Kuban Cossack Yevgeny Panchuk one day became famous in Runet after the meeting Ekaterinodar discussion club, where he discussed the protests on 26 March, gave a speech in which he supported opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
In particular, Panchuk said that the chieftain allegedly asked the Cossacks to prevent the opening of a staff of Navalny in Krasnodar. “On Saturday we had an event, was 470 Cossacks of the ataman of the city. We were told that we should go to block office Bulk. A scandal. The Cossacks were against it. It is our chieftain announced. From 470 20 people come,” said he.
Later on the website of the Kuban Cossack army (KKV) has reported that Evgeny Panchuk excluded from the register RAC.
“Before [it] at different times was part 4 of the Cossack communities of ekaterinodarsky Department of the. But everywhere were driven out by the Cossacks for their quarrelsome and mean-spirited character. What we were told to go and block office Bulk — a complete lie. This was our Cossack initiative to stand up to those who want to fracture our society and make trouble. […] Otherwise “mishandled Cossack”, which seeks to discredit all of the Kuban Cossack army for their own purposes, we can not name” — said the RAC.
Russian service Bi-bi-si talked with the exiled Cossack about the exception, the Crimea and the Donbass, on the situation of Kazachestva, respect for Vladimir Putin and Alexei Navalny.
BBC: Eugene, tell us how you excluded from RAC?
Evgeny Panchuk: And I was not excluded. “On top of” our chieftain ordered to eliminate me, but [went] a gathering of Cossacks, they listened to my position and said, “No, we exclude we will not, we will understand.” The question of my exception was not even put on the agenda for a vote. But reported that I was expelled.
Cossacks in society is not a chieftain, and society itself — by voting. And eliminates the same. That is, the chieftain may not issue an order and to exclude anyone without the consent of the General Assembly.
— You said that the chieftain ordered “from above”. Who ordered?
— [It came] from the chieftain of the Doluda (Nikolay Doluda — the army ataman of Kuban Cossack troops — approx bi-Bi-si). You know, we very much depend: for example, the room given to us rent free. If the chieftain [KKV] went against their leadership, we would have just thrown in the street.
So in order not to expose his Cossacks and ataman, I wrote a statement: “Asking me to re-enlist in another Cossack society”. Ataman wrote: “don’t mind”. I left this Cossack society and moved — on Thursday will consider my application for admission.
What’s it called?
— If I call them now, they will come again a top team… We are very much dependent on the government. But I have four companies invited to join them.
— KKV said that you “expelled from everywhere” for “quarrelsome and mean-spirited character”. How do you “cast out”?
— Why aren’t they listed those companies? Imagine the person expelled from one, another society, and its all take and accept? The latter society, where I allegedly excluded is khutorskoe kazache obshhestvo “Officer hundred”. To give you an idea, it is the Minister of agriculture Tkachev, the Chairman of legislative Assembly of Krasnodar region Beketov, Doluda. We have an elite society.
— Yes, I was in the same society — it was allocated money, and part of the money went for other purposes. We raised a fuss in society, wrote a letter to the Prosecutor, and then I was eliminated when I raised the question about mistrust to the chieftain. But then I was invited to “the Officer hundred”. So now, I have a “quarrelsome nature”…
— KKV also said that you were in the Crimea in the midst of the events of 2014. And “literally on the second day were sent from the front,” because he showed himself “as an alarmist, a whiner and a coward.”
They write that I wasn’t there, but what I was awarded? I have two awards for the defense and the return of the Crimea.
We arrived in the Crimea on the night of 27 February (2014, shortly before the annexation of the Peninsula — approx. Bi-bi-si). Then all the Cossacks very quickly phoned the day and night, but go not all. We have an army of 40 thousand Cossacks, and the Crimea was less than a thousand. But we went because we were told: “we Need to support Russian-speaking population”. We were brought in Chongar, placed on the isthmus, said, “we Need to protect Chongar, because Ukraine is a mess: no army, no police, and Bandera in Lviv gathered and go to cut in the Crimea, the Russian population”.
You’ve probably heard that in January, the ataman of the “Cossack national guard” Nikolay Kozitsyn declared gathering of volunteers “for the protection of Donbass”. How do you feel about that?
— Kozitsin knows that all battalion commanders who participated in the protection of new Russia, was eliminated — not by the Ukrainian side. Evgeny Ishchenko (one of the field commanders of the so-called “Cossack guard” — approx. Bi-bi-si) has been eliminated. Alexey Mozgovoy (commander of brigade “Prizrak” — approx. Bi-bi-si) was killed in the rear. This is all Cossacks. All the warlords Novorossia eliminated. And he again gathers the Cossacks to the slaughter to them in the back “Grad” was shot?
— What is the war with Ukraine? It is a fraternal nation.
— You agree that Donbass should remain part of Ukraine?
— I was in the Donbass. Fought and humanitarian aid were taken (in Lugansk, by the way, it is stolen). We took her last summer to hungry people, and they told us: “the Territory occupied by the Russians.” This here is the attitude. People realized that Russia has betrayed them. They are all three years was hoping for Russia to enter into its composition. But I my opinion changed, I think they should stay in Ukraine.
— You also said that you changed their opinion about Vladimir Putin.
— Opinion changed when they started the war with Ukraine, when our children went there and took up arms. By the way, the Ukrainian side did not shoot the [first] first took [the gun] Russians.
In Donetsk and Lugansk in the beginning of the war the population was 7 million people. If one in ten is able to take up arms, the army would have amounted to 700 thousand people, and the Ukrainian army then was — little more than 100 thousand. Weapons Russia has provided Nemer (Russia has consistently denied involvement in the conflict in the South-East of Ukraine — approx. Bi-bi-si). If they wanted to secede from Ukraine, every man would take up arms, and they would in three days reached the city. But the local population did not fight.
— Whose fault is it that the situation is so complicated?
— Of course, it is the fault of the President [Putin]. Would the will of the President, this war would not exist. This fog, which diverts our attention to Ukraine from the problems inside Russia. We the people poor. Steal everything in black.
Here governors are planted. And he’s ten years in power, built castles, palaces. That they had not seen him steal? And why ten years ago do not put? The castle he built in his home town, and you have just now planted. And when he was building, did you see where he takes the money? Not shared, I guess, and decided to put.
— Why you expressed support for Navalny?
— On the Central television show about agents of the state Department and the CIA. We Cossacks at every gathering is still ten times increase: “the rallies will come inadequate people: drug addicts, alcoholics, agents of the state Department”.
I’m in a rally on March 26 did not participate, but I saw that around the Bulk merged the appropriate people: teachers, doctors, intellectuals, students, pupils. And they came, not because they are agents of the state Department, but because the country is poor. Well, there is no other person who really speaks the truth, who is not sullied that power. [If the elections were tomorrow] I would, of course, voted for Navalny.
