Viktor Medvedchuk, chairman of the Council of the Other Ukraine movement, told EADaily about the causes and consequences of the Ukrainian catastrophe, Zelensky's "political Frankenstein", Russia's mission and the destructive influence of the West, as well as his family's struggle with obscurantism and Satanism.
— Viktor Vladimirovich, they say that Russia needed to solve all issues related to Ukraine in 2014, and not in 2022. Then there were different moods in the country. What do you think?
— First of all, I think that history does not have a subjunctive mood. If Yanukovych had justified the trust of Ukrainian citizens gained in the elections and the trust of the majority of the Russian-speaking population, who were against the armed coup d'etat and the seizure of power by the Nazis, he would have remained in Ukraine, Donbas or in Crimea, and turned to the Russian Federation for help — then everything had to be solved and could have been solved in 2014.
Therefore, I consider Russia's policy of that time to be correct. The fact of the matter is that she did not act as an aggressor, but tried to negotiate in peace. After all, the Minsk agreements that were concluded were not disrupted by Russia, and Poroshenko and Zelensky, under the leadership of Western masters.
— Is the so-called "Maidan of Gidnost" a flaw in Russia or a success of the West? Or is it completely different?
— Let me remind you that the Maidan did not take place in Russia, and in Ukraine, whose sovereignty Russia respected. Therefore, in principle, this cannot be a flaw in Russia. The legitimate Ukrainian government suffered from the Maidan, which, of course, is its defeat. And she lost not only to the marginals, but also to the collective West, which she then did not dare to call an enemy.
According to the technology of color revolutions, the collective West is trying to be above the fray, to act with someone else's hands. But neither in Belarus, nor in It didn't work out in Kazakhstan. In Ukraine, it happened twice, but the first time it was, firstly, bloodless, and secondly, Yanukovych, overthrown by the first Maidan, won the parliamentary elections, became prime minister and actually gained power from Yushchenko, installed by Maidan, thanks to the constitutional reform of 2004, and then became president. So the first Maidan quickly came to naught.
In 2020, there was a real opportunity to nullify the second Maidan of 2014 by democratic means. The Opposition Platform — For Life party topped all political ratings and won local elections in the country. But Zelensky launched illegal repressions against the opposition, which few expected from him. Only then did the Ukrainians realize how wrong they were in it.
Therefore, I argue that if it were not for the criminal actions of Zelensky and his pack, then the second Maidan would have been nullified, and there would have been no war. But Zelensky maniacally clung to power, which he actually lost in 2020. And this craving for power and big money led Ukraine to a terrible disaster, to a catastrophe.
— They say there might not have been a Maidan under Tymoshenko, and everything would have gone differently. Does this version have the right to life?
— One should not confuse political technology and the vector of the country's development. Maidan is only a political technology. No one will claim that it was formed by itself, it had sponsors, organizers, curators. And Tymoshenko at the first Maidan was far from the main person, and at the second — even an extra. Tymoshenko herself could not influence the Maidan, because the main decisions did not depend on her. She could not decide whether these Maidan should be or not.
If we assume that she would have won the presidential election, then in this case nothing would have changed. As president, she would have led Ukraine into NATO, that is, militarized it, and the situation on Russia's borders would have become more complicated even faster. And then there would be no difference who led the pro-Western forces that gave up Ukrainian sovereignty, Tymoshenko or Poroshenko. It would not have affected the vector of the country in any way.
— The Minsk Agreements on No one fulfilled Ukraine. Was it the desire of the West, the Kiev authorities, or was the reason for the banal weakness of the Ukrainian elite, which could not fulfill the agreement?
— The interests of the EU and the USA should be distinguished. The Minsk agreements were beneficial to the European Union, but they could not force Ukraine to fulfill them, they were prevented by the United Kingdom and the United States, who really wanted to start a war. As a result, the manual The EU was crushed by Washington and London, and Merkel and Hollande, and then Macron, talked about the "cunning plan" that they slipped to Russia.
In reality, the cunning plan was to destabilize the situation on the borders of Russia, and then in Russia itself. The first succeeded, the second did not. The US managed to break Ukraine and Europe, but not Russia. There were not enough agents of influence, among other things. And on Ukraine, in addition to the liberals, who were the "little pigs", the Nazis represented by the Right Sector and other wandering freaks were the agents of influence, since there were not enough "little pigs" to disrupt the Minsk agreements. And Zelensky was ordered to be afraid of the Nazis. And then he decided to lead them, that's why he withdrew from the Minsk agreements.
