Sergey Aksyonov: In manual control mode

- Are you a polite person?

- Beyond doubt. And I always try to be an example for others to follow. Should I take any liberties, how will I be able to demand my subordinates abide by the rules? The leader is at the heart of all. The people look at the one at the helm and make conclusions.

Ours is a tourist region. Should we wear gloomy expressions, should we be rude to arriving guests and toss back guests’ passports at the reception desk, we will hardly see anyone eager to spend a holiday here.

- After March 2014 the term “polite people” took on a new meaning in Crimea.

- Quite right. It is utterly unnecessary to put these two words inside the quotation marks or use it in combination with the derogatory attribute “so-called”. The Russian military personnel who arrived here three years ago demonstrated impeccable conduct. No raids or violent crackdowns in Simferopol or elsewhere in Crimea. They acted with great accuracy and precision and in strict compliance with the rules of morality and ethics. Without much-a-do. They did a perfect job. It was a truly polite demonstration of strength. I’d say that operation was ideal. The stars were lucky!

Firstly, President Vladimir Putin kept the march of events under his own control. Secondly, most of the Crimeans love Russia and their long-cherished dream was to reunite with their motherland. Many said so outright. Thirdly, the armed seizure of power in Ukraine forced the Crimeans to act fast to protect their interests. You surely remember that a ban on the use of the Russian language in the whole territory of Ukraine was one of the first legal acts proposed for adoption by the Ukrainian parliament after Yanukovich was ousted. There was no intention of taking into account the opinion of eastern and southeastern regions. Instead of building bridges of understanding and seeking compromises wedges began to be driven between opponents. Threats were uttered of sending trainfuls of Banderite thugs here, cynically called "trains of friendship".

Tensions climaxed when the bodies of three men who had served in the Berkut crack police and the Interior Ministry’ Troops were brought to Crimea, their birthplace for burial. All had been killed in Kiev. The local people’s reaction was very painful. The funeral ceremony took place on February 22. The bodies had been delivered a couple of days before that. Everything looked very uncertain. The pendulum could swing either way, but for the Russian president, who kept the situation under personal control.

- And whom of the “polite people” you chanced to meet first?

- Igor Mikhailichenko. He was one of the group’s commanders. Now he is my deputy in Crimea’s Council of Ministers. I still keep in touch with other “polite” guys. We shared quite a few experiences that spring. We walked a very brief but bright way together.

- You are almost a career military officer by profession, aren’t you?

- I spent four years studying at the Military-Political Engineering Academy in Simferopol. I did not get a graduation certificate, though.

- Why?

- I refused to take an oath of allegiance to Ukraine. My original hope had been I would get an assignment in Moscow, but the authorities in Kiev changed everything. That was in 1993, the Academy’s last graduation course. In fact, the academy ceased to exist afterwards.

Those were the days, I should say. Memories of August 1991 are still fresh. Our company was on duty at the Academy. On the very first day of the coup we received an order to take Mikhail Gorbachev’s portrait off the wall and hide it somewhere. But on August 21 nervous commanders urged us to put the Soviet president’s photo back in its place. We were witnesses to history being written in front of our very eyes.

In 1989, I had taken an oath of allegiance to the Soviet Union. When the country broke up, I made a decision that I would not go to serve in the Ukrainian army by any means. In fact, there was none at the moment. I had a big quarrel with some officers, who interpreted the current situation in a very weird way. Leaving the academy was the best solution of all.

- But did you get an officer’s rank in the end?

- No, ranks were to be awarded upon graduation. I left earlier. I’d passed three state exams and stopped, well aware all further efforts would not be worthwhile.

