Imitating violent activities and covering with care about interests of citizens of “yong republic”, “LPR” authorities has been realizing a lot of controversial schemes during the last time. In spite of wide social resonance and coverage in the press and TV, the biggest part from “Luhansk People’s” pans proved useless, failed and ridiculous as bursting balloon. “Informator” will tell in this material only about some failed projects, which regime of Plotnitsky tried to realize.
“Lugacom” one day life
One of the most high-profile “LPR” projects become the start of their own mobile operator. “Lugacom” started its work in testing mode on June 2015.
It was not able to do, not on the mind and can not afford to purchase independently expensive equipment, software, to construct and set the network to the “republic”. That’s Plotnitsky and Co went through a short and easy – they seized active at that moment “Kyivstar” company equipment, which claimed on February about temporary termination of services in the rebel part of Donbass. The “Minister of the Connection” Mikhail Surzhenko recognized personally that “Lugacom” uses stolen equipment and it’s the hybrid operator. Partly it uses own connection towers and partly left equipment of the other operators. This technique was recovered and started by the “Ministry of Connection of LPR”.
Because the spectre of the service of “Lugacom” stays weak and extremely poor and moreover to buy pack started for 120 roubles it is necessary to show a passport, the inhabitants of the uncontrolled part of Luhansk region don’t hurry up to use service of the ersatz operator, continuing to use “MTS” and “Life” connection.
“Luhacom” has held PR-action at schools among the first-graders, spreading 2500 start packs, which turned to be “contract”.
At the beginning of 2016 the signal of “Life” mobile operator has disappeared in “LPR”. Some people connect the loss of “Life” with the wish of “Lugacom” to make residents of the “republic” to use their service.
The “Ministry of the Connection of “LPR” claims that for today more than 15 thousand of abonents use the “Lugacom” service. It’s hard to detect real number of users of the separatist operator, but it’ obviously that claimed number of the abonents is increased in times.
“We have XXI century now! Who will be sane to use the connection, where nor the possibility to send sms or to have internet connection. You even can’t phone to Ukraine”, comments one of the residents of Luhansk his unwillingness to switch to “Lugacom”.
In spite of solemn assurances of Luhansk authorities, users of “Lugacom” haven’t got till today nor the long-awaited 3G, nor the possibility to make calls in Ukraine or Russia.
Furthermore, it was forbidden to Ukrainian operators to cooperate with the mobile operators of the unrecognized “republics”, which is drives an additional nail into the coffin of a stillborn with the name “Lugacom”.
“Oh these colours of the fair!” congealed vegetables and space prices
A huge grey hare with hostile look and punch out strands of women’s hair in a couple with sad green eyes tiger, are gloomy walking on the square. Two old dames are greedy and hastily eating hot kasha from plastic plates, not far rogue gangsta songs is playing and drunk man is dancing on the background. No’ it’s not a dream of addicted and not the plot for the new films of Soderberg, Gilliam or Lynch, it’s only the regular people’s fair on the main square of one of the cities of “LPR”.
Wishing to decrease social tensions and provide people with the products and goods of local manufacturers, the authorities of “LPR” decided to hold fairs in all huge cities of the “republic”. On the first view, such an action is useful for people, moreover, according to the statements of republic chieftains the prices on such events must be law than in markets. In autumn people liked to buy vegetables: making stores for the winter, people were carrying in sacs and grids potato, onion and carrot. These vegetables, brought from RF costed on 2-3 roubles cheaper than in the market. It’s a little economy for the retires. Beside the vegetables, meat, eggs, pastries, groceries and other goods of “LPR” manufacturers were sold in fair. Organizers of fair held a karaoke for people not to get bored (winners were presented with vegetables), tasted all desirous with tea and gruel and made master classes on the shaped cleaning potatoes.
In a word, they tried to do their best if only to divert attention from the slowly growing up prices.
“There is a zero of sense in these fairies”, – shares her opinion retire from Perevalsk, – “If earlier fair prices were tolerant, today they are the same as in market and in the shops and sometimes high on some goods”, considers woman.
It become more hard to attract people with fair after winter has come: congealed vegetables with space prices made a little interest for customers. And it’s very easy to get the flu in such domestic crowd in the year market. That’s not a good perspective.
“LPR” is going to hold a number of fairs at the end of the February – beginning of March, dedicated to holiday Maslenitsa. The promise free tea and pancakes. The only one is for hope and believing that people will be feeded with pancakes not from the shovel as it was in “brotherhood” Russia.
