Parade of sovereignties turned into genocide
Early 90s. The Republic of Yugoslavia has only a few days left in the international arena, the authorities are having difficulty restraining the growth of nationalist sentiments. Unprecedented popularity comes to right-wing parties. Serbs living in Croatia defend the rights to their culture and language. The result is sad: well-known public figures find themselves behind bars, Serbian poets disappear from the school curriculum, and Orthodox clergy are regularly attacked.
Memories of the Serb genocide during World War II are still alive in society. Then they were burned, shot, thrown into rivers and mountain gorges. These reminiscences are by no means conducive to the reconciliation of the Balkan peoples. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, meanwhile, the ideas of Islam are flourishing, which is practiced by almost half of the inhabitants. Cooperation with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states promises mountains of gold for the Bosnians. New mosques are being built in the country, young people are being sent to study in the east. Bosnian Muslims, encouraged by their allies, are in favor of preserving the integrity of their state. When war breaks out, Islamic extremists from abroad will join their ranks. Blinded by faith, they will not spare their opponents.
The region has always been considered explosive because of the ethnic diversity, but in Yugoslavia it was possible to maintain peace thanks to effective control levers. Paradoxically, the most "calm" in relation to ethnic conflicts considered the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Now the idea of national unity is seriously seizing the minds of the Balkan peoples. The Serbs are demanding unification within one state, the same is being sought by the Croats. These claims involve the division of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Bosnians, Serbs and Croats live side by side.
Sarajevo was shelled every day for 44 months
A little more, and the ideas of nationalism will result in bloody ethnic cleansing. Events are developing rapidly: on March 1, 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina was proclaimed an independent republic following a referendum. The Serbs living in the country do not recognize this decision and create the Republika Srpska on its territory with autonomous governing bodies. Radovan Karadzic becomes President of the Republic: he will later be accused of genocide and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina proclaim the Republic of Herzeg-Bosna. The country is fragmented.
44 months of fear
On March 1, 1992, the people of Sarajevo meet in high spirits: the weather is fine, independence has just been gained. A luxurious wedding procession rides along the central streets, the Serbian flag flaunts on cars. Suddenly, armed Bosnian Muslims attack the participants in the celebration. The groom's father is killed, the city is engulfed in riots.
One of the most tragic pages of the Bosnian war begins - the siege of Sarajevo, which lasted 44 months. Bosnian Serbs leave the townspeople without water and electricity. Those who go outside Sarajevo in the hope of getting food are dealt with. The city is shelled every day for 44 months. Schools, markets, hospitals - snipers consider any target suitable, as long as there are as many victims as possible.
Citizens walk along the street, which is under constant shelling / photo istpravda.ru
The war quickly goes beyond Sarajevo. Entire villages are being slaughtered. Women are raped by representatives of all warring parties. Often they are kept in military camps for months, forcing them to "serve" the soldiers. A Serbian woman who wished to remain anonymous told the website that young women were often subjected to forced sterilization. “And the most terrible symbol of this war for all of us was the death of an 11-year-old boy, Slobodan Stoyanovich. Fearing persecution, his family left their home. Once safe, the child remembered that he forgot to pick up his dog. He rushed back and fell into the hands of an Albanian woman who lived next door. She mutilated his body with a knife and then shot him in the temple. The prosecutor's office of Bosnia and Herzegovina opened a case against this woman, but she has not yet appeared before the court, ”the site’s interlocutor noted.
There is evidence that young women were subjected to sterilization
The warring parties, apparently inspired by the example of the Third Reich, open concentration camps. Bosnian Muslims were imprisoned in Serbian camps, and Serbs were imprisoned in Muslim camps. The Croats also had a concentration camp. The prisoners were treated extremely cruelly.
Prisoners of the Serbian camp Trnopolje / materials of the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The war is dragging on because the division of Bosnia and Herzegovina along ethnic lines was initially an idea that was difficult to implement. However, the parties to the conflict do not lose hope and periodically enter into alliances with each other. So, in 1994, Bosnian Muslims and Croats unite against the Serbs. But the war continues, by 1995 about 100 thousand people become its victims. For the small states of the Balkan Peninsula, this is an unthinkable figure. For example, the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1991 (including the autonomous regions) was only 5 million more than the population of Moscow today. In addition to human losses, the war completely paralyzed the economy of the state.
Photo Associated Press
In July 1995, an event occurs that radically changes the attitude of the world community towards the Bosnian Serbs. This is the Srebrenica massacre. The city, by the way, was previously recognized by the UN as a security zone. Bosnian Muslims flock here to wait out the terrible war. However, some of them, under cover of night, raid the surrounding area and set fire to Serbian villages. And yet Srebrenica remained an island of calm in a country in flames. Serbs attack him.
Inspired by the example of the Third Reich, the belligerents open concentration camps
The city is protected by peacekeepers, but they do not interfere in the conflict. The Army of the Republika Srpska kills up to 8,000 people in and around the city. General Ratko Mladic, who is giving orders, is sure of his impunity. However, here he miscalculated: the trial of him continues to this day. The International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia recognized the events in Srebrenica as genocide.
