THE GHOSTS OF THE PAST AND MENTALLY ILL ‘UKRAYNA’. “SHAMAN” TALKS ABOUT THE MAIN PROBLEMS OF NOVOROSSIA.

Interview with the one of the “Donetsk Republic” [ed. organization, founded in 2005] and the Donetsk People’s Republic [ed. state] founders, ex-deputy of the DPR Parliament Oleg Victorovich Frolov (callsign “Shaman”).

RM.U: Oleg Victorovich, you received a serious injury in early October during the fight for the airport. How are you now?


A bit better now, thanks. I’ve undergone several operations. There were 3 bullets, one was taken out right away, core of the second one — just several days ago, its fragments and the third one in one months. For now it’s difficult to move, but that’s nothing, we’ll break through.

RM.U: Ukrainian mass media and svidomiye [ed. lit. “nationally conscious” - Ukrainian nationalist, they really talk about this and use the word all the time] bloggers hurried up to “bury” You then, they raised a wave of sacrilegious joy “One of the Donetsk Republic founders killed!” How was it to read all of that?

You know, you just have to do, what you must and don’t pay attention what do others think. Especially when we’re talking about weak minded keyboard-pressers. You should understand one thing, here, we don’t exult when even Ukrainian conscript soldiers are killed. They’re send on death by the moneybags, for whom the more kids they get rid off the better. I’ve talked to the captives, mostly they don’t even understand what are they risking their lives for. But the mercenaries, all those “Aidar”, “Azov”, “Donbas” and their sponsors — yes, they are different thing. They are Nazi criminals and they will be judging according to that.

RM.U: You used to be a deputy of the first summon of the DPR parliament. After the elections your surname can’t be found among the list of the elected deputies…


By and large, it wasn’t a surprise for me. Though this status doesn’t really matter to me. If there’s some work — I’m ready. And, truth to speak, for now, there are more conversations than work… But that’s not a reason to lose your heart. We used to struggle in times when there were only 5 of us gathering and pedestrians were shunning not understanding what we wanted from them. But still we’ve overthrown the Ukro-oligarchy power. Result is not, what we excepted for last spring? Agreed! But everything is still ahead, long and difficult struggle awaits for us. Lots of strange things happening in our republics lately? No one promised that it’s going to be easy…

RM.U: The ghosts of the past, You warned about before the elections?

Yes, without a doubt. But there’s no sense in feeling offended by fate here. Taking into account how long was the Ukrainian nightmare for Donbass and how intense had the virus of the Ukrainian Nazism and oligarchism been infecting us, we still have a very long path to recover. Ukrs say that Donbass thrived on the expense of the whole Ukraine. But it’s a lie! First of all, Donbass has never been a subsidized region, instead it donated money for all those western Ukrainian loafers loving Ukraine only from abroad: from Canada, Portugal, Ireland and other “zarobitchanyn” [ed. Ukrainian migrant worker] reservations. Second— the fact that Donetsk “elite” ruled Ukraine doesn’t mean that Donbass used to live well. Maybe Donbass lived a bit better than Western and Central Ukraine (naturally, except the Kiev), because we worked hard. Because people here know what is a hard work. Know on the genetic level, you see? And when people who don’t really know much and do nothing useful, who only want to have more maidans, tell who deserves what, it’s simply ridiculous.

RM.U: So having “donetsk guys” in power it wasn’t better for Donbass in Ukraine?

It’s difficult to compare disgusting with loathsome. Did Donbass rise against the Maidan only? Would be too much honor for them, they can keep fighting there among themselves. We rose against that 20 years long darkness we’ve been put into by the bunch of traitors. Against the oligarchy and the medieval despotism. Against the complete lawlessness. Not just against the Right Sector and All-Ukrainian Union “Svolota” [ed. Ukrainian for “Scum” — changed name of neo-nazi “Svoboda” — “Freedom” organization], but also against the Regions Party as the brightest and the most dangerous example of the Ukrainian capitalist nationalism. And the fact, that they change their outfit won’t deceive anyone. Maidan was only the last drop, the detonator.

RM.U: But, agree that now Republics have.. no less problems than before, to say the least. It’s winter and discussions about the distant future and better life are being pushed to the background. People are worried about the heating, electricity, jobs and so on…

I see what You are talking about. Even more, I’m not pleased with the events in Republic myself, to say the least. I see the problems and have some ideas about the reasons for the most of them. I know that it’s going to be really difficult, maybe it has never been as difficult as that before and it never will. But do we have any options? I often ask people: and what if we go back to Ukraine? Couple of times they wanted to disrupt the conversation in rather harsh form, I had to explain who I was. You can’t imagine that level of exasperation caused to people by the Ukrainian “Grads” and “Tochka U”. But we’re doomed to live side by side with the lunatic neighbor that still has enough armament since the Soviet times. While they don’t recover from the cerebral maidan they have, we are doomed to fight. And, by and large, we’re only in the beginning of our path. You can’t get rid of 20 years of horror, of 20 years of slow decay of the Ukrainian stillborn monster in just half a year. The serious treatment is required here.

RM.U: How to deal with the problems? Winter, threat of the humanitarian disaster…

If you do everything properly, it’s possible to endure rather easily. But, as it usually happens, the enormous number of rascals clinged onto the great cause and idea. Part of them have been on the other side of the barricades before, but now, thanks to their high patrons they are assigned to play the role of the Novorossian leaders. It’s the main problem in my opinion. Once we solve it, the other are going to be sold without difficulties.

RM.U: The ghosts of the past?


Exactly. The competent authorities [ed. soviet way to call secret services, counter-intelligence] know everything about the staff in the Republic government. As for why they aren’t acting — I’m the wrong person to ask, these questions should be addressed to them. And the process , by and large, hasn’t even started. You should realize this: when people see the old “elites” coming back, they get disappointed and leave — some for East, some for West, anywhere, just as far from their disappointment as possible. Clever, competent, worthy people leave… Disaster.

RM.U: What about the territories? It’s clear about Slavyansk, Kramatorsk and former administrative borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, DPR and LPR leaders talk about it openly. But what about Kharkov, Zaporozhye, Nikolayev, Odessa?


And what about Kiev? All these are our lands. But there’s not sense in taking them by force. We, as people, who have realized the filthiness of the Ukrainian nationalism and known all hardships of war, have to take position of a doctor. Those people require treatment, because I doubt that anyone would object that people manically wishing death to their neighbors aren’t sane. Even if we take those territories by force tomorrow, what’s next? We’ll only get the millions of the Maidan zombies. On their own. Only on their own. They should feel what is that on themselves. We’re engaging in the organized struggle since 2004. We have things to compare. We will support our comrades but we don’t support the total violence. It’s not going to cause anything, but the blind hatred. Today we’re forced to fight back, kill Ukrainian soldiers (the punitive battalions are different story, naturally). But they came to us with war, our actions are justified self-defense. The real fight is being fought with different weapon. That’s the only way to achieve complete, indisputable victory