I’d hoped to become what was then called political officer, the one responsible for the subordinate’s ideology and morale and for providing psychological support. I underwent good professional training - the full course of lectures required. My Academy’s graduates can be found all over the country. At the most unexpected places! Including the staff of the Russian president and Government. Vitaly Pavlyuchenko, who was the Academy’s commander when I was admitted and studied, is currently in Moscow. He works together with Boris Gromov in the Battle Brotherhood society. And another of my former commanders, Stepan Gaidarzhiysky, was appointed in charge of the National Guard in Crimea last autumn. It was he and his subordinates that we held first talks at the end of February 2014. It was essential to prevent bloodshed and an armed conflict with the Ukrainian military. Stepan was deputy commander of the Ukrainian Interior Troops’ territorial division. I phoned him and we agreed to meet at once. Without losing a minute. A great deal depended on the right understanding of the situation, self-control and civic position of each officer and rank-and-file man. Any unintentional or provocative shot would have been enough to trigger a massacre. It is a remarkble achievement we managed to prevent that from happening.

- Were you aware that in case of your defeat you would be locked up in jail in Ukraine for long?

- Of course, I was aware. There was no other way out.

- Why, there was one. To follow in Baron Wrangel’s footsteps to board the last ship for Istanbul.

- No, fleeing for life is against my nature. My colleagues know well: I’ve never tried to hide behind other people’s backs. Also, you should remember I had my family here.

- You could have arranged for their evacuation in advance.

- They would’ve refused to go. I wouldn’t have been left alone. Besides, all of them, my wife, my children and my parents were taking a very active stance and participating in the peninsula’s political affairs. I had no intention of escaping anyway. I told myself: I’d rather die than abandon what I’d decided to accomplish. True, the outcome was anyone’s guess, but we had confidence in Russia and in President Putin.

In those days I heard many people say the declaration of Crimea’s independence was the point where we should stop. That we should leave Ukraine but not join Russia. As you may remember, the referendum was originally scheduled for May 25. Had we decided to wait till that date, there might have been terrible bloodshed. Ukraine’s military contingent in Crimea numbered 22,000, including more than 19,000 strangers from other parts of Ukraine. True, Russia would’ve eventually defended its interests, but at what cost? Putin made a political decision to act fast and go to the bitter end.

- How do you account for the fact that in 2010 your movement Russian Unity collected just four percent of the votes in the election to the Crimean legislature, while on March 16, 2014 an absolute majority of those who participated in the referendum on Crimea’s future status backed the proposal for joining Russia?

- The explanation for the moderate returns from the 2010 vote is simple. It was a result of manipulations by the Party of Regions and a rigged election process.

Let me remind you: Russian Unity came up with its new brand just thirty-one days before the elections. Has there ever been another political party project that might have gained enough publicity over such a brief period of time and receive enough votes for its members to take seats in parliament? We wished to create a so-called Russian Bloc that would incorporate Crimea’s Russian community and a number of pro-Russian organizations and to present a common front in the election. But the Party of Regions prohibited the NGO’s from participating in an attempt to cut the ground from under our feet. We were unable to use our old charter documents, so we had to improvise on the way, to make harsh decisions, to acquire a clean party registered at the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice, to promptly rename it, to rebrand it and to instantly join the election campaign. In the end Russian Unity achieved the proclaimed goal. We created groups of deputies in all districts and cities of the peninsula. My hat’s off to those who have managed to accomplish the same faster than we did.

You may take a look at my interviews I was giving in those days and the replies I addressed to my opponents, who tried to ridicule us over the tiny four percent of the votes for the Russian party. We participated in that election on our own, without any support from the Russian authorities. In 2010 we in fact achieved the maximum result. Later on we kept building up our activity. In the subsequent four years Russian Unity held the greatest number of mass actions. In 2013 the Party of Regions made a sharp turn to start campaigning for Ukraine’s integration with the European Union, while we remained the only ones who appeared on the streets and squares to say outright that the future of Crimea is related with Russia. Our activists picketed the republican parliament, demanding the legislators should protect the interests of Crimea’s residents.