So, let’s summarize: high price, not much different from market’s, poor assortment, limited by local manufacturers, not always presented the quality control and permanent unsanitary conditions. People’s fairs also can be called one of the failed projects of the “republic”.
Social card as the stand for the cup of coffee
Grey nondescript piece of plastic, null and void and giving the privileges and benefits to its owner – it’s about social card of “LPR”. Exactly because of this card serious passions played out in the “republic” on November 2014.
Wishing to provide maximum visits into the polls on November 2, 2014, Plotnitsky and accomplices invented and implemented the “social card”. The information that “”payment of pensions will be realized only with the presence of “social card” was spreaded on the eve by mass media for the target electorate, consisted predominantly from old people, come on elections. Also magic social card full of grammar and punctuation mistakes promised free service in the medical institutions of “LPR”, free cure in time of calling emergency, 50% discount on the municipal “republic” electro transport and also 5% discount on buys in the network of supermarkets of Plotnitsky “Narodny”.
Scared to deprive pensions, the residents of settlements of “LPR” created on November 2, 2014 a perfect picture for the “republic” and Russian TV-channels. Only few polls were opened in the cities to show long and imposing queues on elections (read – for the social card).
More than a year passed from the moment of the introduction of the plastic cards. What rights and privileges gives the social card of “LPR” to its distressful owners? Cashiers are shyly hiding his eyes and shrug apologetically in “People’s “ supermarkets – social card doesn’t works here and doesn’t give any discounts or benefits.
Social cards aren’t shown to medics in time of calling the emergency and in the hospitals. They have deficit with medicine, so, doctors often ask to bring own cure. And it’s better not to show this piece of plastic, they could decide that you’re insane.
Pensions in “LPR” are paid without showing the card. The only possibility to have a little bit possibility is to make a try to use it like 50% discount for passage in electric transport. It’s remarkable that benefit transit i “LPR” active only three times a week – on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. On other days, it looks like happy owners of the card must sit at home, walk by foot or pay full cost of passage.
“I’ve found the most useful way to use this card like a stand for the coffee”, shared his know-how the student of one of Lugansk universities.
Operation “anti-Ukrainization”: how Plotnisky painted stops
Languishing from idleness and wishing to tease a little Ukrainians, the authorities of “LPR” decided to recolor all bus stops last autumn. They turned all Ukrainian blue-yellow coloring in the tones of “Novorossiya” flag and St. George ribbons.
The head of “LPR” Plotnitsky didn’t spare money from the poor budget of the republic and bought a lot of paint to make “anti-ukrainization” of the stops. The leadership of districts ‘voluntarily’ called artists from local schools of arts to develop sketches and process has been starting.
If scribbles weren’t invented in Krasnodon district and all stops were painted till Izvarino in the colours of “Novorossiya” flag, Lutuhino and Perevalsk districts inspired on a special creative, let it be provincial, but anyway. Lutuhino artists immortalized city-heroes of USSR on the stops. Coming along the track to Luhansk, the stops dedicated to Volgograd, Moscow, Leningrad, also Kyiv and Odessa could be seen.
The drawings with monuments look sometimes caricatured and naively, but creators put the special patriotic growing up sense in addition, equipped them with generous orders, stars and other St. George ribbons.
“The names of these cities are immortalized in history and now they will be sealed on the walls of stops as the memory tribute to their heroic past”, considers the head of Lutuhino district Egor Russky.
The creators from local school of arts in Perevalsk district recolor stops in more neutral tones, preferring folk painting from Petrikovsky style to Russian Khokhloma, anyway didn’t forget to draw logo of party “Mir Luganschine” (Peeace to Luhansk Region).
“They gave paints and brush and said – go to draw. Whatever about your wich, it was up to dismissal threats… There were no choice, because nobody wanted to lose job”, told one of the anonymous artists, forcibly taken part in the “anti-ukrainization” of the stops.
When stops were recolored, the decree to change names of stops on Russians has come from Luhansk, because Ukrainian toponyms on the background of separatist symbols irritated.
“Did somebody feel better? They don’t have where to use paint? There are a lot of children’s playgrounds rusting in the yards. They always don’t have money for this, but to struggle with Ukrainian symbolism and recolor stops money was found. Will life change from the color of the stop? They don’t recolor our souls!”, claimed one of the residents of Perevalsk district.
It’s horribly to imagine what mad and unpredictable ideas could come in unruly heads of Luhansk chieftains. However, it can be boldly predicted that these characters do not occupy tricks and inventions for the new fraud and duping of people.
Lilith Rebrova informator.lg.ua
translated by Denis Bizkitov