Yesterday, pro-war reporter Vladlen Tatarsky was buried in Moscow.
Just a few days before, Vladimir Putin had posthumously awarded him the Order of Courage. Which didn’t come as a surprise.
Before the war, our channel made a video discussing how Russia’s award system had devolved into a woeful travesty.
In culturally advanced nations, the award system represents a vital institution in terms of statehood.
Yet, in Putin's Russia, it’s broken, much like the judiciary and the electoral system.
Still, Putin's approach to awards is only part of a far broader issue.
Today, we'll explore the people that make it into the officially recognized hero wing in the present-day Russia’s hall of fame.
Let me remind you that, before being touted by Putin's state machine, Vladlen Tatarsky had come a long way.
His journey began with a bank heist in the Ukrainian city of Makiivka in 2011.
That same day, the hapless robber was apprehended by the Ukrainian police.
The court sentenced Tatarsky, whose actual name was Maxim Fomin, to eight years in prison.
In 2014, certain "volunteers" from Russia started flocking to the Ukrainian Donbas.
They came supposedly to save local Russian-speaking residents from Kyiv's Nazis, Banderites,
and the all-powerful militants from the Right Sector.
Now we know for a fact: every Ukrainian city that Putin's "saviors" reached was turned into a humanitarian disaster zone.
Normal life resumed only in those Ukrainian townships where the uninvited "saviors" were ousted by the Ukrainian
army in 2014, as exemplified by Mariupol, which until February 24, 2022, was one
of the fastest-growing cities in Eastern Europe.
Where almost everyone, including the city's mayor, spoke Russian.
However, there were some locals in the Donbas for whom Russia's invasion didn’t spell disaster,
nor did it prompt them to abandon their homes and move from Donetsk to another Ukrainian city.
For some, the Russian invasion posed a sudden opportunity.
The so-called "people's militias" of the DPR and LPR provided a career move for some people with troubled backgrounds
who couldn't get a college degree or find a job.
To join the “militia,” you didn’t need to have a degree or prove no prior criminal record.
Instead, these newly minted "militiamen" were given a symbol of authority more powerful
than any official badge: the Kalashnikovs.
The rifle empowered a certain segment of Donbas residents to elevate themselves from obscurity.
In 2013, they barely made ends meet through sporadic and often illegal odd jobs,
but in 2014, armed with rifles, they could suddenly lord over their more successful neighbors.
This newfound power allowed them to settle scores and seek retribution for past grievances.
"Hey neighbor, remember how you never even greeted me before? You called me terrible names behind my back.
But now, your property, possessions, and life are all at the mercy of my whims."
Vladlen Tatarsky's example is an extreme case.
Had it not been for the "Russian Spring" of 2014, he would have served eight years in a Horlivka penal colony.
However, the outbreak of hostilities enabled him to get an early release and join the ranks of the so-called "militia."
The full-scale war that erupted on February 24, 2022, ushered in a host of opportunities for Tatarsky.
The would-be bemedalled “hero” sensed his time had come that very day.
I am drinking tea in the canteen, waiting for orders to move. Glory to Russia!
I hope that the strikes on these cities will heal your wounds, brother.
Tatarsky's ostentatious brutality, relentless dehumanization of Ukrainians, fascination with violence,
and exclusive footage from the battlefield catapulted him as one of the most prominent voices of the war.
Interestingly, his voice was somewhat independent: he could outdo even the official Putin-backed media
in his bloodthirstiness or excoriate the Russian military for being too lenient with the Ukrainians.
Maxim Fomin adopted the name of a fictional character from Victor Pelevin's postmodern novel Generation P for a reason.
The media persona of Vladlen Tatarsky embodies postmodernism in the raw.
Calls for murder and plunder, relishing in human suffering – Tatarsky backed these with quotes from the Scripture.
A staunch nationalist, he argued that "Russianness" implies militantism and that a Russian man should not
"deny his own blood." Ironically, Maxim Fomin changed his name to Vladlen, which is actually a shorthand for Vladimir Lenin.
On March 13, Tatarsky assumed the role of an anarchist.
That day, several MPs of the Russian parliament and members of the public gathered to sign a memorandu
aimed at the ending of — that’s right — the Russian Civil War.
Tatarsky, a nationalist who called for the killing of Ukrainians using Lenin’s name, was entrusted
with signing the reconciliation memorandum on behalf of the anarchist faction of Russia’s Civil War from a century back.
In essence, Tatarsky is a fugitive criminal from Ukraine.
A man who not only quietly committed high treason but also made a name for himself by loudly calling for the genocide
of his former fellow countrymen.
A man without convictions, dealing in cannibalistic posts and footage of death.
And now also a recipient of the Russian Order of Courage, awarded by a Russian President’s special decree.
His real name, along with his alias, is mentioned in recognition of his merits.
The alias under which he called for the residents of Ukraine to be steamrolled by Russian tanks.
In doing so, he violated Russian law, encouraged others to do the same,
and reveled in any evidence of war crimes committed by Russia.
Let me remind you of the topic of today's video. I'm not suggesting that Tatarsky deserved his fate.
That wouldn’t be true.
He deserved to serve the remainder of his first sentence for bank robbery
and then a few more for everything he did afterward.
But now, Tatarsky's portraits are displayed on billboards in Donetsk, which Putin considers to be a Russian city.
Tatarsky's most famous quotes are showcased at the Rostov Arena stadium in Rostov-on-Don,
one of the largest cities in Russia.
At the highest state level, Tatarsky is recognized as a "citizen who demonstrated selflessness, courage, and bravery."
becoming almost a role model for children across the country.
However, we have become so accustomed to the constant insanity that hardly anyone pays attention anymore.