By March 2014 the situation turned fundamentally different. The events in Kiev played a certain role. Crimea’s people would hate to see something like that happen on their own land. Russia made its stance very clear. For over more than twenty years following the breakup of the Soviet Union the authorities had deceived Crimea’s people so many times that the fear it might be just another trap still lingered, but the tide of emotion was really strong. Russian Unity’s rating soared. We had never revised our political stance. We pushed ahead with our policy regardless of the current political situation – a policy we had proclaimed the moment when the party was founded and started gaining its feet.

Starting from January 1 all attempts at turning Simferopol into a scene of something like maidain protests in Kiev began to be quashed. Russian Unity activists and supporters were taking turns on the streets to keep them under control. True, on some occasions harsh action had to be taken, but in that type of situation no other measures would work. Over just two months Crimea’s self-defense took shape as a force in its own right. On February 23 it obtained legal registration and on the 26^th it managed to put up solid resistance. It prevented the seizure of the State Council Building and eliminated the risk of large-scale clashes between Crimean residents of different nationalities. Kicking out a group of militants from Kiev out of Crimea was far easier than preventing an inter-ethnic conflict in the peninsula. It should have been prevented by all means. People on both sides had braced themselves for the worst scenario. In front of the State Council Building we kept two busses loaded with police shields and gas masks in case of an emergency. Fortunately, we would never have to use the gear.

- Do you have a gun, a real one that shoots?

- I have several of them. All are memorable gifts and awards I got from Sergei Shoigu, Vladimir Puchkov and Andrey Belyaminov, the then chief of the Russian Customs. They are Yarygin, Makarov and Glock handguns… I’m not a collector, but I keep them all, of course.

- President Vladimir Putin conferred upon you the Order for Merit for Services to the Fatherland, 1st Class.

- Yes, that happened in Sevastopol in May 2014. When Putin paid the first visit to Crimea after reunification with Russia.

- I don’t think the Order of Merit 2^nd class will follow very soon.

- To begin with, I’ve never expected any awards – neither engraved gift weapons nor state orders. As we made up our mind to return home, we set no preconditions either to Russia or to its president. Since March 1, 2014 I’ve not asked any questions about my future or my future job. I have not pursued any career or material interest. I entered the civil service because I appreciated the president’s confidence in me and the Crimean people’s trust. There was no other motivation. I can tell you frankly that I would have never approached a high-ranking position in the officialdom at my own initiative. I’ve never had ambitions to make a civil service career or to be a big boss.

In all other respects had achieved a great deal by the spring of 2014 and was a well-off man already. Those who know me closely enough will confirm that I regard money as a means of achieving an end. I’m not a greedy type. I always spent as much as I earned. My firm belief is the one who gives away easily gets far more back in return. At a certain point my two partners and I funded Russian Unity with our own money. Over a very short period of time we established a pan-Ukrainian party with sixteen branches in different regions. I ventured into politics from business. I know how to put money to use the right way. Spending my own money is no problem, provided I see the goal is worth it.

- What have you done to your Ukrainian passport?

- I handed it in to the Federal Migration Service when I got my Russian passport in exchange. That was in late March 2014. I must have been the first one in Crimea to do so. We agreed that all civil servants would do that. To rule out any gossip and ambiguity.

- I guess that in the past you had government hotline telephones adorned with the The Trident - Ukrainian coat of arms - on your office desk in the past.

- Certainly! Those spoils of war must be still in store somewhere. Possibly, we will use them as exhibits of a Crimean Spring Museum, should we ever decide to open it… Everything else has remained intact. The desk and the chairs are the same. I put Putin’s photograph and a map of Russia on the wall. The map shows Crimea, of course. Refurbishing and redecorating the offices are by no means the most urgent need. I’ve always preferred modest offices although I could afford expensive interiors. I thought it would be silly to waste my own money, let alone budget funds, on office furniture.

Incidentally, throughout the Crimean Spring not a single case of marauding or theft occurred. When the militias entered the treasury of the Ukrainian National Bank’s Crimean division, they found four billion hryvnias in the safes. The money was painstakingly counted, packed, sealed and handed in. Not a dime was lost. Neither there nor at any other place. Not a fork or knife went missing. This indicates the people’s mood.

