a Donetsk People’s Republic."
Who supports Russia
In 2014, after the accession of Crimea, the Russian government quickly found supporters in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories: pro -Russian organizations and former special services employees hastily organized folk protests in Kharkov, Odessa, Kherson and other cities. In 2022, the Russian authorities clearly fewer such supporters - in Volnovaka, since the occupation, the fourth mayor has already been changing. Now this is Arthur Antsiferov, about whom very little is known- the entrepreneur and ex-deputy of the district council from the Opposition Platform-for Life, a former employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Donetsk region. According to the Russian media, the head of the administration of the satellite cities of Dokuchaevsk (located on the territory of the DPR) and Volnovakha Alexander Kachanov is now responsible for Volnovakha. The website of Dokuchaevsk says that the Donetsk engineer of computer systems of Kachanov in 2014 "The idea and the creation of the Donetsk People’s Republic accepted with all his heart, actively helped organize and conduct a referendum." In 2015, he became the acting head of the city administration, and then he was raised to the head.
At the end of March, in the pro-Russian telegram channels of Berdyansk they began to write that Alexander Saulenko, a mountain engineer and the failed deputy of the village council, became the temporarily acting head of the city. It is registered in the Berdyansk district from the Union of Left Forces party. It is considered the pro -Russian and on March 18 was included in the Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky on the list of parties, which have suspended their functioning during the operation in the country of martial law. “Nobody knew Saulenko in the city. He led a nondescript life in a neighboring village [Novopetrovka], ”an employee of the city hall told“ important stories ”. The temporary chapter himself already admired the work of the Russian Guard: “The city is in order. The legality is supported. The Russian Guard maintains this order, and the police have earned, which already patrolls the city and ensures the legality and order, thanks to this, on the streets we are calm and peaceful ”(so in the original). Zelensky adviser Mikhail Podolyak accused Saulenko of pedophilia and complained that the mayor was appointed the janitor, and the head of the registry office was a cleaning lady.
In Energodar, the authorities went to the deputy of the City Council from the pro -Russian party “Opposition Platform - for Life” by Andrei Shevchik. At the end of March, he stated that the city began to work in the city, which chose it as a leader. The pro-Russian telegram channel "Energodar Today" publishes his briefings , where he calls power in Ukraine "Nazi Kiev regime." In an interview with the State University, Shevchik says that he established the supply of fuel and medicines. At the same time, the plot says that the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant fired a Shevchik from the post of leading engineer, and local schools do not want to make contact with the new mayor and resume training.
В Херсоне по приказу «областного военного коменданта РФ» полномочия главы города перешли Александру Кобецу, который подчиняется новому «главе Херсонской областной администрации» Владимиру Сальдо. Кобец, как и многие руководители Донбасса в 2014 году, — чекист в отставке, служил в КГБ, а потом в СБУ. После выхода на пенсию он занимался бизнесом в Киеве: торговал соками и безалкогольными напитками. Имеет большой долг по ссуде — 80 тысяч долларов. Сальдо был мэром Херсона с 2002 по 2012 год, на своей странице в Facebook в марте он заявил, что против референдума, а «Херсон — это Украина». «Если вы хоть слово услышите о референдуме, „давайте проголосуем“ во всех видео, то тогда плюнете мне в лицо и это будет справедливо», — написал Сальдо.
«Почему оппозиционерам проще на уличных акциях кричать о мифическом „отказе от евроинтеграции“, чем возвращаться к работе? Да потому что для них и Европа, и Соглашение об ассоциации — просто площадки для самопиара»
Владимир Сальдо также был депутатом Верховной рады. Украинские СМИ отметили его, как политика, поддерживающего Януковича и активно осуждающего Евромайдан. «Почему оппозиционерам проще на уличных акциях кричать о мифическом „отказе от евроинтеграции“, чем возвращаться к работе? Да потому что для них и Европа, и Соглашение об ассоциации — просто площадки для самопиара», — говорил политик в начале Евромайдана в 2013 году. Он был и среди голосовавших за «диктаторские законы» 16 января 2014 года ( законы, принятые в Украине 16 января 2014 года, направленные против сторонников и участников Революции достоинства. — Прим. ред. ).
Издание «Центр журналистских расследований» сообщало о недвижимости жены Сальдо в Крыму. В разгар конфликта в Донбассе в 2016 году в интернете публиковались аудиозаписи , где человек с голосом, похожим на голос Сальдо, рассказывает о своих связях с сотрудниками ФСБ в Крыму и готовности поддержать действия российских спецслужб на Херсонщине. «Я могу помочь вам, когда буду дома, установить контакты. Вы конкретно там можете оговорить все эти условия. Государственные люди. <…> Из государственной службы», — говорит мужчина на записи.
