The situation in Sevastopol is very tense. At first glance it gives the impression that nothing really happens. People go to work as usual. Many young and older people walk in the city center in their free time. All banks, schools, shops, public transport etc. also seem to be working as usually. But this impression of calm and peace ends when you see what people have on their minds. Most of us are extremely worried and I would say, even scared about the further development of this situation, because nobody knows what is going to happen next. The citizens who stand against the Russian troops and seperation of Ukraine are of course concerned the most. The usual questions you can hear from them today are the worries about the events that will follow the referendum on March 16.

If we refuse to take Russian citizenship, will we lose our property? Who will pay our salaries, pensions and scholarships? What will happen to the communication with the rest of Ukraine? Will we be able to go from and back to Crimea? What is going to happen to the civilians if Russia starts massive deportation or even hunt down disloyal people like they did in Abkhazia or Transnistria?

Those and many other similar questions are the most discussed in Sevastopol today. Needless to say that the Ukrainian troops which are being sized on their bases, as well as their families are in the most danger, because the possibility that the Russians will shoot is increasing every night. Now some words about pro-Russian activists who claim themselves to be “Crimean self-defense” and patrol the streets of the city.

In fact, they behave totally like the street bandits. They can approach you with the request to give them money (as it happened to me), or demand to perform an illegal search. They are ready to beat women, old people, journalists and whoever stands against Russian intervention (for example, a pro-Ukrainian meeting held yesterday in Sevastopol near Taras Shevchenko monument was attacked by pro-Russian activists).

It is obvious that at least the half of those gangs consists of Russian citizens, which explains why they attack with cruelty journalists and anyone filming them on camera. There are news and rumors that a lot of people were kidnapped during the past several days.

The most astonishing thing here in Sevastopol and, I belive, in the entire Crimea is that the police is not responding to any of the actions by “Crimean self-defense”. It basically means the following: if a group of people wear a St. George Ribbon and scream a pro-Russia slogan, they are free to do whatever they like. It is clear that it is only a matter of time for the level of criminality in Crimea to explode.

Sviatoslav M.