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Village sliced by Ukraine-Russia border calls for reunification
Published: 22 May, 2010, 08:43
Edited: 22 May, 2010, 14:42
TAGS: Conflict, Scandal, Russia, Ukraine, Human rights
The community of a village located on the Ukrainian-Russian border has been divided into two parts for almost 20 years. With no gas or water supplies on the Ukrainian side, they are desperately trying to reunify.
When Ukrainian Aleksey Bogdanov opens a door to his backyard, he finds himself in a different country. His house stands on the Russian-Ukrainian border in eastern Ukraine – a fact which Aleksey says causes him a slight headache.
“I buy water on the Russian side. I pay my electricity bills in Russia. I buy groceries in stores on the other side of the border. That’s why for me it would’ve been far more convenient if my village was a part of Russia,” Aleksey says.
The village where Aleksey lives was once a normal residential area. But with the collapse of the USSR, Vyselki was split in two parts by the border of the new sovereign states – Russia and Ukraine.
Most of Vyselki now stands on the Russian side, while only 14 houses are in Ukraine. A few dozen residents living here have to cross the border several times a day.
Anatoly Sergienko, a pensioner living on the Russian side, often does just that to visit his friend, and complains that he has to walk several kilometers to get there.
“When I pass the border on foot there are no problems. I show my passport and pass through. But if I need to get there by car, I have to pay every time. And I can’t afford it. My father is buried on the other side and I can’t visit the cemetery because of that,” Anatoly Sergienko says.
Grocery stores, schools and hospitals all stand in the Russian part of the village. Those few families living on the Ukrainian side feel hard done by.
“The Russian side of the village has recently had gas and water supplies installed. Here we haven’t got that. Its only 14 houses here on the Ukrainian side and no one bothers to do anything for us. We have complained many times, but the situation remains the same,” says village resident Svetlana Sturova.
Desperately trying to resolve the issue, locals wrote an open letter to the governments of both states, asking for parts of their village to be reunified under the Russian flag. They are aware that this would mean re-shaping the border, but local officials say that nothing is impossible.
“It is up to foreign ministries in Moscow and Kiev to resolve it. It is possible to find a compromise which would not violate the constitutions of the two states. It is only a matter of the politicians’ good will,” believes Boris Repukhov, head of the regional council.
The plea made by the residents of the village has caused heated debate in both Kiev and Moscow.
Residents of the Vyselki village have been accused of separatism and betrayal of the state by some in Kiev, but they say their request has no political motivation whatsoever.
And while for some this is a matter of territorial integrity, for the people living there it is a matter of living a comfortable life, politics aside.
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5 comments
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Well this is interesting a village divided into two section with most of this village inside Russian territory and only 14 houses inside Ukraine, now the locals are calling a reunification of these house to come under the Russian Federation Flag and to reshape the Ukraine-Russian border, and according the Ukraine officials this is not impossible so maybe Ukraine is willing to hand over the small tiny enclave of this small village to give to Russia though this might shrink Ukraine ever so slightly but I will solve a border dispute among these two old friends and maybe Russia may come up to give Ukraine something back in return we shall see. I have never heard of Vyselki before I can only offer all the best with this rather tiny problem and hopefully the end result will be peaceful with a great compromise. I've always had a keen interest of Border or territorial Disputes as I have stated in some of my entries here on Russia Today to see the reshaping of the world and new countries being born, recently Russia ceded over some of it's territory back to China during the 2008 Olympics in the north east of China as an act of Good Will toward China and also was a World War II dispute. Also with Abkhazia and South Ossetia gaining their official recognition from Georgia thanks to the Russian Federation President Dimitry Medvedev during the August 2008 War. Finally I do believe both countries Russia and Ukraine will benefit from all of this because then more security will be put in place in the Post-Soviet space and uncertainty will be solved. Good Luck.
It is clear that Ukraine is the poor brother of Russia. However, I think that this is tricky and potentially problematic issue. The best way to solve this issue is for Russia to extend services to the whole village and Ukrainian side to stop charging unnecessary fees to pensioners who cross the border to visit the grave of fathers, friends and comrades. These are the same people; this is very clear but there are enemies of Russia and Ukraine and they will use this case to flame anti-Russian sentiments if the border is redrawn.