Voices of Ukraine

By Maxim Mireyev
06.06.2014
Translated by William Risch and edited by Voices of Ukraine

A former classmate from the Printers’ Academy, a rock-solid “Crimea is Ours!” supporter, has sent me a repentant letter from Moscow via Vkontakte [Russian social network site]:

“Max, I came to Moscow, and I can’t find work; everyone sends me off.

I tell them: ‘I’m from Crimea!’ (Thus I imagine him with his arms open wide – like, ‘Well, love me!’)

They tell me: ‘Another moocher’s come here. We’re feeding you over there in Crimea, so why did you show up here?’

He says: ‘Because I’m Russian. Now we’re together!’

They tell him: ‘You were a khokhol [derogatory term for a Ukrainian] then, and you’re still a khokhol now. For starters, get rid of that peasant huh-ing of yours [pronouncing the “g” as an “h” in the Russian language].’

Max, is this what we voted for?”

The scene goes silent. I don’t see him, but I absolutely know how he looks like now. His eyes are as wide as 50 kopek pieces. His mouth is glum and contorted, like he’d just eaten a lemon.

And I know that my classmate isn’t the first such ‘Crimea is ours!’ supporter…
So did you think your life would become a fairy tale? Lord have mercy, it’s a land of fearless idiots.

Source: Maxim Mireyev FB 

Russians in Moscow’s Red Square hold banners reading, “Love You Crimea!” “Together For All Time” and “Obama, Think About Alaska!” during a March 18 rally celebrating the annexation of Crimea. Photo: Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA/Landov  Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/04/01/297835873/not-an-april-fools-joke-russians-petition-to-get-alaska-back