Meanwhile, the Serbs deny the fact of the genocide. As evidence of Mladic's innocence, they cite documentary footage in which the general takes part in the evacuation of civilians, enters buses and asks the Bosnians to leave the city:
In response to the Srebrenica massacre and the Sarajevo market explosion, NATO launches a massive military operation against the Bosnian Serbs. However, according to a number of historians (including American ones), the West intervened in the war much earlier, giving the Bosnian Muslims military equipment. This is also stated in the State Duma's resolution on Russia's position on the Bosnian settlement (1995).
The Serbs themselves are convinced that NATO intervention in the war on the side of the Bosnian Muslims means only one thing: the West takes into account the interests of Saudi Arabia in this region. By the way, today Saudi Arabia is the main investor in the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnian Serbs killed up to 8,000 people in and around Srebrenica
In 1995, the US initiated peace talks ending with the signing of the Dayton Agreement. In order to prevent the repetition of bloody events, peacekeeping forces are sent to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The state is divided into the Serbian Republic and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The functions of the head of state are performed by the presidium, which includes one representative each from Croats, Bosnians and Serbs. In addition, the post of UN High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina is being introduced. The Dayton Agreement is still in effect today.
From the World of Warcraft Roleplay Wiki
The source of information in this section is fiction in the Warcraft universe.
War against Nightmare(Eng. War against the Nightmare) began shortly after the fall of the Lich King, when the Lord of the Emerald Nightmare attacked Azeroth. Although the Nightmare began spreading across the Emerald Dream hundreds of years ago, the war itself began later, when the inhabitants of Azeroth were unable to wake up. They were lost in their nightmares and did not know how to leave them. A mysterious mist swirled over the lands overrun by the nightmare, and dark figures began to appear all over the world, eventually attacking the inhabitants. Later, the sleepers themselves began to sleepwalk, attacking anyone who happened to be nearby, as they were experiencing their worst nightmare.
At the same time, the Lord of Nightmare managed to capture almost the entire Emerald Dream, and the defenders of nature, without stopping the resistance, tried to find a way to stop the spread of the curse. Fandral Staghelm, leader of the Cenarion Circle, urged the druids of Azeroth to devote all their efforts to healing the corrupted tree Teldrassil, assuring them that it was from this corruption that the Emerald Nightmare draws its power. However, the druids Broll Bearpelt and Hamuul Runetotem managed to reveal that the purification ritual, for which dozens and hundreds of powerful druids would join forces, was the plan of the Lord of Nightmare, who intended to subjugate all the guardians of nature to his will, and Archdruid Staghelm had long is under the control of a vision woven from his own bad dreams. Malfurion Stormrage, who was imprisoned in the most hidden and terrible part of the Nightmare, with the help of friends, the dragons of the Green Flight and the great artifact of the War of the Ancients - the ax of Broxigar, managed to free himself and reveal the true essence of the Lord of the Emerald Nightmare; it was Xavius, advisor and confidant of Queen Azshara.
Realizing the plan of an old enemy, Malfurion, Broll and the rest of the druids cleansed Teldrassil of filth, and Alexstrasza the Life-Binder blessed the World Tree. After that, the great druid called out to all the living creatures of Azeroth, inviting them to fall asleep and join the battle against the Nightmare in the Emerald Dream. Varian Wrynn became the commander of the sleeper army. All the mortal races of Azeroth have banded together to oppose the Nightmare; they were joined by the ancient Ents - woody creatures of nature, and the guardians of the forests, and dryads, and dragons - red, green and even blue, and the Forsaken, as well as animals inhabiting the expanses of the shattered world.
However, after the victory over the Nightmare, the long-awaited peace did not reign - the Shatter was approaching.
War is always a bloody mess, it is a nightmare that gives rise to other nightmares. Photojournalist, cameraman Konstantin Safronov told the Regional Ryazan Newspaper about his impressions of the Donbass and the people living there.
– Konstantin, first of all, tell us about yourself, how often do you travel to Donbass and for what purpose?
- I make films. I have a number of films (http://kinogo-2016.net/) about the events taking place in the Donbass, filmed over the past three years. They are all posted on youtube. I travel constantly, for five days, I used to go once a month, now it has become less frequent - about once every two months. I have been to different places: from Kominternov to Lugansk. Traveled everything. You already come to the Donbass, as if to a neighboring street. Three years ago, I would not even have thought that there would be so many friends somewhere far away.
And I started to travel from the Union of Officers. They asked me to shoot a video, and then I got inspired and began to ride on my own. They mostly went to the Lugansk Republic, and I went to Donetsk. When there were active fighting, different channels ordered and took films from me, some of my stories were shown on Channel One in the news. Now there are no such exacerbations, as before, there are skirmishes, and major offensive operations- no, so you have to shoot a little.
