I returned from Lutsk with the poet Pyotr Korobchuk and Mykola from the publishing house Tverdynia (‘Fortress’). We went to my house for breakfast, then we went to the Maidan. It was a cold, sunny day and we were in a good mood. First we stopped at the square on Proreznaya Street. I took a photograph of my guests sitting on the seats in the shapes of coffee cups designed by Konstantin Skritutski. We passed the barricade at the junction of Proreznaya and Khreshchatyk, and there, at the back of the tent village, we found people dressed as cartoon heroes: the panda from Kung Fu Panda, and the squirrel from Ice Age. The panda talked to us about what was happening, and the fact that his kids at home often yell ‘Panda, get’!’, a childish paraphrase of the slogan ‘Banda, get’!’ – ‘Get out, crooks!’ – which is chanted a thousand times a day in the Maidan.
We had our photographs taken with the guy in the panda outfit. There is no longer a set price for this kind of picture. ‘Give what you can,’ he said. Mykola gave him ten hryvnas, and so did I.
In the Maidan, we spotted the tent from the Volhynia region. Pyotr and Mykola had a photo taken in front of their compatriots’ tents, then we set off to explore the square. It was full of tourists, all enjoying the sunshine and taking pictures of each other against a backdrop of revolution. Lots of Russians among them.
A travel agency in Krasnodar, I have learned, is organising tourist excursions to the Maidan, and apparently it’s going well. All the Moscow–Kiev tickets have been sold. It has been a long time since we were the centre of such attention. Russian celebrities fly here to have their photos taken in front of the barricades. We have already seen the television presenter Kseniya Sobchak and the stylist Sergey Zverev.
While I was away, barricades have been put up in Institutskaya Street and near the TsUM (Central Universal Department Store). True, it’s not a difficult thing to do, if you have time. The people fill bags with snow and large chunks of ice taken from the pavement, and hoist them to the top of the construction. They are now well over twelve feet high, maybe even fifteen feet. Admittedly, no one has attempted to break through, in spite of our fears and the government’s threats. It has not happened yet, but it will sooner or later: policemen and berkutovtsy continue to swarm on Kiev, coming from Donetsk, Rivne and other regions. For now, the atmosphere in the Maidan and on Khreshchatyk Street is festive, almost like a carnival with all these pandas and squirrels.
The Russian Orthodox Church has once again spoken out against the Maidan, this time through the mouth of Archpriest Andrey Tkachev, leader of the St Agapit Church. The simplest thing is to quote him in full: ‘Such a manifestation of anarchism does not, on the whole, please me. Because, for us, democracy is not direct; it is parliamentary, representative. If not, we have to destroy all the foundations of our state. I have never had representatives in power in all the twenty years of this country’s independence. That does not mean that I should go to the Maidan and yell. I will not go, and I will not let the children go, because it is futile. I do not bless anyone who goes to the Maidan. Because I do not believe that a million people with limited ideas will create the right decision simply by virtue of numbers. Once again, the question is asked of this country’s citizens: do you want to join Europe, or do you want to build communism in one country? In the same square are gathered people who simply want Europe, those who do not, and those who want something else altogether. They have only one point in common: they are all against the government. But anti-establishment minds do not produce anything creative.’
I wonder what creative thing the Russian Orthodox Church is going to produce.
Yesterday, the television broadcast the round table organised by Yanukovych with the aim of national reconciliation. The Ukrainian students were represented by a big, rosy-cheeked lad who went on about Europe and turned out to be a member of the Young Regions, the youth division of the Party of Regions.
This evening, the snow gave way to a fine, gentle rain. The temperature must have risen. Not too much, I hope. Otherwise the barricades will start to melt, and that could lead to a police attack.
I have poured myself a small glass of gin and tonic. I will drink it, and then to bed. Goodnight, my country!