Strelkov speaks

Below there is a screenshot and the literal translation of the rebels' leader's words on the plane crash.

MH17

Crach of MH17.
Over the last couple of months pro-Russian rebels have been downing Ukrainian military planes. "Don't fly in our skies," Igor Strelkov, an outlaw leader in eastern Ukraine and a Russian officer, has written the other day.
This is an extract from Strelkov’s report group in the social network Vkontakte. The European community suggests we should negotiate for peace with Strelkov and his outlaws. But first one should know who they are. We hope the information we provide will contribute to an unbiased perception of the current situation, showing how the innocent victims are regarded. Thus one will be able to decide, whether it is worth wasting time on negotiations at all.

(icon with Strelkov picture) Reports from Strelkov Igor Ivanovich
18.07.2014 12:40 (Moscow time) Comment from I.I. Strelkov

Question: But there has to be someone to fly that airplane, and it would be impossible to leave the plane, among other things. Version about plane full of corpses is fascinating of course, but it doesn’t make much sense.

I.I.: First, by no means all people in the airplane were dead before it fell.
Second, the large number of medical supplies, blood serum and other things, not typical for an usual plane, were discovered inside of it. Looks like it was carrying special medical cargo.
Third, I do not insist in anything (yet). But just now I’ve talked to two men who had collected corpses right after the crash (both are from Shakhtyorsk and had arrived to the crash site less than in half an hour after the crash) and I just follow to what they have said. They have emphasised that many corpses seemed to be “totally bloodless” – as if their blood had been coagulated long before the crash. Also they’ve said about strong cadaveric smell of corpses, which was noted by many locals – and such a smell could not develop in half an hour whatever the weather was; and it was cloudy yesterday, and not very hot.
Fourth, I myself take any “conspiracy theories” with extreme suspicion, but gas poisoning of our 18 fighters at positions in Semyonovka, executions of fighters’ family members, and other “small pleasures of conscientious* patriots” have convinced me that Ukrainian authorities are capable of any nasty trick.

The pilots were alive, naturally – the whole cockpit was literally drenched in blood (its front part remained surprisingly intact).

Strelkov informs:

Today at 12:02 (Strelkov image)

(icon with Strelkov picture) Reports from Strelkov Igor Ivanovich
18.07.2014 11:53 (Moscow time) Information from I.I. Strelkov about Boeing

People who collected corpses say that significant portion of corpses is not fresh – people died several days ago. I cannot confirm this information with complete certainty, of course, forensic report is required.

Strelkov informs:

Today at 11:20 (Strelkov image)

----------------------------------------

---------
* ”conscientious” - in original Russian text he'd used the Ukrainian word "svidomy", often used by Russians in the negative context towards pro-Ukrainian activities, persons, etc. It actually means ”conscientious” and the very fact that they consider ”conscientious” to be a pejorative, tells a lot about their way of thinking.

When our plane have landed, I've got a squall of messages: where are you, are you OK? Yes, I'm OK, I've ansvered from Zhuliany airport. What happened, why so serious?

And than I've got to know...

I was at the same time, at the same sky, on the board they've missed.

Oh, God. Oh, God.

"Svanetia? Are you kidding us? does this country really exist? It sounds like some fantasy-book country name, that's what my friends told me when heard that I go to Svanetia" - said Thomas, the guy from Germany. We have met on the Zugdidi train station - him and his girlfriend, Anya from Moscow, and me. The driver, grey Georgian named Georgy (Zhora for short), have picked us to get to Latali, a village in Upper Svanetia.

His green Mercedes had carried us through valley and the mountain road had begun.

We looked around and felt envy to spiders for their eight eyes. Svaneti was beyond description. It was not just sounding like some fantasy-book country, it was looking like that.

We stayed on the bank of Enguri river, and its muddy foamy stream roared like hell under us. I was looking at the HPP dam, almost expecting for the ents.

The road twisted and turned between mountains and abysses, from time to time driver Zhora stopped to let us admire the views. At this conflux of two rivers my cell phone battery finally gave up. This was the last picture it could take:

It had taken three hours to drive from Zugdidi to Latali, a Svani village, the final point of our destination.

Yes, Svanetia (or Svaneti, as locals say) does really exist. It is the North-Western part of the Georgia, on the Russian border. The border runs over the mountains, through the zone of eternal snow, 3-5 000 m over the sea level, so svani could feel safe during the war of 08.08.2008. Their towns are too small and insignificant from the military point of view, they were not bombed, and it would take a long and bloody guerilla suppressing to advance along the Enguri river (and there is no oher way to Svaneti by land). So, not likely Putin could have succeed where Zhengis-khan and Tamerlan had retreated. Svaneti wasn't ever conquered, by no one.

That doesn't mean that Svani enjoyed peaceful life. On the contrary, their history is a history of constant internal strives, local wars and blood feuds.

That's why the name of Svaneti is associated with towers (for the people who knows at least something of this country). Towers are dominating over the every village. It is not towers of nobles (svani were tended to kill their nobles-wannabes), it were commoners who built those towers for their families. For the svani, ''my house is my fortress" is more than just a saying. Many of those towers are above millenium old. The newest ones in Latali are 600 years.

Nowadays, those towers are but the tourists attractions, or storages, or museums and local places of interest. Some of them are in goog repair, some are semi-destroyed.

Laleta itself turned up to be a friendly-looking house nearby the road.

The bigger building is a hotel, the lesser one - hosts' house, under construction for now.
Next time I'll tell more about what 'Latali' and 'Laleta' means.

 

Call me Olga. Some weeks ago - never mind how long precisely - having  nothing but road money in my purse, I thought I would go to Georgia and try myself in a hospitality business. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation.

Wrong. I had a problem with bronchi, not spleen, and I've never been pausing before coffin warehouses, just before the Heavenly Hundred memorial, and the only reason I was thinking about pistol and bullet was a stupid war that Russia had unleashed against my country.

It was not a war I have fled from. I'd rather be there, but I've happened to be born a woman, and I have no medical education, and never served in army or police. I have no car, so I couldn't help in bringing supplies to the front line. And I had no money to give it to volunteers.

All I could give was 480 ml of blood, and they gave me badge and thanked and said to come 6 months after.

So I've decided to spend this time profitably and, at least, earn some money. You know, maybe, that the main item of export in the Ukraine is working hands? So, I've decide to export  mine.

That's how the Russian-speaking Ukrainian writer had become a Jack-of-all-trades in Latali, Svaneti village, Georgia.

In this blog I will write about my living and work in Svaneti, retell some local legends and histories, share photoes and so on. Everyone is welcome!