Writer, the famous military journalist, author of picture stories from the ATO zone and two novels about the war in the Donbass — “Airport” and “Flight” — SERGEI L. Loiko in the second part of the interview “” told that will put an end to the hostilities in the East of Ukraine, as the Crimea will return under the control of Kiev and why Russia needs its own “Nuremberg trials”.
Apostrophe: next year Russia will face presidential elections. What needs to happen to make the election in the classic sense of the word took place? Is it possible?
Sergei L. Loiko: In Russia there is no normal elections under Putin. There is no democracy under Putin in Russia will not. Here, unfortunately, the rule about the role of personality in history when one man with a small group of like-minded usurped the whole country. As Pushkin wrote wonderful: “Lord of the weak and the evil, bald dandy, the enemy of labor, inadvertently warmed by glory, reign over us then.” Here history repeats itself. The role of personality in history is terrible.
Russia had a window of opportunity in 1991, but the window was boarded up, and Russian democracy has destroyed itself because it has enabled the oligarchs to manipulate them. In 1996, when [Boris] Yeltsin seems defeated by the Communist party, in fact it is turned to the country’s great tragedy, because the election results were rigged. And I think that if in 1996 [Gennady] Zyuganov and the Communist party would win this election, it looks like all this went on in Russia now would be a very different story, because the Communist regime was overthrown within an even more brutal way. Just in Russia in 1991 there was a bloodless revolution, the people paid with blood paid the Ukrainians for their freedom, their democracy. They were therefore unable to assess her properly, and something happened, what happened.
After a short period the Communists in power would be a real revolution, I think that would have ended “the Nuremberg process” over communism, lustration. Why Germany was able to recover from fascism and to recover? Because Germany was the Nuremberg trials. Nazi atrocities were officially recognized as crimes and punished. In Russia, the Soviet Union never had. Russia still have to go through a “Nuremberg trial” on communism, on Stalinism and the Putinism.
— You wrote that the story “Flight” was carrying a long time and wanted to write something similar after the bombings in Moscow in 1999. Why did then did not write and, looking back now, how would you have described what was happening in Russia at the threshold of zero?
— Putin was lucky with oil prices, and a temporary improvement in their living standards, the Russians began to associate with the coming to power of Putin. On this wave he was able to do what he did. He quietly said goodbye to all: the strangulation of the media, the murder of politicians, the bombings, the war in Chechnya. “But as we live well”, — said the people… And now it starts here this flawed logic, even the cemetery — “just war.” It comes even before that. Although Russia has long been waging war with the world.
— But not yet in Russia. Who can reverse this situation? As, for example, relate to the figure of Alexei Navalny? For him such a force there?
— Alexei Navalny is a controversial political figure, but other, as they say, today is not given. Obviously, any election to participate will not, will not admit it, most likely. But he is doing a very important function, it works in the icebreaker to destroy the image of Putin’s Russia. Many in Ukraine today accused Navalny is that he is a Kremlin project. But why is Putin such a project, when the Bulk displays tens of thousands of young people? That’s the worst part of Putin’s power, because the young people in all countries have made “color revolution”, what is most afraid of Putin’s regime. Bulk displays tens of thousands is the only politician today who is able to bring tens of thousands of people to the streets of Russia. These people shouting, chanting: “Putin — thief”. How does this compare with antinavalnogo hysteria, which is mostly unfounded based on the postulate that the Bulk agent of the Kremlin?
Bulk makes a lot of mistakes. He sometimes says the wrong, populist things, he is not quite honest and sincere in relation to the Crimea, in the Ukraine, but that’s because he is now interested in Russian voters, not Ukrainian. If he declares that he will return Crimea, it will lose a lot of support of many people in Russia. Navalny has already been acknowledged many times that the annexation of Crimea is a crime, it’s illegal. He admitted that Russian troops are in Ukraine and that they are carrying out a war of aggression. If a miracle happens, and, say, hypothetically, Navalny comes to power, I think he will return Crimea, and he will stop the war in Ukraine. Today it is the hottest topic, because there are people continue to die, continue to die all the best guys, salt of the earth. One can spend all day on Facebook and condemn each other, have political battles, to condemn, in particular, and Bulk. In the meantime, other, boys, defending the homeland and die. So I’m sure that if Navalny comes to power, he will stop the war in Ukraine.
In any case, Navalny has found the only weak spot in the Kremlin wall. This is corruption. And he hits in a weak spot. He ridiculed the regime, Medvedev derides, makes fun of Putin. And this mode is the worst, because the Brezhnev regime began to crumble, when the main greeting to one another was the joke about Brezhnev. Now Bulk bring the situation to this. It is not a perfect political leader and democratic elections, I would not have voted for him as President of Russia, but would vote only in the case if he was an opponent of Putin. His role in the historical context of the development of Russia today is positive, so today must support it. And I’m sure I even know what will be the mechanism for the return of the Crimea.
— What?
— I think Crimea will be forced to return any politician who will succeed Putin. Under Putin it will not happen in any case. But the Crimea is the key to return to the world community to have been lifted sanctions, without this, no sanctions will not be lifted, one way or another, Crimea will have to return. And return it in the same way as stole by stealth, deception. That is, arrange a referendum in which, quite possibly, the Crimeans would vote to return to Ukraine, because they have a strong ate Putinism and begin to understand, what a huge mistake they made. Although, no matter how they vote at the “referendum” (2014 — “Apostrophe”), its results were known long before this “referendum” was held. And now, quite possibly, will organize a “referendum” that the Kremlin will decide that the citizens preferred to return to Ukraine and Crimea is returned. It would be funny if it were not so sad.
