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Once I requested Bilozerkans concerning the kinds of collaborators they knew, I heard a taxonomy: There have been the older Soviet nostalgists, often pensioners, who missed what they remembered as the soundness and delight of life in the united statesS.R. and believed Putin may recreate it; there have been the “zombies,” the individuals who lapped up Russian propaganda, even the obvious lies, just like the declare their nation was a NATO puppet state led by a Jewish fascist; the “konservas,” or “tin cans,” the folks with not a lot happening in life who simply wanted to be approached and cracked open; and the “waiters,” the fence-sitters who waited to see how the conflict went, in order that they may align themselves with the profitable aspect. Most belonged to that final class, I used to be informed, together with most of Kozlyonkova’s workers. The betrayal that stung most was that of Anatoliy Korniev, the priest at St. John of Kronstadt, an Orthodox church on the town. Korniev distributed help and sheltered folks within the church at first of the conflict, however the Russian Orthodox Church backed Putin, and shortly sufficient Korniev informed parishioners that Russia was right here to remain. They need to modify to the brand new actuality.
It appeared apparent to me that some townspeople would have collaborated out of concern or the necessity to survive. However after I made this level to loyalists in Bilozerka, it was often dismissed. The underlying motivation was easy selfishness, they stated. They thought the collaborators weren’t even pro-Russian, simply pro-themselves, with no extra ideology than loyalty. The occupation was an opportunity to advance their careers, to enhance their stations, to gather an additional pension examine or simply make slightly additional money. This rationalization went for everybody from Kozlyonkova all the way down to the strawberry farmer whom Oleksandr Guz identified at his restore store, who was barely making it across the nook in his sputtering sedan. If he’d gained something from Russia, it evidently hadn’t been a lot. (I couldn’t attain any of the accused collaborators from Bilozerka or Volodymyr Saldo.)
One lady, Alyona Zelinska, had a unique principle. A researcher with a nonprofit authorities watchdog group in Bilozerka, Zelinska investigated Kozlyonkova for misusing state funds earlier than the conflict. To make sure, she informed me, Kozlyonkova was a part of an “amoral group of individuals.” However her betrayal didn’t derive simply from selfishness. Kozlyonkova had a cynical “philosophy of life” that was extra complicated and inherited, Zelinska believed. She realized to be cynical within the waning days of the Soviet Union, a survival intuition of a folks raised amid coercion and deceit. “What have been we taught within the Soviet Union?” stated Zelinska, who was 12 years previous when Ukraine grew to become impartial. “The youngsters march in line. Don’t stand out, and every part will probably be OK. That’s what Sovietism is.” Kozlyonkova and different accused collaborators have been “leftovers of this herd mentality.” She had used the conflict for private achieve, giving up on the concept that Ukraine may enhance on the sclerotic empire from which it broke off a technology in the past. Forsaking the promise of a extra respectable life that was their younger republic: For Zelinska, that was the actual treachery.
The defection nobody understood was that of Andriy Koshelev. Koshelev and his spouse, a nurse within the surgical ward on the hospital, have been effectively favored on the town. They shared the property on Pushkin Avenue together with his mother and father. His mom was a well-liked instructor on the important public faculty, and he or she and his father owned the butcher store the place Koshelev labored. Koshelev was form and humble, in line with Oleksandr Shcherbyna, a good friend of his. So humble, certainly, that he was “a totally unnoticeable determine.” At the start of the occupation, he and Koshelev waited on meals traces collectively and talked concerning the conflict. “He would emphasize that he was pro-Ukraine,” Shcherbyna says, “that he was categorically towards the Russians.” When the shelling was unhealthy, Koshelev’s spouse would carry folks to the basement of the hospital to take shelter. The coach Andriy Dibrova and his spouse, Alina, lived close by, and Alina was pleasant along with her. They noticed one another throughout the occupation and commiserated over the state of affairs. Nobody within the household had ever been heard to precise pro-Russian views earlier than the conflict. So far as I may decide, not one of the accused collaborators had.
However, quickly after taking over their posts, they have been outed on-line. Along with the principally innocuous native boards just like the Telegram channel Bilozerka Chat, there have been partisan boards dedicated to shaming Russian helpmeets. The directors of Bilozerka Chat knew the channel was being monitored by Russian intelligence, they usually erased posts that may increase suspicion. The directors of the partisan boards clearly wished to boost suspicion — to let accused collaborators know that they have been being monitored, too. A photograph of a smiling Koshelev was posted on the Telegram channel Database of Traitors of Kherson, alongside together with his house deal with.
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