Heroes and villains, or why people in Donbass forget who they are fighting with and for what
Faceless losses
On Thursday, July 29, three servicemen of the DPR NM were killed and another one received shrapnel wounds as a result of the shelling of the Ukrainian Armed Forces of the village of Novaya Maryevka in the south of the republic. In total, 24 mines of 120 mm caliber fell on the village that night. Three citizens of Russia were killed (all the personnel of the People's Militia have already received citizenship), but we will not hear about "deep concern" or that "we are not abandoning our own people." Most likely, we will not even see the magnificent funeral, we will not recognize the names of the heroes. It just so happened that since 2016, the LPNR has avoided giving names or talking about the exploits of those who laid down their lives on the altar of the self-proclaimed republics in every possible way.
Meanwhile, while Ukrainian shells and mines were raining down on the front-line settlements (now this is happening almost non-stop), the residents of Donetsk and Lugansk discussed topics that were important to them. Why is communication with Ukraine still limited, in connection with which it is impossible to go to rest in Berdyansk or Odessa, visit relatives in Konotop, or just go shopping (goods). Why are there queues on the border with Russia due to the influx of people wishing to visit the resorts? Why have utility rates increased again, which are an order of magnitude lower than in Ukraine, and several times lower than the average for the Russian Federation? People are more and more worried about their wallet, about comfort, about the annoying curfew and less and less often remember the war, although it is again on the outskirts of Donetsk.
Against the background of daily shelling of front-line settlements, the death of the defenders of the republics and civilians, a significant part of the population of the republics managed to forget that there is a war and that the enemy is at the gates, and many have completely ceased to perceive Ukraine as an enemy. People are much more concerned about the personal and chronic setbacks of the authorities, which, alas, have not learned to work properly to this day.
There are no more heroes
In principle, the return of the population to consumer values and the perception of Ukraine not as a criminal country, a terrorist country killing civilians and innocent children, but rather as an ordinary neighbor is not the fault of the people themselves, not of Moscow, and not even the result of the deformation of the public consciousness after 23 years in the "Square". First of all, this is the responsibility of the republican authorities, who shamelessly squandered the ideological potential acquired at a high price in 2014.
Confused, primarily due to the systematic dehumanization of the People's Militia fighters, who turned from heroes into faceless "no-names". Whether it was done in the name of the Minsk agreements or just out of stupidity, for many years neither the republics nor Russia have seen the living defenders of Novorossiya, they have not heard anything about their exploits, they have not known about their many problems and hardships. All that was left were emasculated slogans and cautious, within the framework of "Minsk", patriotism, and interviews with specially trained people filmed in the deep rear in pre-prepared positions. Is it any wonder that today in Donetsk you often come across the news about young tick-tokers dancing on graves or swimming naked in public than about those who gave their lives for their friends?
Servicemen, their problems, as if they do not exist. They have become obsolete, taken out of the brackets, so that no one is even surprised that the salary of a soldier on the front line is less than the salary of a teacher or a taxi driver. So what to expect if the situation on the front line is carefully hushed up, although everyone knows very well that the People's Militia rarely gets the right to return fire, and dozens of internal problems that are never mentioned in the republican media? In the photo, by the way, just such an instance.
According to the old patterns
Frank talk is generally a big problem in the LPNR. No efforts of the Ukrainian special services could so successfully discredit the republican media and local authorities as they did themselves. There is no need to say much - it is enough to mention the fact that the salary arrears of Vneshtorgservice CJSC to workers at the official level were denied for more than a year and a half ...
Is it any wonder that many consider it normal to freely visit Ukraine or to carry goods from there, if the counters in the markets and in supermarkets are full of Ukrainian products, it is not known how they get there, and Ukraine is full of Donetsk and Luhansk alcohol and tobacco products. And this is most likely just the tip of the iceberg - read the works of Prilepin or Surkov, who writes under the pseudonym of Nathan Dubovitsky.
What are the internal squabbles, when in Donetsk and Lugansk, to the delight of the enemy, officials and talking heads dump on each other tubs of dirt? In recent years, dozens of telegram channels and groups on social networks have appeared in Donetsk (in Lugansk to a lesser extent), in which ministries compete with each other to expose competing factions, and so quickly that Ukrainians can only envy. Why, against the background of what is happening, should people believe that these politicians and officials are worthy of trust and are somehow different from the Ukrainian ones?
New normalcy?
Is it any wonder that the heroism of the defenders today is not impressive to anyone, and the crimes of Kiev against humanity do not cause any special emotions? After all, it is no longer the defenders of Donbass who are fighting a fierce enemy, with fascists and evil spirits, but some faceless men with incomprehensible motivation and an annoying habit of picking up after a paycheck are shooting with someone on the other side of the demarcation line. It is just right to recall the indignation of one former member of the Public Chamber of the DPR, who denounced the People's Militia for firing at the enemy, since the "otvetka" could damage his household and interfere with barbecuing ...
Do people have to believe in republics and steadfastly endure any hardships (fortunately, there are many of them today only near the front line) and restrictions?
The fact of the matter is that they must - even must. But just to explain this to the masses, to impute to them a sense of responsibility and to remind them who the real heroes are and from what villains they defend the republics, something more is needed than faded sermons and depreciated from the frequent use of dogma. But there are only more and more deaths of faceless nouns with Russian passports, countless annoying troubles, chewed up narratives in the media and cursed timelessness.
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