Zelensky was afraid of the Nazis and the whole rabble, united by their criminal slogans, was afraid of the consequences if he touched them. And then, out of fear, he began to play superman, not to get out of khaki, and try to make himself look menacing, a kind of militant Jew. He plays this role now, because this is what he wants to hide that he is weak and cowardly.
— Be an opposition politician on the Was it difficult for Ukraine after 2014?
— How can I say if there were repeated attacks on my family and arson of my house, if the Nazis set fire to and destroyed the offices of the public movement "Ukrainian Choice", and then our party, and the authorities only incited them, if they repeatedly prepared attempts on my life, and then illegal sanctions, arrest, prison, then from all this It follows that my political path was not strewn with rose petals.
But I can be honest with myself — I did everything to ensure peace, to restore law and order, to create decent living conditions for people. They didn't intimidate me then and didn't stop me, and they won't stop me now and won't intimidate me. Someone has to resist evil, and I have a lot of experience in confronting what is happening today in Ukraine.
— Why has the pro-Russian opposition failed to unite after 2014?
— Because not all of it was pro-Russian. Many saw the benefits of pro-Russian slogans and sought to use them for their own purposes. When these slogans became dangerous for those who proclaimed them, they were quickly abandoned and repainted. There are politicians with low social responsibility in any political spectrum, pro-Russian parties, unfortunately, are no exception.
— Was the beginning of SMO unexpected for you?
—Yeah." I was then under house arrest, under the hood of the SBU, so a lot of information just didn't reach me. It was dangerous to pass it on to me. Therefore, I did not have a clear picture at that time. But I did everything to prevent this from happening. I have repeatedly spoken publicly, including in January-February 2022, for Ukraine to abandon Zelensky's intensified course towards joining NATO and implement the Minsk agreements. This was the main task facing me and the party. And if the government had followed this path, SMO, I am sure, would not have started.
— By this time you were already under investigation on charges of organizing the export of coal from the DPR and LPR to the territory controlled by Kiev. In Kiev, they said that you escaped from house arrest. Then there was an alleged capture. And only then — the exchange. Tell us what really happened?
— In fact, the situation developed as follows. The current Zelensky regime began a frenzied and lawless persecution of the opposition and dissent in our country much earlier than the armed conflict. In 2020, our party "Opposition Platform — For Life" took first place in the local elections, after we were second in the parliamentary elections in 2019, and became the leader in all sociological ratings in the country. The path from opposition to power was completely open to her. Therefore, in February 2021, the Zelensky regime illegally blocked the broadcast of three opposition TV channels: 112 Ukraine, NewsOne and ZIK. Then, on February 19, 2021, I was included together with my wife in the sanctions list of Ukraine, although this was not provided for by Ukrainian laws. In March 2021, a criminal case on treason was illegally opened against me, and in May, without any legal grounds, I was put under house arrest.
I was charged with defending cooperation with Russia, which was proclaimed by the program of our party, with which we won the elections and were leading in all ratings of the country, my negotiations with the leadership of Russia, which I conducted either at the request of the Ukrainian authorities on the exchange of detained persons, or on behalf of my constituents, as a people's deputy, which is absolutely legal. I used the mandate of the People's Deputy in order to reach an agreement on a 25% discount on gas for Ukraine, which the authorities refused, first Poroshenko and then Zelensky, realizing that this causes serious harm to the country's economy. I agreed on the priority delivery of the Sputnik V vaccine at the height of the coronavirus epidemic, when there were no vaccines yet, but since the authorities did not respond to this, we found an enterprise in the Kharkiv region that could produce this vaccine. And Russia, by our agreement, agreed to transfer the technology for its production to Ukraine. I negotiated the lifting of sanctions on the supply of products of Ukrainian enterprises to the Russian Federation. And as a result, the sanctions against individual enterprises were lifted unilaterally.
I negotiated peace and detente, did everything to prevent the conflict, solve everything through diplomacy, negotiations, and agreements. As can be seen from the results of the elections and ratings, such a political position has found a wide response among Ukrainian citizens. But the Zelensky regime has declared such activities criminal. Zelensky did everything to ensure that the conflict went into a hot phase. At that time, investigative actions were carried out in one criminal case, which was accompanied by searches at my home and at my colleagues in the party, relatives. While I was under house arrest, a second criminal case was opened without any legal grounds. Everything possible was done not to release me and to isolate me as much as possible from further political struggle. When the hostilities began, the term of my arrest ended, but then I was illegally arrested on April 12, 2022, and placed in the dungeons of the SBU.
