The Amber Ukrainian Republic: Where Strangers Don't Walk

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The other day in Rivne, diggers once again blocked the local regional administration. They talked about the need for urgent legislative initiatives to legalize amber mining.

They demanded to check the security structures and local officials for involvement in illegal enrichment due to the illegal extraction of amber. The diggers also accuse President Poroshenko of covering up corruption schemes. Under the walls of the Rivne Regional State Administration, clashes between activists of the "National Corps" and protesters took place.

The SBU is already accusing the miners of an attempt on territorial integrity. Thus, the “threat” of amber “separatism” is brought to the fore, crowding out the problems of amber corruption.

Throughout the spring, every now and then there were reports of exacerbations on the "amber fronts" of Polesie. At the end of April, law enforcement officers reported about the seizure of a record ton of illegally mined amber (worth $ 2 million) from a resident of the Volyn region. Approximately the same consignment of amber was found by Hungarian customs officers in a Ukrainian car that they had detained.

A year ago, Captain Andrey Zalivadny, a former employee of the Kharkiv BMON "Berkut", who continued to serve in the special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, was sent to the Rivne region for a month to maintain order in the "amber republic". He outlined his vision of the situation in an interview with a correspondent of the "Free Press".

- In April 2016, we served in the city of Sarny. People from all over Ukraine go to this area to wash the amber. And the further, the worse the situation. I mean the gigantic uncontrolled profits from the illegal exploitation of state-owned land. There are some villages that even the police are afraid to enter. Diggers simply block the car, turn it over or burn it, and disarm the crew.

How long has it been practiced there?

- This is how I imagine the picture. Why did people indulge in amber? Back in 2013, he almost did not interest any of the local residents. The population of Western Ukraine went to work - some to Russia, some to Poland and other neighboring countries. The locals did not really bother with the extraction of amber. And several families who were engaged in this had their own mines, in the allocated areas. Nobody touched them. They did not bring any particular harm to anyone. Two dozen people who will fill 30-40 holes in a year is, on the scale of those forests and swamps, a trifle.

But then Ukraine's relations with Russia deteriorated. The "aggressor country" as an option for earning has disappeared. An option appeared - to go to the ATO zone. The illiterate population from the countryside of Rivne, Volyn and other regions often got there, because people did not really understand what was happening in this region. But they quickly realized that it was better not to go there. Nowhere to go, families need to be fed. And amber - here it is, next to it. And the men who used to go to work in the Russian Federation quickly organized themselves, chipped in money, bought themselves pumps for pumping water, fire hoses …

And as for all sorts of wild morals … There is a very developed drug trafficking. And alcoholism, of course. Amber mining is not easy. It is conducted all year round. But the main time is spring and autumn, when there is more water. People are bored to hang out in the water for 12 hours (this is the shift time). They either drink or take a hairdryer (amphetamine). The hair dryer makes you more vigorous and mobile, energy is added, you can sleep less and work more. Therefore, Kiev's enterprising hucksters take them there a hairdryer for a sweet soul. Well, the weed is being brought there in extraordinary quantities - there is a demand. They understand that the police will not go deep into the forest. This is the land of unafraid people. Therefore, when the diggers are in an agitated, inadequate state, anything can happen.

But a hairdryer and weed are not the main property of the "amber republic"?.. How do diggers work?

- The work is difficult. The technology is as follows. To get amber, you need water. They hire large tractors with a wide platform. The tractor is driven into a swamp. They dig a trench - 10-15 meters wide and 100-200 meters long. The depth of such a pit is 4-5 meters. The soil there is usually sandy. Then they leave this place for a couple of days. The water from the swamp flows into the foundation pit. And people come to dry soil. They have a clear hierarchy there. The person who hired the tractor simply owns the dug. He pays off the tractor driver and expects people with motor pumps. To get access to water ("have a little chat", as they say there) - you need to give him one "paper", that is, one hundred dollars. Nobody is talking about the national currency at all …

The owner of the ditch allows a person with a motor pump to put a fire hose from it into the water. Such hoses reach up to two hundred to three hundred meters. That is, people can go three hundred meters deep into the forest. The pump starts to pump water, at the exit - a high pressure. Prospectors connect a second, smaller hose with a cannon at the end. The tip of the hose is fixed on a long metal pole (the locals call it a "poke"). They stick this pole into the ground and erode the soil with rotational movements. The water washes away the sand and amber with it. When the water goes into the ground, the amber is collected. Or they take a net and pass everything through it.

