ABSTRACT
May 9 was pivotal for Mariupol mobilization on both sides of the contention, creating an ideological push reflected in its increase. But there were also instances of demobilization. Valery had continued to patrol at protests after the Maidan ended, but did not take part in illegal takeovers or violent attacks by rebels, or join the opolchenie. When I asked him why, he laughed:
Because I’m not stupid. Like Kuzmenko, other adventurers wanted to grab and seize, use people in order to reach their own personal goals. Power for power. And the more chaos there was, the easier this was to achieve. Take the 9 May: it was a provocation that everyone needed in order to create a certain picture. For those adventurers to show that no one governs here, to show inaction of the local government. That the “People’s leaders” ought to be governing.
The [rebels] came to me asking to give them my men to man blokposty. I told them to get lost. They got scared and fled. In order to be a separatist one ought to want something; think. These people in the City Council were just idiots. Honestly. I could have cleared the building. I had 300 men, healthy, sportsmen. They feared us, respected us. I used to work with some of these [rebels]. They were factory workers. But when we spoke with the mayor, we were explicitly told not to mix in. And those street patrols? Useless. I asked them—what are you patrolling streets for? They said, well, they pay us, so we go. Please, if anything actually happened, they would be the first to flee.