ARE THESE OUR HEROES?
Here's an excerpt from an interview with Arsen Pavlov, whose nom de guerre was Motorola
- You're accused of killing “Cyborg” Igor Branovytsky. How can you comment on it?
- I don't give a f*** about what I am accused of, believe it or not.
I shot 15 prisoners dead. I don't give a f***. No comment. I kill if I want to. I don't if I don't.”
At one point, Pavlov worked as a humble car washer.
In 2012, he received a year and a half served for stealing a vehicle from the car wash where he worked.
Pavlov had tried his hand at many different jobs, with brief stints everywhere,
and then permanently ruined his life with a criminal record.
Putin's government could have tried to help the man reintegrate into society.
It could have pondered why people engaged in physical labor throughout our country are doomed to slip to the underworld.
Instead, Putin’s government decided to turn Pavlov into a "hero of the Russian world."
The car washer with a rap sheet enjoyed Superman’s cape.
He went from being a nobody to a prominent figure, dressed in a military coat, white gloves, and three rows of medals.
Admittedly, his lifetime awards were from the Donetsk People's Republic and didn’t mean much.
They were invented by people who got too carried away playing the game of "people's republics."
But on May 20, 2022, Putin posthumously awarded Motorola the Order of Courage.
On September 30, his name was mentioned alongside other new national heroes in Putin’s official Kremlin speech.
We shall always remember the heroes of the 'Russian Spring,' those who refused to accept the neo-Nazi
coup in Ukraine in 2014.
We honor all those who sacrificed their lives for the right to speak their mother tongue, to preserve their culture,
traditions, faith, and their very right to live.
This includes the true people's leader of Donetsk Alexander Zakharchenko, warlords Arsen Pavlov
and Vladimir Zhoga, Olga Kachura and Alexey Mozgovoy, the prosecutor of Luhansk People's Republic Sergey Gorenko.
The latter two also became recipients of the Order of Courage. Admittedly, Alexei Mozgovoy received it during his lifetime,
while Sergei Gorenko, as expected, was awarded for the virtue of being murdered.
As irony would have it, Putin mentions the surnames of the LPR’s prosecutor Gorenko and the LPR’s warlord Mozgovoy
in the same breath.
However, it was Gorenko who had Mozgovoy posthumously found guilty by the LPR’s court for executing
a married couple with a 10-year-old girl.
And both became decorated national heroes.
Although common logic suggests that either one of them was a cold-blooded murderer,
or the other was a prosecutor who framed him.
Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the administration of the Kherson Region during the Russian occupation,
was also proclaimed a hero. He was murdered, which in turn won him the Order of Courage from Putin.
CORRUPTING THE NATION
Starting February 24, 2022, Putin's official rhetoric has been pushing a certain pseudo-logic onto the Russian audience.
In Ukraine, there are some citizens who consider Stepan Bandera a hero.
Therefore, Russian propagandists say, it is acceptable and even necessary to shell Ukrainian cities with
bombs and missiles and kill Ukrainians.
It's unclear how one follows from the other. But their logic is just that.
But what about Russia, where men like Tatarsky are recognized
as heroes not by a fringe part of society but at the highest state level?
But Russia also has something to mull over: what will become of a nation whose outstanding cultural figures
become enemies of the people, while hardened, deranged criminals become heroes? Role models, no less!
Of course, no state can punish our country for glorifying those people. Above all, Russia is the largest nuclear-armed country.
But also, the very concept of bombing a sovereign state just because there’s some “wrong”
discourse going on is more of a Putinist concept.
No one will come to de-Nazify or de-Putinize Russia only because
its first-ballot hall-of-fame heroes are unrepentant scumbags.
But Russia won’t be able to live normally with such a value system, it won’t be able to even exist at that.
Yet Russia still has a chance to return to normality, to return to some adequate system of values.
One which says that lying is bad, that robbing is even worse, and that murder is an ultimate deal-breaker.
One that considers war not to be a way of self-actualization but a humongous tragedy that must be avoided at all cost.
One where a person is born to express themselves in doing what they love, in creativity. Not to die young for nothing.
Heroes should represent the best of society.
They should be outstanding artists, scientists, and innovators. It may sound trite, but let astronauts become heroes.
It’s far better for schoolkids to read biographies of living space explorers than those of dead thugs.
And if, as an exception, there are some heroes who were called such after death, let it be courageous firefighters or people
combatting crime and terrorism.
But even in such cases, a heroic death should be presented as a tragedy resulting from unfortunate circumstances.
As if simply awarding scumbags wasn’t enough, they’re also awarded simply for being killed.
What a role model for our youth! Living like a villain and being celebrated for dying a violent death. Look up to him, kids!
Last but not least, a few words on the Order of Courage itself.
Established in 1994, this award has traditionally been highly respected among the many Russian honors.
In 2001, flight attendant Yulia Fomina was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage for protecting passengers
of a hijacked flight.
In 2008, the award, also posthumously, was given to Eugen Tabakov,
a seven-year-old who saved his sister from an attacker at the cost of his life.
In 2016, justice was restored when Alexander Pechersky was also posthumously awarded the Order of Courage.
In 1943, he led a successful uprising in the Nazi death camp Sobibor, but Soviet authorities denied him recognition
due to his Jewish descent and the fact that he had been a prisoner.
Yulia Fomina, Eugen Tabakov, and Alexander Pechersky.
And then right beside them are Tatarsky, Motorola, and Stremousov. What a disgrace.
It's all shameful, but it also shows what our country has come to after 20 years of being ruled by cynical intel agencies.
It won't be an easy fix, but if we want to someday live in our own country without feeling ashamed
of it, we will have to do just that.
See you tomorrow!