April 8, 2014 

Kharkiv railway station greets me with empty platforms. Perhaps it was a mistake to have first taken my luggage to the hotel near Freedom Square. As I approach the Oblast State Administration building, I realize I am late. Just half an hour earlier, everything here had already ended. The square is patrolled by police, and near the building stand men in masks and black uniforms. Machine guns, assault rifles, stern, heavy looks. 

Later I learn that it was the “Jaguar” special unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs from Vinnytsia that retook the building without a single shot. All the attackers have already been arrested and are being held in the inner courtyard. I only manage to notice a frail, frightened, very young man in camouflage pants, whom the police lead into the administration building. 

Piles of trash, tires, and broken furniture in front of the entrance are already being cleared by communal workers. A few passersby, hurrying about their business, glance with surprise at the special forces. Near the police cordon, people with St. George ribbons* begin to gather. Without much enthusiasm, they provoke the officers, who do not react. 

Surprisingly, I pass through the cordon without any obstacles. In the soot-covered lobby, I am greeted by a bust of Taras Shevchenko. What catches the eye is a sheet of foam board with the word “Russia” written in large black letters, hidden behind it. I go up to the second floor. Fire hoses are still lying around, bottles with dark liquid stand in the corners, and staff are sluggishly clearing the disorder left after the seizure. In the open assembly hall, tables are piled with loaves of bread, cookies, cheap instant noodles, and tea. Everywhere — large bottles of water. Those who seized the administration were clearly preparing to stay here for a long time. 

Спокій порушує гамір з вулиці. З вікна добре видно площу Свободи — найбільшу в Європі. На її початку височить пам’ятник Леніну. Кілька офіцерів мовчки спостерігають, як організатори намагаються «завести» малолюдний натовп, що стримується кордоном міліції. Серед людей з георгіївськими стрічками та російськими прапорами утворюються невеликі активні групи, вони кидаються на міліцію, але бракує напруги та сили. Дехто, помітивши мене з камерою у вікні, кривляється й показує «факи». 

In one place, the crowd attempts to break through, but after encountering batons, it retreats. Women’s cries and curses can be heard. The most active participants are pulled out of the crowd by police and taken aside. Meanwhile, behind them, right in the middle of the square, a pro-Ukrainian rally begins to form — the police set up another cordon. 

Closer to noon, a group led by young men carrying a red banner with a star and the words “No elections without a referendum!” approaches the square. The name of the political force holding its “peaceful” rally leaves no doubt. Activists of the left-wing group “Borotba” had already been seen at anti-Maidan actions in various Ukrainian cities. The group disappeared as unexpectedly as it had appeared on the country’s political map, shortly after the presidential elections at the end of May 2014. 

Наразі ж молодики намагаються розпалити нечисленну купку людей з георгіївськими стрічками, що залишалися перед будівлею ОДА, і за деякий час нестрункий натовп посунув до бокового в’їзду у двір адміністрації. Після недовгого спілкування з міліцією через зачинені ворота лунають заклики прямувати до суду, де обирають запобіжні заходи учасникам штурму адміністрації, — і натовп рідіє. 

By evening, tensions gradually subside. Kharkiv returns to its everyday life. Only within the walls of the administration building does work continue at full pace: employees and communal workers carefully wash soot from the floors and walls. *The St. George’s ribbon, a black-and-orange striped symbol widely used in Russian military propaganda and adopted by pro-Russian forces during the conflict in eastern Ukraine, after which it came to be derisively referred to as the “Colorado” ribbon, after the Colorado potato beetle.