- Your colleague, Aleksey Chaly, nicknamed "people's governor" of Sevastopol, told TASS in a recent interview that in 2014 “there was tremendous demand for turning Crimea and Sevastopol into a point of growth”. “Now it is gone. Completely,” he said. Will you agree with this?

- Possibly, in Sevastopol this is really so. Too bad if the local authorities have let the city to downgrade to such a regrettable condition. They’ve spent two years on a tug-of-war and power struggle instead of rolling up their sleeves and getting down to work. Anyway, it is a different territory of the Federation. I am not responsible for it. As for Crimea, the demand for growth there remains.

You see, to rise to the expectations which many felt three years ago Chaly and the other officials should work a lot, and not shift the responsibility onto somebody else’s shoulders or exchange accusations in public. I believe that Chaly, whenever he mentions excessive expectations, is not in the position to speak for the whole peninsula. May he be responsible for the territory where he is in charge and for the promises he made to the people of Sevastopol in 2014.

Personal ambitions should not be allowed to prevail over the common cause.

- And what’s your attitude to a situation where there are two constituent territories of Russia in one peninsula?

- It so happened historically that Sevastopol is a territorial entity in its own right, but this matter is not a concern of mine. Such decisions are made at a different level. As for me, Crimea’s affairs keep me busy enough.

We have been doing our utmost to establish the most friendly and comfortable conditions for investors. From now on each agreement we sign contains a special clause stating that as the region’s leader I am obliged to meet personally with any investor who has encountered problems through the fault of the regional authorities.

I am well aware that without my participation business people from elsewhere may be pushed to the sidelines. This explains why I have to intervene once in a while, to put hands on the controls myself.

True, the old rule “If you want something done the best way - do it yourself” may be not very convenient for a senior official or top manager, but in the final count I bear all responsibility for the end result.

I keep meeting with people round the clock, sometimes with little or no time for lunchbreaks. The new rule applicable to investment contracts will take effect after April 22, when Yalta will host an international economic forum.

- What guests do you hope to see this time? Russia’s near neighbors, delegates from the CIS countries that defy sanctions in retaliation for visiting Crimea?

- Last year we welcomed delegations from the Italian, French and German parliaments, who were able to see the way we live for ourselves. After the visit, upon their return home they issued calls for lifting anti-Russian sanctions, which harm all… One delegation was from Japan, I recall. Dripping water hollows out stone.

- But an investment forum is not a legislators’ gathering.

- There were officials and there were business people, too. In 2017 we expect a large group of guests. As many as 250 members of the international business community have had themselves accredited by now. From Western Europe, including Britain, and the Middle East. Many major deals are on the agenda. I would not like to anticipate events. I have to admit, though, that the sanctions do imply certain restrictions. No denying that.

- The quality of Crimea’s roads is as good as in any other Russian region. What I mean is that you have got rid of one of the two customary Russian ills our literature classic Nikolai Gogol pointed to  – the bad roads. Will you, please, say a few words about the other ill Gogol complained about – the fools?

- Let’s start with the roads. Had you visited us several years ago, during Kiev’s rule, you would instantly know what the word “disaster” means. Nothing left to steal, as the saying goes. The scale of devastation surpassed the worst expectations any visitor from Moscow might have. The roads you see now, in contrast to what we had in 2012-2013, can cause you only a little fright. But we are still way behind European quality. Of the 14,000 kilometers of roads eight thousand kilometers fall short of the normal condition. In the meantime, we manage to repair just two percent of the overall road surface a year.

- If this pace persists, you will achieve the goal in 40 years from now.

- Part of the funds allocated for roads have to be returned to the federal treasury. As usual, road builders tend to pledge to accomplish more than they really can. Most of the concluded contracts were abused and deadlines disrupted. Many roadbuilders lack the production culture. In the meantime, the Audit Chamber, the Interior Ministry and the federal security service FSB keep scrutinizing all roads regularly. Seeing is believing.