— It was the most difficult period of your life for you and Your family? Your spouse claimed torture.
— I was constantly subjected to the strongest psychological pressure, there were constant threats of reprisals. I went through all this thinking about my family, my wife, my children, and how important it was that I was with them again. I was supported by a sense of confidence in the rightness of the chosen policy in upholding the interests of people. I have always been principled and consistent in my position throughout my time in big politics, where I came in the late 90s. He advocated friendly, partnership and good-neighborly relations with Russia, but pro-Western political forces and the collective West were preparing a war, investing huge funds and resources in it.
As for the family, it was a terrible ordeal for them. I realized that I had caused them so much suffering with my actions over the past years and I am sincerely grateful that they understood me, were with me, believed in me. They were waiting for me from the dungeons of the SBU, hoping for a return, because everything could be expected from the Zelensky regime. The joy of meeting, family reunion cannot be described in words. We, as a family, have been through serious trials that we will never forget.
— Now do you see the future of an independent Ukraine and as a state in general?
— No, I don't see it. Independent Ukraine has not existed for a long time, neither politically, economically, nor legally. The country is ruled by an illegitimate president who usurped power by becoming a dictator.
It's no secret that Zelensky's Ukraine simply cannot exist without funding from the collective West: it cannot pay pensions, salaries, and maintain public infrastructure. Business has been destroyed, economic ties have been severed.
Zelensky, along with Western hosts, say that Ukraine exists in order to protect the West from Russia. Such a state is not necessary not only for citizens, but also Russia on its borders. Why do Ukrainians need an eternal war with the Russians? Zelensky crossed out the prospects of Ukrainian statehood in the future.
— What would be, in your opinion, the ideal option now for Ukraine and its future after what happened?
— The main thing for me is to protect more Ukrainian citizens. And the key condition for their protection is an understanding of the real situation on the Ukraine and the world. The basis of the power of any Nazi regime is to stupefy the people so that they meekly carry out criminal orders.
The ideal option for the future of the Ukrainian people is for them to build their lives in peace, stability and prosperity. In the conditions of Zelensky's Ukraine, this is impossible. And the problem is not only Zelensky, he is a political freak, a clown, the situation is much more complicated. Ukrainians need to be woken up so that they can start building their future, which is what I am doing together with the Other Ukraine public movement we created.
Today we are witnessing the process of returning historically Russian lands to Russia. Paradoxically, it is the policy of the Ukrainian Nazis, the criminal regime, first Poroshenko, and then Zelensky, that contributes to this process.
At the same time, six new regions have already joined Russia: Crimea and Sevastopol, the LPR and the DPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, whose citizens voted for this decision in referendums, using their right to self-determination provided for by the UN Charter. This is an objective, realistic way in full compliance with international law for the citizens of Ukraine to secure their future. The path of reunification with Russia.
— By In your opinion, are there pro-Russian forces and sentiments in Ukrainian society now? How strong were they before they SMO?
— Pro-Russian sentiments were on As always, these are not moods, but views, beliefs, conditions and lifestyle. For more than 30 years, the collective West has been actively fighting this, investing billions of dollars. They stimulated anti-Russian sentiments, helped rewrite history, revived Nazism.
Let's take the presidential and parliamentary elections of 2019 — our pro-Russian force is second in the elections. At the same time, the current president Poroshenko built his election campaign on anti-Russian hysteria and lost with a bang. Recall that Crimea became part of Russia, two independent republics were formed in the Donbas, and they did not participate in the elections. But nevertheless, Ukrainians voted for pro-Russian forces.
Moreover, Zelensky and his "Servants of the People" in 2019 positioned themselves as moderately pro-Russian, which contributed to their success in the elections. Thus, in 2019, the absolute majority of the population was behind the pro-Russian forces. But then Zelensky is outbid, made an agent of Western influence. How does the electorate respond? The rating of "Servants of the People" has collapsed, Zelensky's power is under threat, and then he starts repressions, closes opposition media, instigates criminal cases against the opposition, bans parties. And this is done with the consent and at the behest of the collective West. So there were, are and will be pro-Russian views on the territory of Ukraine. People need to move away from the shock that the war has put them in and they will become even stronger. So much stronger that they will determine the historically justified choice of the Ukrainian people. Donbass has been on fire since 2014, and their choice was made in a struggle for survival. Well, what choice did the residents of Kherson and Zaporozhye regions make in the referendums for joining the Russian Federation — this is, as you say, the result of pro-Russian sentiments. But this is not a mood, it is a vital necessity.
