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| Steeped in Bloody History, and Seeing a Chance to Rewrite It | Steeped in Bloody History, and Seeing a Chance to Rewrite It |
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| SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine — Drawing on his experiences as a young artillery officer in imperial Russia’s military during the 1853-56 Crimean War, Leo Tolstoy described in “Sevastopol Sketches” how a wounded Russian soldier whose leg had been amputated above the knee coped with agonizing pain. | SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine — Drawing on his experiences as a young artillery officer in imperial Russia’s military during the 1853-56 Crimean War, Leo Tolstoy described in “Sevastopol Sketches” how a wounded Russian soldier whose leg had been amputated above the knee coped with agonizing pain. |
| “The chief thing, your honor, is not to think,” Tolstoy’s amputee remarked, “If you don’t think, it is nothing much. It mostly all comes from thinking.” | “The chief thing, your honor, is not to think,” Tolstoy’s amputee remarked, “If you don’t think, it is nothing much. It mostly all comes from thinking.” |
| It is advice, however, that virtually nobody in Crimea,particularly not here in Sevastopol, shows any sign of heeding. With nearly every other street named after a Russian general or a gruesome battle, its lovely seafront promenade dominated by a “monument to sunken ships” and its central square named after the imperial admiral who commanded Russian forces against French, British and Turkish troops in the 19th century, Sevastopol constantly feeds thoughts of war and its agonies. | It is advice, however, that virtually nobody in Crimea,particularly not here in Sevastopol, shows any sign of heeding. With nearly every other street named after a Russian general or a gruesome battle, its lovely seafront promenade dominated by a “monument to sunken ships” and its central square named after the imperial admiral who commanded Russian forces against French, British and Turkish troops in the 19th century, Sevastopol constantly feeds thoughts of war and its agonies. |
| Bombarded with reminders of the Crimean War, which involved a yearlong siege of the city, and World War II, when the city doggedly resisted Nazi forces until finally falling in July 1942, Sevastopol has never stopped thinking about wartime losses — and has never been able to cope with the amputation carried out in 1954 by the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. | Bombarded with reminders of the Crimean War, which involved a yearlong siege of the city, and World War II, when the city doggedly resisted Nazi forces until finally falling in July 1942, Sevastopol has never stopped thinking about wartime losses — and has never been able to cope with the amputation carried out in 1954 by the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. |
| Wielding a pen instead of a knife, Khrushchev ordered Sevastopol and the rest of the Crimea detached from the Russian Federation and transferred to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. At the time, the operation caused little pain, as both Russia and Ukraine belonged to the Soviet Union, which chloroformed ethnic, linguistic and cultural divisions with repression. | Wielding a pen instead of a knife, Khrushchev ordered Sevastopol and the rest of the Crimea detached from the Russian Federation and transferred to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. At the time, the operation caused little pain, as both Russia and Ukraine belonged to the Soviet Union, which chloroformed ethnic, linguistic and cultural divisions with repression. |
| When Ukraine became a separate independent nation at the end of 1991, however, Sevastopol — the home of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet since the 18th century — began howling, culminating in the Crimean Parliament’s decision Thursday to hold a referendum on March 16 on whether to break away from Ukraine and become formally part of Russia once again. | When Ukraine became a separate independent nation at the end of 1991, however, Sevastopol — the home of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet since the 18th century — began howling, culminating in the Crimean Parliament’s decision Thursday to hold a referendum on March 16 on whether to break away from Ukraine and become formally part of Russia once again. |
| Explaining the city’s agonies this week to a group of visitors, mostly Russians, to Sevastopol’s Crimean War museum, Irina Neverova, a guide, recounted how Britain, France, Turkey, Germany and others had over the centuries all tried and ultimately failed to loosen Russia’s grip. | |
