The first governor of Sevastopol Sergei Menyailo about the Crimean spring and the different values ​​of the Kyiv authorities and Crimeans

— Sergey Ivanovich, ten years ago, when there were events on the Kiev “Maidan”, did you follow them? How were they assessed?

— When [в конце 2013 года] “Maidan” began, it was clear that another “color revolution” was taking place. That is, it was an attempt to seize power, which subsequently succeeded. And if at first they declared only slogans, for example, for a bright future in a united Europe, then in the end they played on nationalism and Russophobia. When this began to grow, the authorities in Kyiv showed their weakness.

— That is, the previous Ukrainian authorities are no less to blame?

— Where were you when the coup happened in Kyiv?

— He lived in Novorossiysk, was a military pensioner.

— There was not only a “Maidan”, but also “anti-Maidan” sentiments and actions. For example, the People’s Will rally in Sevastopol on February 23, which was attended by 30 thousand city residents. I realized that there was no turning back.

You will remember what the mood was in Russia at that time: people from all over the country were ready to go to the aid of the Crimeans and Sevastopol residents. The Cossacks also played a significant role. And on February 24, immediately after the rally in Sevastopol, 200 representatives of the Kuban Cossacks, mainly from Novorossiysk, in agreement with the ataman of the Kuban Cossack army Nikolai Doluda, left for Sevastopol. I was with them.

— What was the situation in Crimea in those days?

— On February 24, we took buses to Taman, crossed to Kerch and immediately went to Perekop, where 25 fighters of the Sevastopol “Berkut” (a special unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine that existed until 2014 — TASS note) were then stationed. The Crimeans helped us. And I went with a small team to Sevastopol.

— What was the mood of the people?

— Those who met us in Kerch — and these were Cossacks and [участники байкерского движения] “Night Wolves” — the mood was fighting. Everyone understood that what happened in Kyiv cannot be allowed to happen in Crimea and Sevastopol. Well, in Sevastopol itself, of course, we were received with joy, like family. No one stopped us or inspected us. Moreover, at most of the checkpoints there were people who knew me — after all, I served in the Black Sea Fleet from 2004 to 2012.

I immediately went to the fleet headquarters, to the fleet commander [адмиралу Александру Викторовичу] Vitko is my classmate at the General Staff Academy, we knew each other well. My former subordinates, colleagues, and friends were also there. Yes and with [депутатом Верховного Совета Автономной Республики Крым, ныне главой республики] We knew each other as Sergei Valeryevich Aksenov since 2010, he then headed the Russian Unity party. And I thought that my place was among these people.

And people continued to come: Cossacks, bikers, local volunteers — especially military pensioners… They organized themselves. Self-defense patrols appeared. The headquarters of irregular formations was created at the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet. Gradually, the impulse of Crimeans, Sevastopol residents and people who came to their rescue from other regions of the country began to be brought into the system. And Sergei Valerievich Aksenov played a big role here, [председатель координационного совета по организации управления по обеспечению жизнедеятельности Севастополя, впоследствии губернатор Севастополя] Alexey Mikhailovich Chaly.

— How were the relations between the Black Sea sailors and those who served in the Ukrainian fleet before these events?

— There was some level of interaction, but no friendly relations. They always tried to emphasize that we were, as it were, on foreign territory. Sevastopol, the city of Russian sailors, was called a foreign land for us. They erected a monument to Sagaidachny, whom the residents of Sevastopol called the “dancing hetman.” There are many historical figures in Crimea and Sevastopol, whose feats are indisputable — admirals Nakhimov, Ushakov, Kornilov — they commanded fleets, the defense of the city, and so on. You cannot implant values ​​where there is no historical basis for them.