- Was that the reason why during a recent inspection Putin nearly tore a button off your jacket, according to some witnesses, because the quality of work made him really angry?

- Barefaced lies! The president never takes such liberties in communicating with his subordinates. The situation was very different. Putin was told that Crimea had allegedly raised the price of sand 150%. After a meeting of the State Council Putin ordered an inquiry. It took me and law enforcement agencies two days to find out there had been no overstated prices. But the president was absolutely right, of course, when he paid close attention to relations with contractors. Generally speaking, he is always right.

- Just as a football referee?

- I don’t make comparisons. I know that I’ve never let Putin down. I’ve never gone too far. And I am proud to have a chief like him.

- Is this the reason why you have called for his coronation as Russia’s Tsar?

- Those who hurry to speculate on the subject should see the whole television program first. Possibly, they would then realize what the discussion was about in reality. If there is no sensation, it is to be

invented. What I was speaking about on Crimean television was not literal revival of the monarchy, but the risk of collective irresponsibility, which should be countered with the one-man command principle. I was talking about a specific individual – our president, and not a form of state governance. It was not monarchy that I had in mind, but the powers of Russia’s leader. Governing a country like ours requires someone who possesses the necessary powers and is prepared to assume the full responsibility for the decisions made. The man is our president.

- What are the reasons behind the just-started personnel purges in Crimea?

- “Purges” you say? The process has never halted. I believe that over the past two years Crimea has replaced more government ministers than any other region of Russia. The same is true of mayors of cities and heads of districts. Statistics will tell you how many officials I’ve fired. At the end of the year all are obliged to report the spending of funds provided and the observance of timetables. It is the duty of all republican government ministers and heads of municipalities.

Abusers are dismissed instantly, without lengthy discussions. At the end of 2016 I dismissed the mayor of the seaside resort of Alushta, the head of the Bakhchisarai District’s administration, one deputy prime minister, the chief of the capital construction service and Crimea’s chief architect… The resolution was signed on December 30.

- A sort of a New Year gift, with no severance pay?

- Precisely. And in February 2017 I said good-bye to the chief of Crimea’s construction watchdog and the head of the state register in another seaside resort, Yalta. All were responsible for selling up plots of land on the coast.

The personnel replacement and selection process is on. Believe me, it is far from completion. Those who lack the proper understanding of the real interests of the state and what their job is will have to find another way of earning a living.

- Your deputy Oleg Kazurin is said to have been detained following an anti-corruption probe?

- I’ll tell you more: he is under arrest and faces criminal prosecution. It is to be hoped Kazurin and others will draw the proper conclusions. For some reason some people are unable to understand certain things immediately. Two mayors are already behind bars. The heads of Feodosiya and Kerch were apprehended the moment they were taking bribes. It might seem everybody should get the message we are not kidding. Yet many go on stealing. Naturally, more criminal proceedings are due. We maintain proactive cooperation with the law enforcers and provide the necessary information. Not a single corrupt official in Crimea will feel secure.  Everything is under control.

- Anything new about another former deputy of yours, Temirgaliyev?

- He was dismissed when criminal charges were brought against him as the main suspect. I lost confidence in Temirgaliyev. I cannot make any detailed comments on his case, because the legal procedures are still on… Human resources are the main problem.

- Specialists from mainland Russia don’t look very enthusiastic about moving to Crimea, do they?

- And we are not very eager to recruit specialists from the mainland, either. Skilled professionals who will agree to go to Crimea for a local civil servant’s salary are rare. Very little is left of the monthly pay after you’ve paid for the rented housing and set aside enough for you daily meals and needs.

Those who agree to come do so for emotional, ideological reasons or plan to stay in Crimea after they retire on pension. Also, there are fortune-seekers in pursuit of fast bucks. From time to time I see applicants who have come here at the wheel of luxurious cars and who sport expensive wrist watches. I usually ask such guys: “Will you be prepared to work for 60,000 a month (roughly $1,000)? That’s just enough to fuel your Porsche Cayenne and keep it going.” In return I hear promises they will agree to serve the nation for free.

