Soviet-Era Survival Instincts Kick in for Ukrainians
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Deep behind rebel lines in eastern
Ukraine, cash machines on garbage-covered streets have long run out of bills
and residents are turning to fixers to survive.
A pro-Russian insurgency that
erupted a year ago has killed more than 6,000 people, with economic desperation
permeating what was once Ukraine’s industrial heartland. Residents of the
self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics, which have become a geopolitical
battleground, struggle with even mundane tasks.
Hemmed in by travel curbs, residents
of one village near the separatist stronghold of Luhansk were left short of
options when rebel handouts dried up. Lidiya, 61, now pays a local middleman to
ferry her pension across the front line from a bank in government-controlled
Kharkiv.
“People queued for days to get money
from the rebels and some fought each other,” said Lidiya, who lives off food
grown in her garden in the town of Petrovskoe, 63 kilometers (40 miles) from
Ukrainian territory and declined to give her last name for fear of reprisal.
“They had to fire shots into the air to make everyone leave once the cash ran
out.”
Life inside Ukraine’s pro-Russian
breakaway republics hinges on a shadow economy flourishing amid the
cease-fires, embargoes and severed supply lines of a yearlong war. The
shortages underscore the difficulties the Kremlin-backed rebels face to
establish a semblance of normality and cement their rule. They also highlight
the war’s mounting costs as the government in Kiev starts debt-restructuring
talks.
In
Limbo
“The conflict has wiped off
relatively comfortable living standards achieved in the last two decades,”
Lilit Gevorgyan, a senior analyst at the IHS Global Insight Inc. research
company in London, said by e-mail. A persisting stalemate may trigger mass migration
amid a “slow and painful” recovery, she said.
For now, Soviet-era survival
instincts are kicking in as businesses sprout up to fetch cash, medicines and
diapers from government-held areas. Couriers skirt roadblocks and burnt-out
tanks to feed demand.
While a February truce
helped reduce the thunder of artillery, Ukrainians in the areas run by
insurgents face a battle to access money and food staples. The government in
Kiev now requires people to carry travel passes to keep the separatists at
arm’s length, which has left many citizens stranded and worsened an already
acute humanitarian crisis.
‘Drastically
Worsened’
The situation continues to
deteriorate, according to the United Nations, with access to benefits and
services cut off since December in rebel territory. “This has drastically
worsened the plight of people living there, seriously affecting access to basic
services and food,” the UN said
March 13.
Ukraine is simplifying procedures
for humanitarian-aid imports, Social Minister Pavlo Rozenko said Tuesday.
It takes about a month to get papers
to enter territory controlled by the government. For those without a pass, the
array of options is outlined on fliers pasted to wooden notice boards at bus
stops and via social networks.
Some try bribes. The going rate is
as much as 25,000 hryvnia ($1,100), according to Konstantin, who declined to
give his last name to avoid prosecution. Cash doesn’t always work, though, as
Konstantin said his truck filled with vodka, cigarettes and food got stuck at a
checkpoint as the shooting of a secret-service officer sparked a crackdown.
“Everyone I ask to help says I can
forget about the truck,” Konstantin said.
‘Really
Hungry’
In Donetsk, the conflict zone’s
biggest city, businessmen lean on contacts at border checkpoints to shuttle
clients in minibuses 65 kilometers to Konstantynivka, on Ukrainian territory.
There they can withdraw cash and visit local shops for products from
antibiotics to baby food.
While markets and stores are open in
Donetsk, other cities like Debaltseve, the site of a weeks-long siege, are
afflicted by shortages. That means humanitarian aid is spread thin, according
to Dmitry Filimonov, who said he recently collected $2,000 worth of donations
from Moscow and Kiev. The breakdown of local services also makes it difficult
to get supplies to those who need them the most, he said.
Aid is “distributed in the center
and people living on the outskirts just don’t get to it in time because city
transport isn’t working,” said Filimonov, 32. “We brought 130 packages of food
to Debaltseve and a long line appeared near our bus in minutes. Those people
were really hungry.”
Pension
Tours
A special service geared toward the
elderly is pension tours that whisk them off to Ukrainian banks to get monthly
payments of 1,500 hryvnia, charging about 300 hryvnia.
The charges are high because of the
cost, according to Oleh, who drives 36 hours from Petrovskoe to reach Ukrainian
territory via Russia and re-register pensioners for 2,000 hryvnia each. Before
the fighting started in the aftermath of President Vladimir Putin’s annexation
of Crimea last March, the trip took 4 hours.
“I have to pay penalties for
crossing the border illegally,” said Oleh, who declined to give his last name
because of the nature of his business. “We’re looking now for the best routes.”
The new businesses sometimes run
into opposition.
Mariupol, under government control,
is a hot spot where couriers show up clutching stacks of bank cards to withdraw
cash. Donetsk coal mines often select one employee to make the journey and
collect wages for his colleagues. Some wind up clashing with frosty locals who
don’t welcome the trips, according to 31-year-old Eduard Horlov.
Throwing
Punches
“Once every two weeks, Mariupol
steel workers get paid at the same time as buses arrive from Donetsk carrying
people to take out cash,” said Horlov, a locksmith. “You see lines of 50 to 100
people at ATMs and there are can be scuffles.”
For those who’re able, the shadow
economy is a lifeline. Far from being angry at the fees, there’s gratitude at
not being completely cut off.
“It costs a lot for me, of course”
said Petrovna from Petrovskoe, who paid 1,000 hryvnia to arrange for her
pension to be re-registered in another town. “But I can’t do it myself. It’s
good there are people who’re dealing with this.”
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