A farewell to Russia
By Vitaly Portnikov
Russia may have won Crimea but it has lost Ukraine, writes Vitaly Portnikov. At the same time, Ukraine has gained a whole world of sympathetic people who support the country in its fight for something that should in fact be just as much a necessity for Russia too: freedom.In the cafés, in the shops, on the streets of Kyiv everyone is asking the one question that matters in one particular way: will there be war? No one can quite finish the question: will there be war with Russia? That such a thing could even be: a war between Ukraine and Russia.
It was a Jewish custom to read a memorial prayer for relatives who converted to other faiths. We read such a prayer for you today, because you have converted to the faith of hatred toward those whom so recently you called brothers.
You have lost us. We have gained in return a whole world of sympathetic people who support us in our fight for freedom – not only our freedom, but your freedom as well, because you need freedom too, and if you have not yet realized this, you will soon enough. We have understood who was really our friend and our brother this whole time, and who simply pretended to be in the hope of sooner or later placing the double-eagled yoke over our neck.
Forgive us. We have a lot of work to do. We will be busy building a new land, in place of the old one, destroyed with your help. We have to monitor our own government so that it does not become a refuge for crooks, the sort of people who until recently ruled us and still rule you. We have to find a way to build a strong army, which will protect us from possible aggressors. We now know that we are not surrounded only by friends, and that such an army will be necessary. In a word: much to do, no time for Russia.
Editors note: this is a powerful and moving article. Please read in its entirety at this link.