Владимир СальдоФото: Wikimedia Commons 
Павел ФилипчукФото: страница Павла Филипчука в фейсбукеЕще один новый пророссийский руководитель — глава временной военно-гражданской администрации Каховки Павел Филипчук. «Меня объявили по всей Украине предателем. Я считаю предателями нашу власть, которая нас оставила, бросила нашу область, а теперь призывает мирных жителей идти воевать», — заявил Филипчук журналистам RT. Он тоже был депутатом Каховского горсовета сначала от пророссийской «Партии регионов», а потом ( партию распустили в 2014 году. — Прим. ред. ) — от пророссийской «Оппозиционной платформы — За жизнь». Новый мэр Каховки тоже крупный должник — он не вернул долг в размере около 14 тысяч долларов Укргазбанку.
В украинских СМИ Филипчук известен скандалами, например его побили палкой колбасы. В 2015 году на сессии Каховского совета народный депутат Сергей Хлань, ударил Филипчука колбасой за его издевательское поздравление с победой нового мэра Каховки Андрея Дяченко. В 2018 году Филипчук судился с журналистом Олегом Батуриным из-за антикоррупционного расследования о нем. В марте 2022 года Батурина похитили в Каховке, больше недели он провел в плену у российских военных и предположил , что к его похищению может быть причастен Филипчук. Украинские журналисты считают , что до оккупации Херсонской области Филипчук жил в России. На его странице в Instagram сказано, что он занимается психоанализом и терапией:
«Чищу подсознание / тело. Отключим страхи / сомнения / комплексы / деструктивные / болевые программы / эмоции / привычки / весь трэш ( орфография и пунктуация авторские. — Прим. ред. )», — рекламировал себя Филипчук.
В Васильевке новым мэром стала актриса, владелица модельного агентства для детей Наталья Романиченко. «Я уверена, что вместе с братским российским народом у нас получится наладить мирную жизнь», — заявила она в конце апреля, появившись с георгиевской лентой на руке.
Наталья РоманиченкоКадр из видео, опубликованного каналом «1+1» 
Сергей ХортивФото: городская рада РубежногоВ городе Рубежное Луганской области мэр Сергей Хортив перестал выходить на связь с марта. «А через месяц он появился. То есть он бросил город на произвол судьбы вообще, а потом через месяц появился уже вместе с кадыровцами. Он мало того, что сотрудничал с ними, так еще и показывал, где находятся украинские активисты или семьи военных», — рассказал «Важным историям» глава Луганской военной администрации Сергей Гайдай.
В апреле Хортив вместе с чеченскими военными появился на видео в телеграм-канале главы Чечни Рамзана Кадырова. «Это та политика Европы, Америки применительно к нам, которая сейчас привела к массовому кровопролитию и убийству наших людей. Вы — фашисты. Вас породила Европа и Америка, и вы танцуете, пляшете за их деньги», — сказал Хортив на камеру.
Сергей Хортив на местных выборах 2020 года баллотировался в мэры города от пророссийской партии «Наш край». Украинский журналист Денис Казанский написал , что Хортив в 2014 году уже сотрудничал с пророссийскими военными и помогал организовывать референдум ( 11 мая 2014 года этот референдум прошел в Рубежном, 21 июля силы АТОосвободили город. — Прим. ред. ), но украинские власти его так и не смогли привлечь к ответственности.
«Россия-матушка, забери и Херсон, и Запорожье»
Таким образом, главами ряда захваченных украинских территорий уже поставлены люди, способные «всем сердцем» поддержать идею их обособления. Дело за формальным народным голосованием. В присутствии российских войск невозможно будет проверить, как оно проходило, действительно ли в нем участвовали местные жители, сколько их набралось и был ли их выбор свободным (даже в самой России в условиях мирного времени стало сложно оценивать волеизъявление граждан). При этом формально инициатива о проведении референдумов в Украине якобы не исходит от России. По старой советской традиции пожелания как будто идут от трудящихся, к которым прислушиваются власти.
В МИД России о референдумах ничего « не слышали ». Но глава ЛНР Леонид Пасечник уже допустил референдум о вхождении в состав России. Желание присоединиться к России высказал и глава ДНР Денис Пушилин, но только после полного освобождения территории. «Что касается вхождения в состав РФ, что касается желания и стремления, то они отчетливо прослеживаются с 2014 года — желание быть в России. Но сейчас основная задача — выход на конституционные границы республики. Дальше определимся», — отметил Пушилин 29 марта. «Россия-матушка, забери и Херсон, и Запорожье», — попросила в эфире «России 1» 22 апреля главный редактор Russia Today Маргарита Симоньян. В конце января 2021 года Симоньян уже просила забрать «домой» Донбасс.