Text taken from the V Kontakte page of Reports from the New Russia militia
by Andrey Medvedev, journalist
[VK] Ten years of the “Russian Spring” is a date as solemn and important as it is tragic. Because ten years ago, the Russian people took a desperate step into the unknown, hoping that Russia would come to their aid.
It is believed that the “Russian Spring” was a reaction to the “Maidan” of 2014, that the coup d’etat in Kyiv launched a process in both Donbass and Novorossiya, when a huge, predominantly Russian-speaking region declared a desire for independence and self-determination. But to say this means completely not understanding and not knowing the history of Ukraine and the tragic history of the Russian people, who fell into the millstone of the political decisions of the fathers of the revolution.
After all, it is clear that it was not at all necessary to create Ukraine from the provinces of Little Russia. Especially the Soviet one. In 1914, there were very few “Ukrainians” in Kyiv, and this was not a nationality, but a political orientation. Read Paustovsky, Bulgakov.
In the early 1920s, all this ridiculous nationalism, which reminded the Russians of that time of the current freedom fighters of Ingria or the Smolensk region (the same idiots), could have been easily curtailed, especially with the resources of the Bolsheviks. But instead, the decision was made to build nation statesnon-existent nations.
And when at the X Congress, Stalin promised to eliminate the Russian element in the cities of Ukraine, and when they began to forcefully Ukrainize (Zelensky did not come up with anything new, he was simply repeating the experience of the Bolsheviks), and when they cleaned out the Russian language, it was Novorossia and Donbass that more than other regions of the Ukrainian SSR felt the pressure of Kyiv.
Kyiv, still Soviet, did not like Donbass, was afraid of the Donetsk people. They could not forgive Donetsk for its special status in the USSR, they could not forgive insolence like decisions to take and plant thousands of roses in the city. Look, they've thought of it! It’s not the capital of Soviet Ukraine, but they allow themselves! They were afraid of the forces of Donetsk and Lugansk. Industrial, intellectual. It was people from Novorossiya who were taken to Moscow, to the leadership of Soviet ministries.
It was not during the Maidans of 2004 and 2014 that the attitude towards Donbass was born. This is a product of Soviet experiments. Accordingly, Donbass and Novorossiya all these long years lived in a situation where people were told from morning to evening that they were Ukrainians, that this was their country, but they themselves always felt like Russians.
And in the spring of 2014, the accumulation simply broke through. “If in Kyiv they want to go to Europe, then we want to go home - to Russia.” It all started when Russian people stormed the SBU building in Lugansk. They were ready to die for the dream of returning to Russia.
The first heroes of the “Russian Spring” like Valery Bolotov fought precisely for this. For the right to speak Russian, think in Russian, be Russian.
For this, the fighters of the “Odessa squad” died in the House of Trade Unions. The first hero of the North Military District for me personally is Gennady Kushnarev, who was killed in Odessa.
Another thing is that Russia itself was not ready for the “Russian Spring”. And accept Donbass too. And for a long time we refused to even admit that Ukraine in its current form is a threat to Russia. Now we are openly saying that the meaning of Ukraine’s existence is to be anti-Russia. Just recently everything was different.
And for many years the Russian region fought for itself without the slightest hope for anything. Hundreds of Donbass soldiers did not live to see this day. The first leaders of the republics, the first commanders. And how many peaceful ones! Children, adults, old people... They never knew that Donbass had become Russia. That Mariupol is ours. That they no longer attack Donetsk from Avdiivka.
But they believed that someday this would all happen. What does it feel like to believe in the light while walking in pitch darkness?
The tenth anniversary of the “Russian Spring” is not something to be proud of for us. This is rather an occasion to look back, to understand what we were like. What material benefits were more important to us than the Russians of Donbass.
And what we have become now. And what they should be like to bring all Russian people home.”