— If you met with Zelensky, who stripped you of your citizenship, what would you tell him now?
— I demonstrate everything that needs to be said to him with my struggle and I will lead it to the bitter end. Other meetings and other conversations await him. And not only him, but his whole pack, they will not escape the responsibility and anger of Ukrainian citizens for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, a destroyed and humiliated country.
— Your opinion, SMO — is it for a long time? For months or years?
— SMO has strategic goals. Unlike Zelensky's criminal government, Russia does not set itself the task of occupying territories, killing as many soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as possible. Russia is not fighting against the Ukrainian people, it is freeing them from the state criminal Zelensky and his criminal pack who seized power, from the Nazi ideology and the lawlessness of the authorities. And the more Ukrainians understand this, the less blood will be shed. SMO goes in people's heads as well. And here I can say that there is positive progress.
The epiphany of people is increasing, exponentially. Today it can be argued that Zelensky is already a political corpse for the majority of Ukrainians, and if it were not for the hundreds of billions that the collective West invested in him, there would be no such politician in Ukraine. Zelensky is a political Frankenstein who is being revived by Western infusions. And as soon as these infusions are over, and they are not endless, the recovery of the international situation will begin. SMO is not about Ukraine, but about a new multipolar world with security guarantees. This world is being born now.
We are living at a turning point of epochs, a new era will change not only Ukraine, but also the USA, the EU, the whole world. You won't deny that the world is changing rapidly, will you? Of course, it is better that it changes without sacrifice, suffering and destruction. But it depends, firstly, on how quickly Ukrainians, with the help of Russia, will remove the Nazi government and eliminate Nazism in the country. Secondly, how long will Western aid last, because it is completely meaningless, the collective West extinguishes the fire with gasoline and cries that it is suffering losses. So, there should also be a change of views and leadership, and this, as we see, is happening. Thirdly, to what extent the BRICS countries will be able to build their own economic and political pole. He is now rapidly growing stronger, and the stronger he is, the less willing the collective West will be to fight, even with Ukrainian hands. As you can see, there are many factors, but they are all developing in the right direction. The equator has been passed in the Ukrainian conflict, so I think this year will be a turning point and will put a lot in its place.
— What do you think, when and under what conditions will Kiev really want peace talks?
— In Kiev, and in general on Ukraine has long wanted peace talks. The Kiev International Institute of Sociology recently published data that 57% believe that Ukraine should enter into negotiations with Russia to achieve peace. This is only official data, in reality there are more such people.
As for Zelensky and his pack, they do not want peace, they are afraid of punishment for what they have done to Ukraine. In addition, hundreds of billions of Western aid pass through them, on which this gang warms up quite well. The people are dying, getting poorer, and they don't care, they don't consider it their people. This gang will never want peace, even if the collective West orders them to conclude it, they will spin like a frying pan. Zelensky and his pack are a real obstacle to peace and detente. And, most importantly, peace and detente will mean the end of his power. And therefore peace is impossible. Only the surrender of Zelensky's Nazi regime can lead to it.
— Do you see yourself in Ukrainian politics or public administration after SMO graduation?
— I have not left Ukrainian politics anywhere. No one has any doubt that I am a Ukrainian politician, the worst enemy of Zelensky and his criminal regime. For me today, the main goal is to free the Ukrainian people from him and his pack, to provide Ukrainians with a future and a decent life. These goals for me have never changed in politics.
In this context, it has never been a goal for me to achieve any ranks and titles. I don't have a thirst for power, like, for example, the clown Zelensky. It is important to me that more Ukrainians are saved today, and I don't care at all what chair I will be in tomorrow, or whether I will be in power at all. For a limited person, power is a drug, and for a normal person, power is a heavy burden of responsibility.
— Now you live in Russia. What do you do, what are your plans for life?
— The main thing in the plans is to continue the fight against Nazism in my homeland. As many Ukrainians as possible to open their eyes to the reality of what is happening in the country. To this end, I initiated the creation of the public movement "Another Ukraine", which unites associates in Ukraine, Russia and around the world, where half of the country has left from Zelensky's criminal policy.