In 2010, when I was deputy commander of the Black Sea Fleet, such an incident occurred. I’m returning from a business trip, going to the rehearsal of the Victory Parade, and there they report to me that representatives of the Ukrainian Naval Forces (Navy Forces) say that they will command the parade. I approached the first deputy commander of the Navy (Yuriy Ilyin, in 2012-2014 he was the commander of the Navy — TASS), and he told me: “This is our state, our territory, and here we will command.” I flared up — I’m generally a quick-tempered person by nature, especially when it comes to sacred things — and said: “Tell me, what is the name of the holiday? Victory Day of the Red Army and the Soviet city over Nazi Germany. Do you want to tell me that during the Great Patriotic War, our soldiers went on the attack shouting “For Ridna Ukraine!”? Or is it still “For the Motherland, for Stalin!”?” As a result, they found Solomon’s solution: the parade had two commanders — ours and the Ukrainian, but under our auspices.

Four years later I met him at a gas station in Sevastopol. This was after the referendum (on the status of Crimea, which took place on March 16, 2014 — TASS note). I say: “Well, how are you now that our people are in the city?” He just groaned.

So Ukrainization continued until 2014. It is a fact. They burned out everything Russian and began to replace history. Where the monument to Admiral Dmitry Nikolayevich Sinyavin now stands in Sevastopol, there was a foundation stone for the monument to the Ukrainian naval forces. Having become governor, I removed him from there and erected a monument to Sinyavin, who at the beginning of the 19th century was the commander of the Sevastopol port.

— So they laid a stone, but didn’t erect a monument?

— Did not have time. I also removed the monument to Hetman Sagaidachny. Together with this stone, I packed them, without abuse, and sent them to Ukraine — these are your sacred things, your values, we do not lay claim to them, we do not mock them, we do not break them. Take it and worship it for yourself. But they are not connected with the history of Sevastopol, and did not cause anything but laughter among the townspeople.

But the brainwashing was going on, and in Kyiv they hoped that over time they would be able to replace the true history of the city with their fables, but this is not so easy, because a Sevastopol resident is a common name, it is a characteristic. Resident and cities honor their history and distinguish truth from lies. My grandson was born in Sevastopol, and on his birth certificate it is written: “Place of birth — Sevastopol.” When my daughter-in-law gave birth, I told her: “A Sevastopol resident is for life.”

— How did you manage to avoid major bloodshed in 2014?

— Firstly, Sevastopol has always been a Russian city, a city of Russian glory. Its history is connected with the Russian fleet, and, probably, there is no family that does not have Black Sea sailors. Over the years, our fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers died there. This is a hero city, and the residents of such cities have a special mentality and a strong patriotic spirit. When in 2008, the Ukrainian authorities tried to install a sign in honor of the Ukrainian Navy on the Grafskaya pier in Sevastopol, the townspeople themselves tore it down and drowned it. It came to a fight!

The residents of Sevastopol were sensitive to Kyiv’s attempts to change their values, to replace history, and when people saw what was happening on the Maidan, everyone understood: if the situation is not stopped, there will be blood [будет] and in their city. The Crimeans and Sevastopol residents could only be broken, and the new Kyiv authorities made such attempts, but outside the Crimea, opponents of the “Euromaidan” were beaten and even killed.

Secondly, the Black Sea Fleet, of course, acted as a guarantor of security in the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol. Well, the main thing is the decision of President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, who supported the desire of the Crimeans and Sevastopol residents to return home to Russia.

And, of course, they did a good job on the spot: Sergei Valerievich Aksenov is a great guy, and [председатель Государственного Совета Республики Крым] Vladimir Andreevich Konstantinov, and Alexey Mikhailovich Chaly. There were still other people who took responsibility.

— Did you have friends or relatives in Ukraine? Did you communicate with them then?

— I have no relatives in Ukraine. There were colleagues and classmates, of course, but by that time we had not communicated. I lost track of them, and after the Maidan they probably didn’t want to communicate.

— If we imagine that in 2014 Crimea remained part of Ukraine, what do you think the peninsula would be like now? And Sevastopol?

