March 29 Update from Crimea/Ukraine – More Bad News

Friends,

Crimea is a special place, indeed.

Special to those of us who have lived and worked there, as well as those who were born there or chose to move there.

It is special to the Crimean Tatars, for it is their historic homeland.
It is special to the Russian people and Russian Federation, too.

Now it is special for its restrictions too — greater restrictions than that which exists in Moscow’s Russia. There are three million Ukrainians working in Russia who are able to do that without taking Russian citizenship and they can keep their Ukrainian citizenship.

But Crimea is special. It must be protected from its minorities, the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatars.

 

Maybe it turns out that the majority who want Crimea to be Russian is a slim majority, and some of them may soon have doubts. (What if not all of the 58% ethnic Russians wanted to be under Russia? What if it is true that the largest majority possible would be 60% of the entire population? That leaves 40%, many of whom may not be happy about the change. What if the Crimean Tatar leadership is right when they say that not more than 30% of the population was in favor of being under Russia?)

 

Maybe Russia knows that there is a LARGE minority of people in Crimea that could pose a risk to Russian peace.  Russia apparently fears a possible backlash within Crimea to the annexation of Crimea, so it keeps doing things to reduce the possibility of Ukrainian re-sentiment becoming another Maidan in Crimean cities. [See other postings about increasing restrictions — there are even rumors that the Internet will be cut off in Crimea come Monday.]

 

Meanwhile, while tightening the noose around Ukrainians in Crimea, Putin keeps telling Obama and the west that they had better reign in the mistreatment of Russian and other minorities in Ukraine!!

 

Georges – reflecting on news from the ground in Crimea

PS All bold font and underlining in the letters below are my doing, not part of the original texts.

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From a couple who lives in Crimea and adopted 7 of their foster children; they are a family of 11 and wonder what they can do to safeguard their family (especially since both of them have been vocal for Ukraine, via the Internet, email and at some demonstrations).

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

 

Thank for your prayer support. We are grateful to you who have been keeping in touch and encouraging us via e-mail or Skype.  We are thankful to all of you have been offering to God specific prayers for our family. We thankful to each of you and we pray for you and we love you. 

 

All these days Putin has been bringing more Russian troops to the eastern border between Russia and Ukraine. They report about 100,000 Russian military people being located along the border. There are lots of tanks, helicopters and multiple rocket launchers or artillery rocket systems. 

 

Ukrainian army recruit centers called for volunteers to protect the country from Russian invasion. A couple of days ago Ukrainian media agencies warmed the people that Russia may invade Ukraine within 60 hours. They believe that Putin plans to take over those parts of Ukraine where citizens speak mostly Russian. These are Odessa. Nikolaev, Kherson, Lugansk, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk and Donetsk regions. Last night we had a call from our friends in Kiev and they told us that there were lots of military vehicles moving around and in the city; the Ukrainian Army was sending its troops to the eastern borders. [Russia could first attack from the southwest and north, then from the east. My idea. GC]

 

Today the media reported about a conversation between Putin and Obama, Putin initiated the call, yet they do not give the detail of their conversation. 

 

We pray and hope that Obama found the right words for Putin and Putin would not risk war in mainland Ukraine. 

 

The new Ukrainian government keeps on investigating the crimes of the former President of Ukraine and his team. It is known that they stole billions of dollars out of the state treasury. They started several criminal court cases against Yanukovich and his team members. Yanukovich hides in Russia. The new Ukrainian government announced that due to the actions of Yanukovich and his team, Ukraine found itself in the state of bankruptcy. There are not enough funds for social programs; there are delays in paying salaries to workers of the state organizations and in paying social support to pensioners and other receivers of social help. To illustrate the depth of the problems of Ukraine, we share just one fact. Ukraine is under threat of foreign invasion, yet there are not enough funds to get fuel for military vehicles. So, the government has to ask the people to donate money for the Army needs. It is amazing indeed that the Ukrainians, despite their poverty, were able to raise about 60 million grivna for the Army! [Exchange rate of 8 was normal for some years, but now it ranges between 10 and 11 grivna per dollar.]

 

After the Maydan, there still are lots of difficulties and problems in the government and in the country, yet we see good and positive changes there too. The deputies and clerks started refusing the luxury they used to have. For instance, the Premier of Ukraine flies to his meeting by regular flights and at his own expense. They issued new laws which would forbid oligarchs to steal from the state and would help to overcome corruption. It is really wonderful to see the influence the church has in both, the government and the society of Ukraine! 