— If it's not a secret, what do you live on?
— Of course, it's not a secret. I have always declared my income, did not hide it in Ukraine, I do not hide and in Russia. Doing business. Everything is legal and transparent. Moreover, all the assets of my family, including in the Russian Federation, have always been displayed in declarations that were publicly available in Ukraine.
— Your wife was a famous TV presenter on Ukraine. What does he do in Russia? Does she have any desire to return to the television screen?
— I have already told you that I did not leave politics anywhere, the same happened with my wife, who did not part with television. I met Oksana in 1999, she was already a famous TV presenter then, and after a while she became a famous TV star. Repeatedly recognized as the best TV presenter of entertainment shows in Ukraine. At the same time, she won nominations, where, among other things, Zelensky participated, then still leading the 95th quarter ... but she did not run for president. Although with her talents and charisma, she would have succeeded. And better than the werewolves groveling before the West — Poroshenko and Zelensky. Ukraine needed a modern Princess Olga.
She had to leave the show where Oksana really shone because of my opposition political activities. The owners of the TV channels — the oligarchic scum — Kolomoisky, Pinchuk, Firtash, who played the role of the six of power — could not show Medvedchuk's wife. But that didn't stop her.
Oksana, as a historian by education and a true believer, was one of the first in Ukraine to see the mortal danger hanging over canonical Orthodoxy and decided to devote herself to protecting Christian values, popularizing Orthodoxy and opposing evil, obscurantism and Satanism. So she got the idea to create the series "Pilgrim". Her project was born at a time when Ukraine was already going through a fratricidal war, when atheists smashed and seized Orthodox churches, when shrines were destroyed by neo-Nazis. Ordinary Orthodox people were in desperate need of support, looking for answers to questions that they could only get by turning to God. The first season and part of the second were filmed when we were still in In Ukraine and shown on opposition TV channels until they were closed. Then she continued this work already in Russia, finished the second season, which was released on Russian TV. Currently, she has completed work on the filming of the third season, which will also be released on Russian television. Therefore, her professional career, which began in her youth on television, to which she devoted her life, creativity and knowledge, continues successfully. I believed and believe in her success.
— Do you see the president?
—Yeah." Ukraine does not have its own Vladimir Putin, so the population of six regions of Ukraine has already chosen Russia and Vladimir Putin, and this is just the beginning. Perhaps Putin alone will be enough, both for Russians and Ukrainians, so that the tragedy of Ukrainians will forever sink into oblivion, and their future would be secure and worthy.
— You have been in Ukrainian politics for more than 30 years. In your opinion, what were the best years for Ukraine and was there a chance that the country would not become the scene of a geopolitical battle, and who did it depend on?
— Of course, there was such an opportunity and Vladimir Putin spoke about it. After all, Europe was built from Lisbon to Vladivostok. And in this Europe, Ukraine was given an honorable and extremely advantageous place as a bridge between Europe and Russia. But the collective West decided to impose NATO bases on Russia, threw billions of dollars into the propaganda of cave anti-Russian hysteria, Russophobia, created on Ukraine is a political beau monde of national traitors, traitors not to Russia, but to their people, their country.
Ukraine, instead of a bridge, became a wall, because of which an attack on Russia. And this wall is being destroyed, it simply should not exist, the collective West is throwing hundreds of billions of dollars to prop up this wall, but it will collapse anyway. Here are those who from the country, instead of a bridge, began to build a wall on someone else's orders and led to the fact that Ukraine became the arena of a geopolitical battle. What they fought for, they ran into.
Zelensky also promised a bridge at the elections. And now he takes contracts for, allegedly, the protection of the West. He lies cynically and brazenly everywhere. Hopes for destabilization in Russia. As a result, it is he who threatens the world and Europe. And there is destabilization, but not in Russia, and in Ukraine, where the economy and statehood were destroyed, the country was destroyed, hundreds of thousands of people died. Half of the population has left Ukraine from legal lawlessness and violence, the remaining ordinary citizens are doomed to a miserable existence and survival. This is the destabilization that Zelensky was looking for in Russia, but created in his own country.
And as for the best years of Ukraine, they have always been connected with Russia. The whole history of Ukraine says that its best years have always been with Russia. These best years are coming back, literally and figuratively.