“Syndrome of fear”

On January 30, when Ukraine marked mournfully two months since the bloody dispersal of peaceful protesters by riot police (called Berkut in Ukraine), members of Kharkiv Regional Council, headed by Mykhailo Dobkin, defiantly came to the session wearing T-shirts inscribed with the word “Berkut.”

 “I am short of words to react to this absurdity,” famous Kharkiv photographer Volodymyr Ohloblin said. “This mocking action by officials is, in my opinion, an indicator of paranoia. It seems that they have lost their bearings in space and time. I perceive it as a manifestation of some disease, as a syndrome of fear. It is unclear who was the intended consumer of it. Obviously, they are trying to please the president who needs to keep a semblance of decency before the international community, but his regional allies can act as they please and at the same time suck up to the boss. It so happened that Kharkiv has the nation’s highest share of criminals in its population. Kharkiv authorities are trying to separate by force eastern part of Ukraine from the rest of the country. As to whether it is possible to negotiate peace with these people – I think it is not.”