That’s great! My mother finally came to me! We haven’t seen each other from November, since I to satiety watched the spirit mugs of “cossacks” and “Crimean self-defense”. I didn’t weathered and ran away

Unlike with other “vatnicks” my mother perfectly understood that nobody won’t do anything bad with her for Russian language. Earlier she was there and she knew that it is almost completely Russian-speaking city. She didn’t believe in “crucified boy in shorts”. It’s so unbelievable. Her differences from typical “vatnik”, perhaps, is over on all of this. Nostalgia for Soviet Union, love to a strong authoritarian country, “the disadvantaging of language”, brain is organically adjoin inside of her with the irrational Ukrainophobia, imperial chauvinism and blind faith in that «America is guilty in everything and Russia defends there its sons and daughters, though its troops are not there».

I met her from the bus on one of the far stations of the metro. Official blockade didn’t disturbs delivers in ane way. 5 000 rubles from the cinema “Simferopol”, from Crimean capital and you will be delivered in the lair of the «fascist junta». You will be informed about the exact place of arriving not so long before finish. And in the same way you will be informed about the time and place of going back to Crimea, only by SMS, you can’t do any calls.

“Journalists sniff, and then write all a lie! — tells me mom the words of delivers — Look! Don’t write about it anything!” — “Of course, mom, I won’t do it” — I’m answering.

“You have so modern, clean and comfortable toilets on your gas stations!” — she divides with her first impressions.
“Europe” — I answer with proud.

“Oh, yep! Of course, You need to Europe as to Moscow…” — condescending chuckle mother retorts. There is nothing to say nothing what’s true, then the truth.

In spite of my missing of her, I know according to my experience that we can not to talk about policy and this means that we will surely have a conflict. That’s why, showed Maidan on the first I tried a lot of time on my job, giving to mother the opportunity to walk on the streets of “Kyiv junta” alone.

“Of course I knew that Kyiv is Russian-speaking city, but I thought that something changed after Maidan. Everybody speaks Russian! I heard Ukrainian only two times and it was arrivals in the market. Where is your vaunted patriotism? If I was the patriot of Ukraine I’d speak only Ukrainian. They’re all Russian-speaking and it does not hurt for them that their language is infringed?” — she asks walking by Khreschatik.

“Look, here is the American mercenary, NATO-soldier, he had already come back from the East of Ukraine — I’m joking showing her afro-guy in t-shirt with inscription “I Love Kyiv”. — And there is tent of “Azov” they gather money for their batallion” — I’m showing her the real participants of ATO.

“Wow! Can I photograph them?” — “Of course, you can”.

There is two guys and a girl in the form of khaki colour casually swarming near the tent. Coming closer, mother directs frustrated, questioning look on them.

“There is nothing to photograph, usual tent”.

«Fascist punitive» became the typical representatives of homo sapiens. Two legs, two hands, they really don’t have any tails or horns, they even don’t have a guns — nothing interesting.

“It’s the output, centre and there is people so a little, why? Metro has a little people too. It seems that city is empty on a half. And there is no so a lot of cars on the roads, no traffic jams. People didn’t have enough to buy petrol” — draws the conclusion my mother.

I understand that she compares Kyiv with Moscow, where we went not so long ago and there were a lot of crush and caps, moreover than in Kyiv.

“And there is no police. Where is all of them? The centre of the city and no police. You don’t afraid of terrorist acts here, do you?”.

I have already known such a feeling when you connect the level of safety with a number of armed people in form on the street. It’s a typical Russian habit. When annexation of Crimea began I had only one feeling with my pro-Ukrainian Crimeans at the sight of an armed «green men», it was only rage and fear. Except people like my mom, who said with joy: “So nice! You live and you know that you guard”. It was seen that this feeling of safety, inspired to her by “green men”, was sincere and genuine. It’s interesting, do prisoner of the camp experiences sense of security, looking at the clock on the above?” — I thought at that moment.

After the annexation was over, the number of different uniforms on the streets of my native Simferopol increased in a few times. “The green men” disappeared, but to drunk “Crimean self-defense and “cossacks” added a huge quantity of different cops, militaries, prosecutors, the Federal Service of commissioners and lord only knows what units they have more now. It’s impossible to walk through the city and not to see a dozen of people in form.

So, the absence in a huge numbers the police staff on the streets impressed me too at the beginning of my arriving.

“Kyiv people so badly dressed! They don’t have any style. he wear old things. It’s seen from the first view that they don’t have money” — mother begin to kill me with her ethnographic watch.

During all her further stay I can’t convince her that Kyiv people have a style and the most badly dressed people from her point of view were in fact the tourists from Western Europe, who are much less worried about the clothes than the Ukrainians.

“Let’s go out from here. It can be sudden terrorists act” — mother grabs my hand when she sees the package on a bench, lonely laid. Maybe some of homeless leaved it here.

First few days I noticed in her actions stress and uncertainty timid. Such way of behaviour is characterized to a person, who turned up in a place where it can be in danger in every moment.

The guy runs up and strikes with full force on the pear apparatus for measuring of the force of  impact, which is near metro Khreschatic. The loud sound is heard. Mother jumps, looks around in fear, trying to understand what happened and to assess the level of threat. It looks comically enough. It’s seen that Kyiv is a dangerous place for her where you need to be on the alert. It went away after the three days, there is no danger in her eyes and her movings become more calm and natural.

I decided to guide my mom on the Peizajnaya alleya (Landscape Alley) and tell her about the struggling of locals here with tries to build modern houses on this territory. She really impressed by the beauty of children’s square, mosaics and art benches.

“It’s a first time when I see so beautiful children’s playground” — she exclaims.

“For those, who stayed and overcome. For those, who has money and spent it on community. For those who didn’t have money, but has the conscience” — I read the inscription to her on one of the decorative stones.

“Yes, such things you can do” — she answers reflectively.

We come into the restaurant. The food is great and prices wonder in a nice way. Such service is impossible to meet in Crimea even on the South bank, even in the most hot time of the season.

“I’ve told you that there is the polite people and level of domestic culture is more high and you didn’t believe in it” — I tell to my mom.

“Yes, your people pollute less on the streets. Only one time policemen showed me wrong way, maybe he understood that I’m from Crimea. I didn’t asked them more, usual people — everything is alright, they answer kindly” — she divides with me.

We’re going to a place of going out of the bus to Crimea. Mother noticed the city-light with soldier of National Guard and veteran of WWII the slogan under this picture is “We remember. We’re overcoming”.

“People called me from Simferopol and asked: “How are you here?” And I answered them “So, we don’t have bears walking by our streets and they have the same. Here is everything is alright. I will photograph here some for you to know that here live the normal people”.

Eugeniy Petrov for informator.lg.ua