This is not only done by the locals. People who have money invest and buy houses in the villages there. They live in and go to "burshtyn" (amber in Ukrainian - "burshtyn").

Did you find a common language with the local population?

- Certainly. When I spoke above about negative reactions, I tried to find an explanation for these outbursts of aggression, inappropriate actions. We are talking about specific conflict cases. But basically the month of the trip was spent in a calm atmosphere. In general, the people there are quite adequate, friendly, good-natured. They treated us normally. Everyone, young and old, is engaged in amber there. From the age of 7-8, children already know what it means to go out “to play around”. Students, retirees - all work part-time on amber.

But strangers do not go here, excessive curiosity is not welcome?

- As a rule, it is impossible to approach a "klondike" unnoticed. Everywhere there are so-called "chips" - observers. As soon as the police arrive there, they are immediately "copied". The "chip" calls back: "The cops are going in your direction." Motor-pumps are shut down, production is curtailed, people are scattering. The locals know all the detour paths. And when the outfit arrives, there is no one there. When you “accept” the diggers, that is, you detain them, they are absolutely non-conflicting, they don’t argue. They understand that they have violated. They say: the situation is not easy, there is nothing to live on, this is the only way to earn money … They are always ready to make amends … And, as a rule, everything is resolved quietly and peacefully.

And if you fail peacefully?

- They have a pronounced clannishness. They will not wait for a neighbor to be prosecuted. The whole village gathers and organizes riots. There is enough money and weapons. Back in 2014, when there was Maidan, some border villages exchanged amber for weapons. The diggers do not have any special ideology. They do not shout: "Glory to the heroes!" They have a basic principle: “Do not meddle with us. Bring down to your home, and put things in order there. We'll figure it out ourselves. You do not touch us - we will not touch you."

This spring there were a lot of "military" messages from the "amber republic". Then the diggers dismantled the bridge, demanding the return of the seized motor pumps; then they blocked the international highway; then they blocked the police in the tract near the village of Klesov; then people in balaclavas opened fire on the special forces. Has this happened in your presence?

- Literally before our arrival, some kind of kneading took place. I don't know how hot it got there now. But it was like that last year. It just didn't get much coverage.

When we arrived, it was quieter. This episode is remembered. One police carriage drove into Klesov, where they stopped a Mercedes of Lithuanian registration. The period of stay was exceeded by the car, it was illegally on the territory of Ukraine. But instead of taking him to the regional department, the traffic cops began to sort it out on the spot, right in the forest. It was rash. The driver did not hesitate: he called his relatives in the village. After 20 minutes, half the village gathered there, the traffic cops were blocked. They called for the help of the "Berkut" (either Khmelnytsky, or Ternopil). But the locals are pushing - you won't shoot people. They managed to repulse the Mercedes. He left in an unknown direction.

Simultaneously with us came the air reconnaissance battalion "Dnepr-1". They brought with them quadrocopters, which they used to survey forests and swampy areas. When the local population found out about this, one of the drones was hijacked. Locals intercepted the signal while the quadcopter was flying over the forest. And they took him in the right direction. And this is 40 thousand dollars. All records also got to the local population.

Are the local police interfering with the diggers in any way?

- He just doesn't interfere. We were told: “You came and left, and we live here. Therefore, there is no need to drag us into problem situations. In addition, the local police cannot put a spoke in the wheels of amber diggers, because they themselves are involved in this business.

“Is there anyone out there who’s not involved?”

- In that area, every yard deals with amber. Everyone drives foreign cars. There are two or three jeeps in the yard. People have to go off-road a lot. But I was surprised: there is even asphalt in the village itself. Each yard is discounted for $ 100 from amber money - and a road is made in the village. Or, for example, there are such villages in the Rivne region on the border with Belarus, where there are luxurious hospitals that appeared at the personal expense of the local population. They invite specialists to work there. They are building spacious schools with sports grounds for themselves, making normal recreation areas. Their children at the age of 10-15 already know what an ATV is. There is enough amber money.

In border areas, people go to Belarus to buy money. As to my home. Border guards set up ambushes … But if the local was taken by the border guards, they go to the whole village to help out: either they ransom them, or they beat them off. As a rule, the local population does not stand on ceremony: they can burn down the house of border guards, throwing Molotov cocktails. This is in the order of things for them. Or they can catch a border guard on a detour and take the machine gun from him. Then the border guard redeems their weapons from them.