- And do you hire such altruists?

- Not, of course. I see no reason why I should. Because the next phrase I hear from most of them is about bidding contests, government purchases and so on and so forth. Of course, I don’t think that one size fits all. Some of those who agree to move here are top class specialists. Some people are invited personally. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak has been very helpful in this respect. I am glad he is the man in the federal government who is charge of overseeing Crimea’s affairs. I find it quite comfortable to work with him.

- Some say that rifts do occur between you once in a while.

- We may disagree on certain issues, but we are not prepared to spend time arguing and defending one’s point of view. I am a team player. Once my superiors have made a decision, I will just go and do my job. Kozak’s reaction to my proposals and objections is always constructive. We always achieve a reasonable compromise.

- Do I understand it correctly that Crimea in 2016 earned 40 billion rubles in addition to the federal subsidies?

- Yes, even a little more than that. In the past, when Crimea was under Kiev’s rule, its budget was equivalent to about 22 billion rubles. Now we’ve seen 100% growth.

- What were the sources?

- There are more industries working under major state contracts that pay taxes. The free economic zone law provides for lax taxation and gives preferences to those who wish to make tangible investment in Crimea. For the first two years we concluded investment agreements without any bidding contest procedures. Now we’ve achieved compliance with the federal legislation. There are many contributing factors. The project for building a new airport in Simferopol alone is to yield three billion rubles in the individual income tax.

- By the way, what progress is being made there?

- Construction work continues non-stop round the clock. In March 2018 a new terminal will go operational. The runway continues to be upgraded during the night hours. The company commissioned to do the work coped with the same task at Sheremetievo and Domodedovo.

- Will you be through with the project by the presidential election?

- By the beginning of the 2018 holiday season. Last year 5.8 million people arrived in Crimea across the Kerch Strait. The Simferopol Airport serviced another 5.2 million passengers. The tourist traffic grows by 20%-22% a year on the average. The number of tourists is to grow significantly when the airport’s throughput is expanded.

- And the gambling zone, for whom is it meant?

- Guests mostly. Including foreign visitors. There are certain arrangements that will allow for bypassing sanctions. I will keep quiet about such secrets for now. Nobody would agree to invest into this project, if there were doubts this plan might not work.

- Do you go to see the Kerch Bridge often?

- Twice a month. This is a federal scale project, so it is the federal agencies’ job to keep an eye on the way budget money is spent and on the quality of construction work. More often I prefer to have a bird’s eye view of the construction site. It’s even better. All planes leaving Simferopol now bypass Ukraine. Their route lies right above the bridge. Everything is seen so well…

- Have you settled the issue of Ukrainian assets in Crimea?

- Not yet. The cadastral data base contains only 30% of all properties.

- Does Dmitry Firtash, whom the Americans want to be extradited from Austria still own the Titan plant?

- He does. We never take away anything for the sole reason of the owner’s personality. We always look into who violated financial obligations to Crimea’s people. We nationalized Igor Kolomoisky’s assets because his PrivatBank had defaulted on its liabilities to an overwhelming majority of Crimeans. It owes them money. When the bank in 2014 closed its offices in Crimea, not a single deposit or cash from the current accounts were returned to the clients. We had no moral right to overburden Russia’s budget by these liabilities, so we had to identify alternative sources. We nationalized the assets belonging to Kolomoisky and his entourage (some 150 facilities) and auctioned them. With the money raised in that way we have already returned to bank clients some 1.8 billion rubles ($30 million). In the meantime, Kolomoisky’s overall debt to the Crimeans is 5.4 billion rubles ($90 million). This year we hope to return to the recipients another two billion. The oligarch’s properties will continue to be sold up.

But we have not touched the assets of any other private owner.

