Once in late July an excerpt from an interview with the journalist Bogdan Boutkevitch taken from a show on the Ukrainian TV channel «Gromadskе telebachennya», was broadcast on the Russian TV Channel, “Life News” , which they presented as a shining example of Ukrainian Nazism, insinuating that the journalist in the interview, put forward the idea of “killing” the half million «excess population» of Donbass . Ukrainian mass media began to accuse their Russian colleagues of falsification, by using words out of context, but in fact there was no specific fraud in this case, and in context it sounds even more evil. In the full interview, apart from everything else, Bogdan Boutkevitch said: «Donbass is not just a depressed region. It has a huge and complicated set of problems. And most importantly, there is a crazy number of unwanted people. First of all regarding the economic situation. We can’t give them any work … Consciously I say this . In Donetsk region alone, there are about 4 million people and at least 1.5 million surplus people. They will never have work ever. We all need to comprehend this one very big problem that even if the problems slowly begin to subside, these one and a half million people will still remain. What should we do with them? This is a very big question. These are people who, even if you give them something to do they do not want to do it. And do not know how … There’s nothing that you can do with them. Even if “Apple” built a factory there, «Apple» is more likely to bring in new employees, than take on locals. It’s Cruel, but true … If there’s one thing that irritates me about Ukrainians it’s their idiotic naiveté. They do not understand the principles by which the world lives. And the world lives … the British put it perfectly: a country has no friends, only permanent interests, or, Her Majesty has only two allies — the army and the navy. So that’s what I want to say. We do not need to understand Donbass. We need to understand Ukrainian national interests, and we need to use Donbass as a resource …I do not have a full recipe of what needs to be done quickly, but the important thing to do at the moment, although it may sound cruel, in Donbass there are a certain category of people that just need to be killed. Unfortunately. They cannot be negotiated with. We need to enlighten ourselves of this fact … There is a category of people among the rebels, who need to be given a certain economic alternative. Believe me, Donbass is ready to protest and protest just for a sausage, and if you give them a sausage, they will withdraw from their protests. It’s a fact.»When the interviewer for the umpteenth time tried to point out to the the speaker that, the people from Western Ukraine think we should let go of Donbass if they don’t want to be part of Ukraine, and join Europe, he interpreted this idea in his own way : «This issue needs to be looked at purely in terms of benefit. There’s no need to build any illusions. We need to … just calculate whether or not we need Donbas in Ukraine. It’s not a question of the integrity of borders, it’s a question solely about benefit: Will the Ukrainian project benefit if Donbass stays, or not. » In this interview, many more interesting things were said, including among other things the repetition of the idea that some people just need to be killed (about 20%), but that, on the contrary, about 20% of the people who are useful for Ukraine need to be taken out, and the others left to their fate, but we won’t account for all these revelations and discoveries here.
We would like to draw your attention to something else. Russian media used excerpts from the interview as an example of «fascism», and called Boutkevitch himself a «Ukrainian neo-Nazi.»
Most likely, they were miss led by photos Bogdan Boutkevitch on the Internet, where you can seen on his arm a bracelet with a stylized swastika. But they did not notice the most important thing that this man is, quite frankly not speaking on behalf of Ukrainian neo-Nazis, which he in fact has nothing to do with. And who are in Ukraine the most marginalized downtrodden outcasts, but this man is actually a part of the Kievs intellectual gang. Moreover, the host attempts on several occasions to express the point of view of the «Bandera» of western Ukraine who do not want to force the residents of Donbass to «love Ukraine», but the guest was having none of it, and when finally made to listen interpreted, this pretty much naive-democratic idea in the spirit of the plan «Ost» – we need to calculate if this territory and people can be beneficial to us or not. Moreover, notice, he refers not to Hitler, or even to Bandera. He refers to the British — to the most democratic nation in the world. Here it would be necessary to first comprehend the «anti-fascists», who were so angered by the interview. It is necessary to comprehend that it’s not as bad as it seems — it’s much worse. The problem is not that the Ukrainian TV invites neo-Nazis into the studio, but, that the Nazi point of view has become commonplace.
This interview is remarkable in that it very accurately and very truthfully reflects the views of the «humanitarian intellectuals» on whose behalf Boutkevitch acts. And not only Ukrainian. But also one of my friends a Moscow Marxist intellectual, who came to Kiev in the midst of ATO specifically to «breathe the air of freedom.» , believing that democracy had won in Kiev. When I told him that if on Maidan right now, there appeared someone with a St. George’s ribbon, they might well just kill him on the spot, he replied that that would be acting rightly.
But I would not recommend it for the haters of «Ukrainian fascists» the enemies «of the Kiev junta» to relish happily in their angry (I think I more or less accurately expressed the nature of the feelings , felt by the current players in this conflict, when their opponents admit such revelations). I would advise against happily fuming (or angrily rejoicing). First, it would be good to «take a look at yourselves.» Of course, if they were able to (critically perceive their position), they probably would not have allowed themselves this kind of sentiment, and they would have chosen their position more carefully. But a friend of mine has that ability (to be critical of their own thoughts and feelings). He revealed to me the interesting results of one «introspection.» I note that he lives in Donbas, but is critical of the DPR. Towards the Kiev government, he is also critical, but to make it clear that all is not as plain cut as it seems it should be stated that at one time he supported the «Orange Revolution» and still believes, that the absorption of Ukraine into western capital is inevitable. So, this friend of mine told me that despite, his rationally cautious stance on the war in Donbas, on the level of his feelings has no doubt that Kiev, as a city, that has allowed to take place neo-Nazi torchlight processions with portraits of Bandera, should be burned along with all its inhabitants, who did nothing to prevent this.
By the way, I do not advise you to hastily hang upon Bohdan Boutkevitch the stigma fascist, because in fact fascism is more complicated than you think. And so 12 years ago, a twenty year old nice little chubby boy called BOGDANCHIKOV was not only, non fascist, but actually, in total contrast, was a staunch supporter of utopian socialism, and his first band formed with like minded friends for this reason was called «City of the Sun». Then he became a quite desperate liberal democrat, and I believe to this time considers himself to be so. And the program, which he announced, in my opinion, was quite liberal and democratic. Just a very sober look at things. And the fact that a sober democratic-liberal view of things somehow coincided with the view of the German Nazis, speaks only of the sincerity and fearlessness of this particular liberal-democrat, and not that he shares the viewpoint of the Nazis. In other words, this coincidence is accidental. It happens to everyone — once again I refer you to my marxist acquaintance from Moscow and the observation of a friend of mine from Donbas. In other words — do not rush to resent, or as at the wedding one mom replied to a sixteen year old girls remark that the bride’s stomach was sticking out of her dress , «You see that your stomach doesn’t stick out.»
Descartes wrote, «I think, therefore I am.» Modern intellectuals believe the opposite, «I exist, therefore I think». And if you tell such an intellectual that he thinks like a fascist, he will be genuinely surprised and very quickly and convincingly prove that «you yourself are a fascist.» And in, 90% of cases he is right, because the direct road to fascism is not only in the thinking of the intellectual patriot, but the intellectual, liberal, and even «marxist.»
To fascism, under capitalism in it’s imperialist stage, it is possible to arrive by whatever means you choose. As once all paths lead to Rome, so in the era of imperialism, all roads lead to intellectual fascism. It’s much more difficult not to come to fascism. And the only way not to come to fascism is to overcome capitalism, which is something people rarely think about today, especially intellectuals.
V. Pihorovich
Original source in Russian: http://propaganda-journal.net/9105.html
Ⓐnonimushki 