— A break with Ukraine would have happened sooner or later anyway, because the contradictions between the Kyiv authorities and the population of Crimea were intensifying. Clashes and conflicts occurred before 2014. Especially in Sevastopol, whose residents were especially active in protecting their values. I have already recalled the events on Count Square. Also in 2008, Sevastopol residents, contrary to the wishes of the Ukrainian authorities, erected a monument to Catherine the Great in the city — they took the initiative into their own hands and did it despite the courts and the resistance of Kyiv.

As for the rest of Russia, in 2014, when the first sanctions were imposed against us, the president clearly said: if there were no Crimea and Sevastopol, they would still have found a reason for such economic pressure.

— To hold back development?

— Nobody needs a strong Russia except ourselves. They need Russia as it was in the 1990s — poor, with an outstretched hand, mired in banditry. There was only one task — to survive! We survived and slowly moved forward. And they immediately became unwanted. Why? Because they are not interested in this, they need us to be on our knees all our lives.

The main theses of the President of the Russian Federation in any of his speeches: we are ready to talk with everyone, but on equal terms, we live our history, we have our own traditions, our own morals, do not impose your values ​​on us, we do not impose ours on you. But they don’t want to perceive us as equal partners. The result is that the military-political leadership of Russia is not pleasing to the entire West, and they want to destroy our country. Therefore, today we are talking not just about victory in the conflict in Ukraine, but about the very existence of Russia as an independent state. And this conflict would happen sooner or later; it was inevitable. Moreover, all these years people in the DPR and LPR have been dying.

— The President, in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson, said that he is confident that sooner or later our ties with the Ukrainians will be restored…

— I believe that all events in history develop in a spiral and repeat themselves again and again. And we have already gone through similar discords — both under Mazepa and during the civil war… In our country [с украинцами] one history, centuries-old, in contrast to our main opponent — a state without history. The USA does not have a history like ours. Therefore, common sense will triumph sooner or later.

— Do you imagine Sevastopol as a NATO base?

— There would be blood, trouble. Although the Ukrainian authorities, of course, were moving towards this. More precisely, they were led to this. If Russia had not intervened, we would have lost both Crimea and Sevastopol, and in the city of Russian glory it would not have been the Black Sea Fleet, but, for example, the 6th Fleet of the US Navy.

— What would your fate have been like if not for the events in Crimea?

— I lived in Novorossiysk, worked for myself, was engaged in business. And it worked out well. But when the chance to do a real deed presented itself, I, of course, could not miss it. In life you have to do things. And such chances only come once. And everything depends on the choice of the person himself; the person must take the step himself.

— Will you celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Crimean events? Will you go to Crimea?

— No, I can’t go. These days the presidential elections in Russia will take place — an event important not only for our country, but also for the whole world. Our task is to ensure that the voting takes place transparently and with a good voter turnout. The task of the enemies of our country is different — to disrupt the vote and create scandals. And in this situation, the head of the region, of course, must be at his workplace.

They invite me to Sevastopol. But when I left in 2016, I was never there again.

— Didn’t have time?

— There were objective reasons. But I call many people, they invite me to visit, even former opponents invite me.

Of course, the events in Crimea and Sevastopol are a historical milestone. I recently reviewed how President Vladimir Putin spoke before the Federal Assembly (address on March 18, 2014 in connection with the proposal to admit Crimea and Sevastopol to Russia — TASS note). I looked at the faces of people, many of whom, unfortunately, are no longer there.

I have the first flag of Sevastopol, which was there, in the St. George Hall of the Kremlin. It was given to me for safekeeping. Here it is (points to the wall at the entrance to the office — TASS note). Nearby is the flag of the deputy commander of the fleet, St. Andrew’s flag and the flag of the marine corps. They are always with me — in Novorossiysk, and in Sevastopol, and in Siberia. It’s a reminder of the history I’m lucky to be a part of.

source: TASS