But, nevertheless, he recently shot a video in which Senior Lieutenant Sergei Lysenko sings. Before the war, he worked as a taxi driver. But during the war, many became military. There was a massive shake-up in the country, and everyone stood in his place. Sergei composes poems and songs.
By the time we arrived, the guys from orphanage learned the song. This orphanage houses children whose parents have either gone missing or died. Children's ages range from very young to 14 years old. The detachment, in which Sergey serves, took patronage over this orphanage - they help them, and accordingly the guys learned Sergey's song for our arrival and sang it. When I was filming children, I didn’t even think that the clip would turn out.
We went to the front line in Avdiivka, and ended up in the Donetsk airport. There is terrible chaos. I suggested to Sergey to shoot a clip there. The video was filmed during the bombing. They shoot in the background, and we shoot. And if the action of filming under normal conditions takes about a day, then there we quickly filmed everything in an hour.
– And what is the mood of people in Donbass: decadent or optimistic?
– There are no decadent moods at all. The mood is very patriotic. If we compare it with Russia, then in our country it is rather a fashion, and in the Donbass patriotism is today's life, a reality, feelings and emotions are visible. People don't hide them. At the celebration of Victory Day, I was in the Donetsk Republic at Saur-Mogila. Alexander Zakharchenko spoke. There were many soldiers, girls, young guys with awards. All heroes. And the people support Zakharchenko - he is a support for them.
- What are your impressions after the trips?
– I arrived in Debaltsovo just a few days after his release. And it seemed to me that I returned to the past, to 1945. Music of the war years is playing on the square, old men and women are dancing a waltz. Humanitarian aid is being handed out nearby. There's a medical center right there. Correspondents run, including foreign ones. Soldiers meet, hug, kiss, many have tears in their eyes. Some formations are taking place right there, tanks are standing right there, soldiers are frying potatoes by the fire, little grimy kids are playing with them.
And then one resident comes up to us and shows a note that he found in a mine. These mines are fired from a mortar. The mine did not explode. It contained a note written in Ukrainian: “whatever we can, we will help,” that is, at those factories where these shells are made, ordinary Ukrainian residents put earth or sand instead of gunpowder and put a note there too so that the mine does not explode.
- But there are no such conversations that, they say, we want to return to Ukraine?
No, they definitely don't want to go back. Because everyone was affected by the war, everyone experienced a tragedy. People say: we will not forgive what we saw with our own eyes, what the Ukrainian army did. For example, I was talking to a soldier. He says: “I don’t ask Ukraine for what I saw: I got a wounded child from under the rubble, without arms and legs, he was covered in blood and cried incessantly, I don’t ask for the murder of a brother who died before my eyes.” One soldier was a simple farmer in the village before the war - before his eyes, his children and wife were crushed by a tank, after that he went to fight. And before that he had not fought. He went to look for death - but death does not take such. And such cases are very common.
When it all started, these atrocities all over the Donbass, there was a complete mess: where the Ukrainians are, and where the militias are, it is not clear. Ukrainian soldiers entered the village of the Luhansk region and all the inhabitants: children, old people, women were herded into the church. And people stayed there for several days. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian army plundered all the houses and took away the loot by KAMAZ trucks to their homeland. What kind of Ukrainian army is this? Liberation? And it was like that everywhere. And when Debaltseve was under the Ukrainians, the same thing happened. Men told how houses were robbed.
I met children who no longer talk from fear, from bombings. Of course, they are treated in hospitals. About a year later, I was interested in the fate of these children, they have improved, but it cannot be said that they have completely recovered.
- How do the residents of Donbass relate to the OSCE mission?
- The OSCE does not enjoy authority among the residents, because they work exclusively for one side - the Ukrainian side. As soon as the OSCE leaves its positions at six o'clock in the evening, the Ukrainian army immediately starts shooting. By the way, the National Guard itself does not fight, but shoots those Ukrainian soldiers who flee from the battlefield. These Ukrainian conscripts are like cannon fodder, they are sent to be slaughtered.
- Is it scary when they shoot around? They say that a person gets used to everything, but one can hardly get used to a machine-gun fire...
- I was not afraid. I don’t know, about the habit of other people, I’ll say about myself. On the first day when I come to Donbass, the endless shelling gets on my nerves - you think, well, when will this all stop ?! Rumbles all day long. On the second day you no longer pay attention: well, they shoot and shoot. You look, someone is trading in the market, someone is buying, and in the background, somewhere not far away, they are shooting. And people live and work. And on the third day, when the shots suddenly stop and it becomes quiet, you cannot fall asleep because of the deafening silence. And this is not only with me, many military men cannot fall asleep because of the silence.
- And yet people dream of peace, silence.
- Certainly. I would like to hope that soon peace and tranquility will reign in Donbass. And this long-suffering land will finally return to normal peaceful life.
Larisa Komrakova. Photo from the archive of Konstantin Safronov