But most importantly, Crimea was returned to Ukraine, and he will come back — legally and illegally. The legitimate way to recognize the crimes of Putin, to accept all decisions taken under its authority, illegal and according to this return to the Crimea in place. But I think that this will not happen, and, most likely, it will occur as a result of another such fake “referendum” to at least as-that to calm the population in Russia.
— What do you think about the current situation in the Donbass? How long may continue trench warfare?
— The war will end as soon as Putin is removed from power, will be destroyed or just gone. Although he did not go away. The only way he can escape is to escape into another world. With this need to pin hopes, but judging by the form in which it is located, that will last 30 years. He needs this war in Donbass, he will support it in every way. Now he can’t conduct a full-fledged war against Ukraine. The time has gone. It is neither economically nor politically now can’t do. But it is important to keep this simmering hotbed of tension in Ukraine, again, only for internal use, to show people: see, they came to the Maidan and how it ended? This ended the “civil war.” The majority of Russians continue to believe it.
— And why such “leaky suitcases”, as you call him, will continue to support it?
Yes. The war in Ukraine will end one day, and it will end in one day. And it will be a day when the border will be placed under the control of Ukraine, Russian troops and heavy weapons will be withdrawn from Ukraine. On the same day, will dissolve, evaporate in the air space plotnitsky, Zakharchenko and all these characters, all these followers Givi and Motorola, they just disappear — and the Donbass return to Ukraine. In fact, he always remained part of Ukraine, illegally seized.
And then they begin the difficult adjustment period. The main thing here is not breaking the sticks. But this is the Ukraine should decide, it is the internal Affairs of Ukraine, in which I, unlike many Moscow liberals, try not to climb. Because I as a representative of the nation the aggressor simply does not have the moral right to criticize the government of Ukraine or Ukrainians for any decisions that are taken today, including the recent big event — deprivation.. I have no right on this occasion to speak, although I have my personal opinion.
— You once said that the millennial history of Russia — history slaves. That post-Putin President in this case, it can offer people?
— Putin has made a huge creative work on obydlenii of the Russian population. In the 90 years it seemed that further amidst nowhere. But in this sense, the bottom is generally impossible to probe. So Russia very long time to come out of this genetic collapse. Actually, it is Putin — the icing on the cake, because this genetic cleansing has been carried out in Russia for the last 100 years: the revolution, civil war, Stalinist repressions, the GULAG, stagnation, war, now it is not called “great Patriotic war”, and the Second world war. Because the “great Patriotic war” is just a myth, when Stalin dropped the “great Motherland” at the mercy of the Germans, threw a huge army to the wolves. As was the song, you know, “the last sailor left Sevastopol”.
In fact, it turned out that left a sailor Sevastopol, no they are not exported, and brought in submarines and boats for the last boss, and documents, and all the sailors, all coast guard, all left without help, without food, without ammunition, to die or to surrender. And only thanks to the fact that just piled Stalin of the Soviet Union the bodies of their citizens and bled of its citizens, in the blood of pitch, laced with frost and mud, mired the Nazi machine and never reached Moscow. Only in this rests the victory of the “great” Generalissimo, who so loves Putin, once again reviving the cult of Stalin. This genetic cleansing of the Soviet people, especially Russian people, lasted 100 years, and today, looking at Givi, Motorola, even on Prilepin, we see that these real ball, the representatives of this Soviet history.
And how much time to this genetic cleansing fix?
— Two or three generations. But very helpful, as I have said, “the Nuremberg trials”.
— You mentioned about the difficult adaptation of Donbass and as a mental to return people?
— I can’t give you the right advice. I’m not a UN employee, not an employee of the OSCE, not a professional in terms of social adaptation of victims who were in the occupied territories. I think Ukraine has a lot of specialists, that international assistance can solve these problems.
— By the way, whether in English “Flight”?
— If some American or English publisher will buy a “Flight”. Now I have a very good international agent Thomas Willing. By the way, Thomas Willing at the time collaborated with the male by Prilepine. As soon as he announced that he was leaving a political Commissar in the Donbass, Mr. Walling ceased cooperation with him. And then I went to him because I really trust this man, respect him and admire his action. And now he represents my novels “Flight” and “Airport” abroad.
— You were in negotiations with leading Hollywood studios for the film adaptation of the novel “Airport”. Will there be a movie?
— At the end of September will have the final decision. I think that in October, we already know about it. Can’t go into details, but active negotiations.
— A synopsis is your or someone in collaboration?
— No, the synopsis is American. I don’t think it will be bad.
— What do you have now? There are some new ideas on themes, plot?
— I am now in such a, you know, post-partum — not depression, but, at least, a situation when I’m still living in this novel. I haven’t been able to shake him off, so I somehow have to get through this novel and then start thinking about something else. I have a story that you just publish in Russia, but for me it would be very important to the Russian readers began to read my novels. I have a story I already talked about this, very interesting about the captain.
— It does not concern military topics?
— No. A captain who loves a girl and the girl loves him. But there is a guy who loves her, too, the negative hero. He writes a denunciation of a captain, he was arrested, thrown into the castle prison, where he meets the old man who tells delirious that he had on some island buried treasure. An old man dies, and in this castle made of dead prisoners to throw out the window in the bags. Our hero climbs into the bag instead of the old man, tossing him into the sea, a wave washed up on this island. He becomes insanely wealthy man, returns to his country and takes revenge on all the villains. Such a novel, I think Russia will gladly publish it (Smiles).
— How do you assess the decision of Ukraine concerning restrictions on the import of Russian books, the ban on the entry of Russian cultural figures?
— I’ll say this: while there is a war, I guess that makes sense. When the war is over, and she is sure will ever end, then restrictive measures of a cultural nature will, of course, meaningless. And these bans, most likely, will be cancelled.