| “Every stone and every tree in Sevastopol is drenched in blood, with the bravery and courage of Russian soldiers,” said Ms. Neverova, who complained that school history text books written under instructions from Ukrainian officials in Kiev make scant mention of Sevastopol’s heroics and focus instead on the deeds of Ukrainian nationalist fighters in the west of Ukraine, whom many Russians view as traitors not heroes. “This is obviously Russia, not Ukraine,” Ms. Neverova said later in an interview. | “Every stone and every tree in Sevastopol is drenched in blood, with the bravery and courage of Russian soldiers,” said Ms. Neverova, who complained that school history text books written under instructions from Ukrainian officials in Kiev make scant mention of Sevastopol’s heroics and focus instead on the deeds of Ukrainian nationalist fighters in the west of Ukraine, whom many Russians view as traitors not heroes. “This is obviously Russia, not Ukraine,” Ms. Neverova said later in an interview. |
| For many years after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, the loudest voices calling for Crimea’s return to Russia were a motley collection of Afghan war veterans and fringe political groups. Wrapping themselves in the Russian and also the Soviet flag, they regularly called for a referendum on Crimea’s status but got nowhere, widely dismissed as dangerous crackpots nostalgic for the Soviet Union. | For many years after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, the loudest voices calling for Crimea’s return to Russia were a motley collection of Afghan war veterans and fringe political groups. Wrapping themselves in the Russian and also the Soviet flag, they regularly called for a referendum on Crimea’s status but got nowhere, widely dismissed as dangerous crackpots nostalgic for the Soviet Union. |
| But that all changed last month when protesters in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, drove President Viktor F. Yanukovych from power and Russian television, which is widely watched in Crimea, and local media controlled by pro-Russian businessmen began portraying Mr. Yanukovych’s ouster as a fascist coup. | But that all changed last month when protesters in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, drove President Viktor F. Yanukovych from power and Russian television, which is widely watched in Crimea, and local media controlled by pro-Russian businessmen began portraying Mr. Yanukovych’s ouster as a fascist coup. |
| This turned what had been a marginal and seemingly doomed cause into a replay of heroic struggles in the past, allowing Sevastopol’s enemies of Ukrainian statehood to cast themselves as heirs to their city’s wartime resistance to Hitler’s invading armies. | This turned what had been a marginal and seemingly doomed cause into a replay of heroic struggles in the past, allowing Sevastopol’s enemies of Ukrainian statehood to cast themselves as heirs to their city’s wartime resistance to Hitler’s invading armies. |
| Thousands of Sevastopol residents gathered outside the office of the Kiev-appointed mayor, located in the shadow of a gargantuan World War II monument on the edge of Nakhimov Square, named after Crimean War hero Pavel Nakhimov, and forced him to resign in favor of Alexei Chaly, a Russian nationalist and businessman known for his sponsorship of war memorials. | Thousands of Sevastopol residents gathered outside the office of the Kiev-appointed mayor, located in the shadow of a gargantuan World War II monument on the edge of Nakhimov Square, named after Crimean War hero Pavel Nakhimov, and forced him to resign in favor of Alexei Chaly, a Russian nationalist and businessman known for his sponsorship of war memorials. |
| Across the city rose a rallying cry resurrected from past sieges by foreign powers: “Stand Firm, Sevastopol.” The slogan now decorates a stage set up in the central square for pro-Russian rallies and concerts featuring the Black Sea Fleet choir and Cossack dancers. | Across the city rose a rallying cry resurrected from past sieges by foreign powers: “Stand Firm, Sevastopol.” The slogan now decorates a stage set up in the central square for pro-Russian rallies and concerts featuring the Black Sea Fleet choir and Cossack dancers. |
| Not everyone here has been swept up by the tide of Russian patriotic fervor, but those who have not are keeping their heads down. Victor Negarov, a lonely voice of dissent who organized a series of thinly attended rallies in support of protesters in Kiev, was badly beaten last month by pro-Russia activists. He has gone into hiding for fear of being attacked. His picture, address, mobile telephone number and even car license plate details have all been posted on the Internet by pro-Russian groups that label him a traitor in league with fascists. | Not everyone here has been swept up by the tide of Russian patriotic fervor, but those who have not are keeping their heads down. Victor Negarov, a lonely voice of dissent who organized a series of thinly attended rallies in support of protesters in Kiev, was badly beaten last month by pro-Russia activists. He has gone into hiding for fear of being attacked. His picture, address, mobile telephone number and even car license plate details have all been posted on the Internet by pro-Russian groups that label him a traitor in league with fascists. |
