by Nikolay Azarov, former Prime Minister of Ukraine
Translated by dvajdsitdva
We are approaching a frightening day in the history of our country. May 2 – the day of the Odessa Khatyn.
[The name Khatyn or Chatyń has a historic overtone and reference, instead of calling the event a tragedy or a massacre, the often used term ‘Odessa Khatyn’ reminds us about its parallel with a historic event. A Belarussian village with the same name was razed and all inhabitants killed by the Nazis during the second world war. The Nazi battalion was small, and all the work was done by Western Ukrainian nationalist collaborators led by Ukrainian Grigory Vassiura, who razed the village and killed the inhabitants as punishment for the partisans fighting against the Nazis. It was essentially a retaliatory measure using the logic ‘if you kill one of our soldiers or help one partisan, we will kill thirty of your civilians as retaliation.’ – tr.]
The day will go down in history forever, and when this bloody regime is gone, there will be a memorial erected on the Kulikovo field to the memory of those perished on this day. A memorial that should serve as a reminder of a terrible event that should never occur again.
One can only shudder while viewing the footage, as people who were half-dead from the poison fumes, managed to miraculously escape from this fiery hell. Only to be finished offed and killed by fascist thugs chanting “Glory to Ukraine.” These things are never forgotten. Justice is inevitable. The perpetrator of the Belarussian Khatyn massacre, Ukrainian Grigory Vassiura, was also confident of his impunity, he was eventually found and executed. So the executioners of the Odessa tragedy, headed by Andrey Parubiy, should be afraid and stutter from fear at the coming of the inevitable.
Well, why are the people, our citizens, and citizens of other countries who see themselves as people who believe in God, love their children and parents, are not ashamed to shake hands with the butchers of Odessa? Are the ashes of Odessa not pounding in their heart?
It’s sad, but on May 2nd we will all undergo a test for humanity.
Some will just remember with a good word, the victims who died a terrible death. Some others will put a candle and pray for the souls of innocent victims. Others will say good words about them on television, the radio, the Internet, and other networks. Some will put flowers on the scene, perhaps call loved ones and utter words of sympathy. And only those, who in their souls are perpetrators, or those whom God has not endowed a soul, whose parents raised a monster, devoid of compassion, will treat this date with indifference.
We will see who does what, countrymen, and will definitely draw conclusions.
Nikolay Azarov, Fort Russ, 2015