- In the meantime, the Dutch have dared seize the Scythian Gold collection from Crimea’s museums…

- I have already expressed my point of view regarding that arrest. The Amsterdam court’s decision was illegitimate and politically motivated. It violated the principle of the integrity of museum collections, thereby creating a precedent quite harmful for world culture. We appealed the decision and in cooperation with Russia’s Foreign Ministry and Culture Ministry we keep pressing for the return of seized exhibits to Crimea. Kiev has nothing to do with them.

- How has your dialog with the Crimean Tatars been going on?

- We coexist peacefully and in a neighborly way. Here’s the latest opinion poll that has been held in February every year. Asked about relations among people of different creeds more than 80% of the polled invariably called them friendly and conflictless, while the share of those who think the relations are strained has been down from 11% in 2015 to 5.5% in 2017. This says it all. Crimea’s inter-religious council called Peace is a Divine Gift incorporating representatives of different religions and communities has worked extremely well. We enjoyed great support from the leaders of Russian regions, including Chechnya’s head Ramzan Kadyrov and Tatarstan’s President Rustam Minnikhanov.

I believe the nationalities affairs are in order.

- Since 2008 you’ve led Crimea’s Greco-Roman Wrestling Federation. What degree or title do you have?

- I’ve never done wrestling professionally, but I can defend myself. On the wrestling mats and elsewhere.

- You’ve handed your powers of a State Duma member over to Crimea’s former prosecutor, Natalia Poklonskaya. Aren’t you a little bit confused about her activity in the public space? One day she may tell a story about Emperor Nicholas II’s statue shedding tears, and then declare war on Aleksey Uchitel’s film about Nicholas II, although she has not seen it yet…

- Poklonskaya owes her parliamentary seat to her public activity and the credibility she enjoys with Crimea’s people. She is honest, sincere and bold. As for her statements her opponents have been trying to use to start a scandal, I believe that Natalya, just like any other person has the right to speak her mind and defend her opinion and convictions. Of course, a public politician is obliged to choose very carefully every word that is about to be uttered. That’s a matter of experience. I believe that Natalya’s sincerity is one of her strengths.

- How do you feel about the affair of Oleg Sentsov? A twenty-year prison term for an intention – isn’t it too much?

- Imagine the terrorist attack did take place in the end: would it be enough then? Do you believe it was worth waiting for a bomb to go off near the Eternal Flame memorial in Simferopol on May 9 and, God forbid, and kill people before putting the plotter under arrest? That man had been hatching a cruel act. I believe that such thoughts must be nipped in the bud. Only an enemy of Crimea and Russia can plan such things.

Whatever the case, the court pronounced its verdict and I will not make any comments on it. Only the president has the right to pardon.

- How is life treating you under sanctions?

- Well enough. I seldom traveled abroad in the past. I recall, my last foreign trip was to Israel in 2010. On business. I had virtually no business to do outside the peninsula in those days and I have none today. I barely noticed the sanctions.

To cut a long story short: over the past three years I took a swim in the sea just once. Oleg Belaventsev and I made a boat trip about the Sevastopol Harbor. Over just several hours I got sunburnt. Taking a seat or lying down was a great problem for me for a couple of days. This is not exactly what one calls vacation.

- Were you acquainted with your namesake Vasily Aksyonov, the author of The Island of Crimea?

- No, we never chanced to meet. Although some keep drawing latent parallels,  derived from the identical family names. One authored The Island of Crimea and the other played a role in taking it to Russia’s fold again. Don’t you know, Ukrainian nationalists had a plan for digging away the narrow neck connecting Crimea with the mainland. Some of them looked ready to go that far…

Whatever the case, I believe that the current authorities in Kiev will hold on for just another several months, a year at the most. The Ukrainians are patient people but they can deal with an issue over a couple of days when it begins to really bother them. It is pretty clear that this is the last time Poroshenko and his team are in politics. I have no doubts that Ukraine will become Russia’s brotherly neighbor, which it has always been. Not under the current authorities in Kiev, of course. Half a million Ukrainians still go to Crimea for vacation every year. It was so in 2015 and in 2016.