 

The Crimea is still blocked by the Russian Army; the air above the Crimea is blocked as well. [But people are crossing the border into Crimea, by train and car.] The President of Belarus, which is a partner of Russia, said that Putin did not care whether the international society recognized the annexation of the Crimea, he saw it as a fact and the world would have to accept it. As you know, several countries supported Russia in their action towards the Crimea and those countries are North Korea, Venezuela, Cuba and some African states. 

 

The banks in the Crimea still do not operate. Accounts of the Crimeans are frozen. The Crimean “Russian” government is in a hurry to take such steps which would make the return of the Crimea almost impossible. They nationalized all the state properties of Ukraine as well as important businesses in the Crimea; we can say that the Crimean government takes away large private business and makes it its own. [This is probably the confiscation of the property of those well to do and MPs in Crimea who supported unity and did not support Russian annexation. GC] They even take away the buildings and properties of the church communities which did not support the annexation. Another amazing piece of news is that the leader of the Muslim community of the Crimea offered the Christians of the Crimea (whose building were taken away by the government) to hold their worship services in mosques on Sundays. At the same time the Crimean government does not follow through with their promises to Crimean Tatars. Moreover, the Russian government is working on a law which would forbid talking about the Crimea as a part of Ukraine [or otherwise exhibiting a favorable attitude toward Ukraine] and those who do would be punished  with up to four years in prison. 

 

Actually, lots of promises are not fulfilled, so to say. The government of the Crimea keeps on lying. For instance, they said the school would finished this year according to the Ukrainian program, yet now they said the school would switch to the Russian one and even graduates would get Russian diplomas. They promised the Crimeans would be able to keep their Ukrainian citizenship, now they made it clear that it was not the case. Putin even suggested people [Ukrainian citizens in Crimea] should make some kind of an oath of allegiance to Russia when they get the Russian passports. 

 

For now, the only way to live in the Crimea and keep the Ukrainian citizenship is to apply for residence permit. It will cost about 2,000 rubles or 500 grivna or $70 [currently, $57]. They did not decide yet how often it must be confirmed and paid. [Someone heard that this will permit Ukrainians – but only those who are already registered in Crimea — to live in Crimea as Ukrainian citizens for up to five years. It is not clear if it can be extended. gc] Each member of the family has to pay for the permit. To live in the Crimea means to live under Russian rule. 

 

They turned off all the other TV channels but Russian in the Crimea, so they broadcast lots of propaganda. For its people, Russia is presenting Ukraine as an enemy; it is constantly saying that Ukraine is “Russian land” and “Ukrainians are Fascists and Nazis who occupied Russian land.” To our great sorrow, Russian propaganda works and reaches its goals. Some days ago K and N came home from their class at the Children’s Art school all in tears. In class they drew a picture with Ukrainian elements and that led to disapproval on the part of the teacher and to mocking on the part of other kids. S has problems in his school too but he is stronger and older, so it is a bit easier for him to resist the pressure. More than ever we are grateful for the opportunity of distance learning for our kids! We are saved from so many problems! 

 

We knew it before that we would not want to become citizens of a country where human and civil rights are violated, but now we are even more determined to take our children out of the Crimea. 

 

Would you, please, be with us in prayer for our family? 

 

Humbly in Christ,

 

From a pastor of a church

V P

Hello everyone,
Working with another team of journalists from the same French radio (RFI) and have some more information.

First of all, people who are eligible to receive Russian citizenship in the Crimea:
– people who are registered here;
– people who have close relatives registered here (husband, wife, etc);
– people whose kids were born here;
– people who have been living here for the past three years and have a proof of that (work contract, rent contract, etc).

This means L and I can get Russian citizenship, but we do not want to do so.

Here is some more information for people like us who would like to stay here as Ukrainian citizens.

– We need to pay a fine of $60 and the money we pay will be used to register us as residents (Ukrainian citizens on a foreign, in our case Russian, territory). We will not have to leave the Crimea; we can stay here and be registered as residents. It is a similar process that Americans have had to go through when coming to Ukraine or the Crimea [and want temporary residency, but which is normally only good for one year in Ukraine for Americans; Russia is talking about granting permission to Ukrainians for 5 years, but not sure if it can be extended]).