| Mr. Negarov, a 28-year-old computer programmer, caused particular fury by giving an interview to Ukrainian television in which he challenged Sevastopol’s self-image as a city of ever-victorious heroes, noting that it fought fiercely but ultimately lost to foreign enemies in both the Crimean War and World War II. “In reality, Sevastopol is a city of losers,'’ he said in a telephone interview from his hiding place. “People here don’t like to hear this but that is the reality of our history.” | Mr. Negarov, a 28-year-old computer programmer, caused particular fury by giving an interview to Ukrainian television in which he challenged Sevastopol’s self-image as a city of ever-victorious heroes, noting that it fought fiercely but ultimately lost to foreign enemies in both the Crimean War and World War II. “In reality, Sevastopol is a city of losers,'’ he said in a telephone interview from his hiding place. “People here don’t like to hear this but that is the reality of our history.” |
| With Ukrainian military facilities in Crimea now besieged by heavily armed gunmen whose uniforms bear no markings but whose vehicles have Russian license plates, Mr. Negarov sees little hope that Ukraine will be able to quickly recover its own now-amputated territory. “It is a really bad situation. Many support the pro-Russian forces here. I don’t know how to fix this,” he said despondently. “Nearly everyone has been brainwashed.” | With Ukrainian military facilities in Crimea now besieged by heavily armed gunmen whose uniforms bear no markings but whose vehicles have Russian license plates, Mr. Negarov sees little hope that Ukraine will be able to quickly recover its own now-amputated territory. “It is a really bad situation. Many support the pro-Russian forces here. I don’t know how to fix this,” he said despondently. “Nearly everyone has been brainwashed.” |
| While President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia insisted this week that the unidentified gunmen who now control Crimea have nothing to do with the Kremlin and are local self-defense volunteers who bought their uniforms off the shelf, pro-Russian residents in Sevastopol celebrate their arrival as evidence that Moscow has mobilized to force Crimea’s separation from Ukraine. “Let’s continue what we started. We have Russia behind us,” reads a banner hoisted outside the mayor’s office. | While President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia insisted this week that the unidentified gunmen who now control Crimea have nothing to do with the Kremlin and are local self-defense volunteers who bought their uniforms off the shelf, pro-Russian residents in Sevastopol celebrate their arrival as evidence that Moscow has mobilized to force Crimea’s separation from Ukraine. “Let’s continue what we started. We have Russia behind us,” reads a banner hoisted outside the mayor’s office. |
| Balaklava, an outlying district of Sevastopol, was the site of one of the Crimean War’s most famous battles. It was a rare Russian victory during the conflict and delivered a devastating blow to the morale of British forces, which launched the ill-fated Charge of the Light Brigade across what the English poet Alfred Lord Tennyson called the “valley of death.” | Balaklava, an outlying district of Sevastopol, was the site of one of the Crimean War’s most famous battles. It was a rare Russian victory during the conflict and delivered a devastating blow to the morale of British forces, which launched the ill-fated Charge of the Light Brigade across what the English poet Alfred Lord Tennyson called the “valley of death.” |
| The appearance over the weekend of a long convoy of Russian military vehicles stirred rapture among many residents of Balaklava, nearly all of them Russian speakers raised on stories of Russian military valor against foreign invaders. | The appearance over the weekend of a long convoy of Russian military vehicles stirred rapture among many residents of Balaklava, nearly all of them Russian speakers raised on stories of Russian military valor against foreign invaders. |
| Russia’s takeover of Crimea is already so complete that commercial flights to Kiev from the region’s main airport, located outside Simferopol, the regional capital 50 miles from Sevastopol, now leave from the international terminal instead of the domestic one as they did until last week. The shift suggests that Kiev and the rest of Ukraine are now classified as foreign territory. | Russia’s takeover of Crimea is already so complete that commercial flights to Kiev from the region’s main airport, located outside Simferopol, the regional capital 50 miles from Sevastopol, now leave from the international terminal instead of the domestic one as they did until last week. The shift suggests that Kiev and the rest of Ukraine are now classified as foreign territory. |
| Russian soldiers patrol the airport parking lot and, although still without markings on their uniforms, have dropped all pretense that they are not Russian. Asked where he was from, a masked soldier at the airport said he was with the Russian infantry and had been sent to Crimea a week ago on a mission to protect the region “against the enemy, Ukraine.” | Russian soldiers patrol the airport parking lot and, although still without markings on their uniforms, have dropped all pretense that they are not Russian. Asked where he was from, a masked soldier at the airport said he was with the Russian infantry and had been sent to Crimea a week ago on a mission to protect the region “against the enemy, Ukraine.” |