People are wiser than politicians.

- Do you think you will have a chance of going to Kiev some day? Of your own accord, without the risk of being handcuffed?

- I have no such purpose. I haven’t been to the Ukrainian capital since August 2013, if I’m not mistaken. I neither feel sorry about that. Nor am I eager to go there again. I’m focused on everyday life and I deal with the current issues on the agenda. The job of a republic’s leader is a far harder test for me than the Crimean Spring. I’m saying this quite honestly…

The wave that brought me to power was a wave of fairness and justice. I do know that neither the president nor the people will ever feel ashamed of me. A good name is more desirable than great riches. I wish to be certain that when I leave the civil service, I will be able to walk the city streets and go fishing with clear conscience, without covering my eyes in shame.

- Are you a fisherman?

In theory. In my past, to be more precise. I go fishing far more rarely than I take a swim in the sea. Last time it was eight years ago.

- Have you ever caught a golden fish?

- Never. I get crucians and pikeperches most of the time. You know, fishing as a process is more important than its result. It’s a great chance to idle away outdoors in the company of good old friends on the seashore, make a camp fire and shoot the breeze.

- You are a man of means. Who keeps an eye on the business now?

- Mostly, my wife. I stay away from it to ensure there be no hints at a conflict of interest. Our family has commercial real estate in the center of Simferopol, for instance the Okean (Ocean) shopping center. My wife Yelena is the founder. Also, she is involved in public activities. She is really fond of what she does in that respect. Just recently Yelena supervised a project for erecting a monument to Empress Catherine II. It was put up with sponsors’ money. Not a dime was spent from the treasury. Now she is holding a contest in Crimea’s schools called We are the Heirs of Victory.

- It looks like you father, Valery, is now a public person, too? Was it you who drew him in?

- My dad has always held a proactive attitude to life. In the north of Moldova, where he lived once, he led a Russian community. It was he who prompted me to joined a public movement, who introduced me to Sergey Tsekov, the leader of Crimea’s Russian community. Now Tsekov is in the Federation Council. In Moldova my father had been chief of a shop at an arms manufacturing plant. Now he is deputy chairman of the housing and utilities committee in Crimea’s State Council.

Incidentally, starting from 2008 my relatives and friends regularly accompanied me at protest demonstrations. They carried posters, Russian flags and the red Victory Banner… When we, members of Russian Unity were campaigning for the rights of the Russian language and culture, when we were strongly opposed to the authorities in Kiev, nobody ever asked me questions about my relatives. Nor were there any such questions put to me during the Crimean Spring, in which my relatives took an active part, too. At that moment nobody wondered who these people were and where they came from.

I would like my relatives holding posts in the official bodies of power to be rated by their deeds, just as all other officials.

- What is your son doing now?

- He is in the army, the Aerospace Force.

- And what about his university studies?

- Oleg remains a student of the Crimean Federal University. After two years he was drafted into the army. That was on December 12, 2016. He passed the winter examination session as a distance learner. I believe that every man is obliged to serve his military duty. It’s a mandatory duty to the nation. And it is better to do so when you are 18, and not after the university.

- Have you been to the military unit where your boy serves to see how he is doing?

- I was there on the day he took the military oath. That’s enough. I don’t want to cause any confusion among his commanders. He should soldier on the same terms as everybody else.

My daughter, Kristina, was through with her studies last year. She is about to get married. The wedding day has now been set, but my schedule had been drawn up long ago. It is very tight. Not a minute to spare. I’m obliged to be present at certain events that cannot be postponed or canceled. I’m really puzzled how to go about this business.

- But you are a polite man, aren’t you? Surely you won’t let your only daughter feel neglected.

- A promise made is a debt unpaid. I vowed to be there, so I’ll have to figure out a way how to be everywhere.