To the Southeast and all of Ukraine. My name is Andriy Sokolov. I am 37 years old and I reside in Yalta. I voted for the Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and I have already realized what a huge mistake I have made. There are no words to describe what is happening in Crimea. You have to see it for yourself. I am a businessman and own several cottages near the central beach. Crimea is now living in complete information, legislation, and grocery chaos. All the fairy tales about a great life with Russia turned out to be just Aksenov’s yarns. They pulled off what they wanted and simply vanished. No one tells us anything, so Crimeans have no clue what to do and how to live further. No one gives a rat’s tail about us.
There is no one to turn to, nobody wishes to explain and clarify anything. People mean nothing to them. On TV, or rather on the Russian channels, they show happy faces, but nobody talks about the problems faced by Crimea. We will run out of gasoline in 2-3 days; the price of A92 is 15 UAH, which means don’t buy it if you don’t want it. There is no petroleum products supply from Russia.
The banks are being closed; there is no cash. ATMs give only 20 to 50 UAH per day, and now many do not function at all. It has become a problem to make transactions through a terminal as well. They are simply not being serviced. There are problems with food in many supermarkets, not all of them though.
There is not a single tourist in Yalta. All hotels remain empty, and no one makes any forecasts. I have no idea how to make ends meet and how to pay taxes and utility bills. Many entrepreneurs are on the edge of bankruptcy. Even in 1991 it wasn’t like this. The main profits came from vacationers, but not even Russian tourists rush to come here. I won’t even mention the legal status of my business, which is simply up in the air.
In Hurzuf there have already been cases where guys wearing uniforms without any identifying markings have showed up and kicked out the owner, and there was nothing he could do about it. Crimea is now in anarchy. I would like to look those jerks in the eyes, who have done this to the peninsula with no thought for the consequences and the people. The courts do not work. Dear SOUTHEAST, don’t fall for the YARNS OF THE PRO-RUSSIAN AGITATORS.
You will be used and thrown away later like a used condom, and you most certainly will have to deal with consequences. People in power will not feel the hardships of the transition. We have also been informed that the airspace is being closed and Crimean citizens will not be able to fly to EU countries if they have a Russian passport. Of course, many haven’t gone there anyway, but this isn’t a pleasant fact. Also, our Simferopol International Airport was ranked third in passenger traffic in Ukraine. Now there are only flights from Russia.
We had a lot of tourists not only from Ukraine, but also from around the world. Yalta-Inturist Hotel is one of the largest resorts which hosted foreigners. We can forget about them, too.
P.S. V.V. Putin, did you think even a little about those people and their businesses when you invaded Crimea? Or have you been pursuing only your personal interests?
by Viktor Svyshcho
Translated by Katherina Smirnova, edited by Robin Rohrback
