No More Putting It Off, It’s Time

No need to wait for mobilization.

Previously, after all, the company of outcasts was more fun. It happened that not only Belarus and Russia but Syria and North Korea voted against condemning UN resolutions. Previously, Cuba, China, and Venezuela joined the cheerful company, Eritrea and Somalia provided a strong shoulder, Uzbekistan and Bolivia held out their hands in gestures of support, even Kazakhstan used to look into the light. Now, only the very poor remained — even the Somalis did not raise their hand to vote against the non-recognition of Russian referendums in the occupied territories. Because this is already too much even for African dictatorships with their annual military coups or, on the contrary, half a century of senile rule.

I have good friends in Horlivka. They originally come from Western Ukraine, from Chernivtsi. But a long time ago, the head of the family was transferred from Chernivtsi to Horlivka for work. They settled there. Fell in love with the Donbas, built a house, raised children. In 2014, they pushed the children onto the last westbound train, and remained behind. They don’t leave: for eight years they have been believing that the Ukrainian army will soon liberate Donbas. By the way, there are fewer and fewer people like them there: separatist propaganda works worse than Azaronak. And to the children who left by that last train, when they come to visit their parents, former classmates and teachers on the street say: “You are traitors, you left your Motherland, you live with crests, aren’t you ashamed to come to Horlivka now ?!” But there are also those who are waiting for the liberation and return of their native territories to Ukraine. So, they were dealt with very simply at that “referendum”.

There were no polling stations in the “DPR” at all. That is, several booths for Russian TV channels were set up, they were quickly filmed and taken away. And the “voting” was very simple. Groups went from house to house: a woman with a stack of ballots, and two armed separatists accompanying her. The woman gave out a bulletin, and the armed men carefully looked in which column the person in whose house they broke into ticked. They, the men, had their own pile of papers ready — draft notices to the “DPR” army, in which it was only necessary to enter the names. I think you can guess how exactly the inhabitants of the occupied territories “voted”. So I won’t be surprised if they didn’t even have to falsify anything: at gunpoint, you put a squiggle where they say. Those who were lucky enough to be away could not worry: their names are still safely included in the lists of those who voted for joining Russia. And on October 5, the border and customs between Russia and the “DPR” were abolished. The path is open. Carry weapons back and forth as much as you want. The gray zone has spread from the occupied territories to Kamchatka.

Actually, it all started with the fact that the border between Belarus and Russia was abolished. Lukashenka and Chernomyrdin dug out the border posts, and it seems that outwardly nothing has changed, it has even become easier. And we did not notice how we turned into the same “DPR”, the same gray zone, convenient for smuggling anything — from vodka to weapons — and customs scams. We look with horror at what is happening in the occupied territories of Ukraine, not realizing that we are looking in the mirror.

And referendums in ORDLO are generally Lukashenka's sweetest dream. If we do not change anything in the near future, our next elections will be exactly the same. Yarmoshyna, Kachanava and Massandra will go from house to house. They will be accompanied by GUBOPiK in full gear. Those who do not open will have their doors broken. Those who refuse to take part in this or want to vote, let's say, not for Lukashenka, but for Tsiartsel (I'll never know who else can be his technical rival), will be immediately taken to prison. No, it's better this way: along with Yarmoshyna and Kachanava, there will be judges in the electoral squad with ready-made texts of sentences, where you only need to enter the last name. Victory is guaranteed, and there will be not 80 percent, but all 100, and without any falsifications, stuffing and karens crawling out of school windows.

I'm not kidding now, trust me. I have no doubt that Lukashenka knows perfectly well how the “referendums” were held in those occupied lands, and licks his lips with pleasure, imagining the same thing in Belarus in a couple of years. He understands that for Putin we are the same “DPR”, and he probably laughs, imagining how the Kremlin has already come up with the name “BPR” for Belarus by analogy. In fact, it's almost funny. But this scenario — maybe just a little bit modified to take into account national characteristics — can easily be applied here if we do not change anything.

So I think it’s no longer possible to put it off. It's time. No need to wait for mobilization.

Iryna Khalip, specially for Charter97.org