A well-known Russian writer Roman Senchin in Helsinki: ”The crisis between Ukraine and Russia is a deep wound which won’t heal in the next tens or even hundreds of years…”

Roman Senchin, born 1971, Russian writer, author of many books which gained him high recognition in Russia. His novel ”Eltyshevs” was short-listed to Big Book, Russian Booker, Yasnaya Polyana and National Bestseller. In 2015 Senchin was placed in Big Book award for The Flood Zone novel. Senchin’s books have been translated into German, French and Finnish.
Roman Senchin was born in the capital of Tuva Republic, Kyzyl, at the border with Mongolia. He graduated from the Gorky Literary Institute. Roman Senchin is also a punk rock musician.

Roman Senchin came in Helsinki to represent the Finnish edition of his book, and  also commented on the complicated relations between Ukraine and Russia. He regards them as a drastic tragedy.

• This is a deep wound that won’t heal in the next tens or even hundreds of years… When Yanukovich was the President, Russian media outlets presented him as a clown on a daily basis. When Yanukovich was toppled, they started to talk about him as a legitimate president while representing Maidan as a mob of banderovtsy. Maidan in reality was quite a motley crew. If socialist elements within Maidan had not been labelled as banderovtsy, they would have had a chance to win over more people.
• Therefore, opponents of Yanukovich got united against a new foe, which was informational at that time – Russia.
• Then came the turn to the usual tricky issue, which is language. Where is Tyahnibok with all his slogans and agenda now?
• But it is they who in many ways provoked unrest in spring 2014 in many regions of Ukraine and in the Crimea….
• Like Russia, Ukraine is a multiethnic state. Unlike Russia, it has not incorporated federal principles for dividing powers. This is another core feature of the current problems.
• Now the situation is at a stalemate: Russia is intensely, economically, politically, and ethnically, incorporating Crimea into its body. Those parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions where self-proclaimed people’s republics emerged cannot be just returned to Ukraine, since all the people living there are actually considered in Ukraine if not terrorists, but their accomplices.
• There would likely emerge something like Transnistria, which seemingly exists by itself but has a common excise tax with Moldova. And the head of Transnistria goes on his state visits from the airport in Chisinau. They even have a joint football championship…
• It goes without saying that some people would think it is absurd to speak about life. But somehow it is necessary to get life back in order. I have to repeat that multinational states are very complex organisms. One spark is enough for a fire to happen. It hurts that there are people who strike such fires in the 21st century.