This is Odessa. A city in which it became dangerous to talk about corruption of local authorities, to go to the protests or resent creeping separatism. The city, in which four years after the change of power in the country, former comrades-in-arms and sympathizers of Viktor Yanukovich are still operating.

And these are the very activists, journalists and members of public organizations who have to defend their city almost single-handedly..

I think the events in Odessa should push activists and public activists across the country to work out a common system and structure of self-defense for civil society.. Starting from the notification mechanism, legal protection, mobilization groups and ending with a clear algorithm for deploying direct actions, protests and drawing the attention of politicians to high-profile incidents. (For his part, if someone starts building such a system, he is ready to take part in its design and help in communication. ) Everything is not just words to whip up emotions.. Odessa is very slowly turning into one of the most criminogenic cities in the country.. Despite the fact that in the city the opposition to the measure and his team has been ripening for a long time, even the most active and enterprising people hardly believe that they will be able to snatch their city from the hands of criminal elements. The fact that behind the current local authorities are precisely the criminal circles, "who have hands everywhere," they say in open meetings and in personal conversations. The atmosphere in the city became even more alarming after the latest news on the church front - the city was literally occupied by the lobby of the Moscow Patriarchate. Starting from the construction of new temples and ending with the direct support of local authorities by the MOC.

During this trip to Odessa, we did not specifically organize meetings with a wide audience in order to leave more time for those who really need our support.. In the near future I will definitely return to the city and I’m sure we will have the opportunity to meet with everyone. Anyway, thanks for coming..