Below is a follow-up to my most recent entry, "Talking to Eastern Ukrainians": 
 

Jack - Our newspapers claim that tensions are easing in Eastern Ukraine. Are you seeing this?
 
Dennis - The 'green people' situation - 'green people' is the term widely used for “Russian armed militia" because of the camouflaged uniform - is not really easing yet. It is still pretty freaking dangerous to walk around wearing Ukrainian symbols as we like to do. Also we are expecting a major event on the Easter Sunday, maybe another assault on local government buildings. We actually have a new saying on this: In case of uncertainty, occupy a regional state administration building :-)
 
Jack - I watched a few interviews on the web from a news station called rt.com. There's a female interviewer named Oksana who is very sharp and as tough as nails. What do you think of this program?
 
Dennis - That would be "Russia Today". It's Russian propaganda mostly. We don’t believe media outlets, even pro-Ukrainian ones. It's all word of mouth now, empowered by the internet.
 
Jack - Can you give me an overview of the situation as it now stands? Something that we're not likely to read in Western newspapers.

Dennis - The Russian Federation has of course annexed Crimea and is threatening mainland Ukraine. There are a lot of Russian spies and military agents in the southern and eastern Ukraine. These people inspire hooligan punks to take over local authorities and to bribe local policemen. The punks, together with the Russians, organize rallies to stomp down pro-Ukrainians and occupy local state buildings and to actually take over whole towns. They haven't had great success so far, but the tension and hysteria is strong. And it's understandable how the police can be easily bribed. Their monthly salary, converted to U.S. is $300 - $500, while Russian police make $1,000 - $1,200. Why would they want to join the EU when Russia is closer, seemingly more cuddly, and they speak the same language. Couple that with a police force that was never meant ‘to serve and protect' and that's what you get. The police are just another criminal organization, protecting their own racketeering interests. Police officers sabotage authorities’ orders and pretend they don’t see punks beating the s*** out of Maidan people, (Maidan is a term for Ukrainian Nationalists) who seek only a new clean, united democratic Ukraine.

The other day a friend called me with an invitation to join a local pro-Ukrainian peaceful meeting on the main square of the city - Maidan of Freedom. The purpose was simply to protest in numbers. I asked what the odds were of being able to beat the s*** out of Colorados (term used to describe pro-Russians - see foot note on Colorados) versus getting beaten ourselves. He shrugged and suggested I wear a hard hat. I didn't have one so I brought a collapsible golf club. I parked my car at a safe dead end about 1 km from the Maidan. I met my friend and the rest our group, mostly IT specialists, along the way. We were wearing yellow-blue ribbons (the colours of our flag) and oddly, we marched along discussing geek things rather than the state of our nation. When we got to the Maidan I separated from the group a couple of times to get closer to the Colorados - they were holding a rally across from the square - to take some photos and video footage. Suddenly, explosives started going off all around. Guns, stun grenades, bombs, fireworks, who knows, but within minutes I'd gone deaf and felt shell-shocked. Then a new horde of Colorados emerged from the subway exits on all four corners of the Maidan. By best estimates there were 600 - 700 of us and maybe 2,500 of them. They made an attempt to corner us. 
 
We ran like hell. I lost sight of most of my comrades, sticking with the one who had gotten me into this mess. We spotted a group of young people, ran past them, then turned and calmly slipped right into the middle of their pack. I folded up my golf club, hid it up my sleeve and shoved my pro-Ukrainian ribbon into my pocket. The ploy worked. Two or three groups of Colorados with bats ran through us chasing others who continued to flee.  
 
It is remarkable how one’s attitude can quickly change: It's nighttime now and gunfire is happening right outside my house. I'm calmly sipping a beer as I type these words. A year ago this would have infuriated me. Now it seems almost normal.
 
PS Please, correct my choice of words where appropriate. In particular, I’m not really great in english swearing to express this f***ing pandemonium properly :-D
 
Jack - To correct anything you've said, Dennis, would be wrong. Why don't you, Krystina and your son head for the airport and climb onto a Toronto bound plane. There's room at our Inn. After a month of sleeping on Thai beds, Elenka and I would welcome the opportunity to sleep on our comfortable, soft-wood living room floor.  

Dennis - No response.  

Foot note: Colorados are what Ukrainians call potato bugs, supposedly because the U.S. state of Colorado is from where they first came. After WWII the East German government claimed that potato bugs were dropped by American planes. In East Germany they were known as Amikäfer (Yankee beetles). In Russia the species is endemic. Source: Wikipedia 
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