’There was heroism and cruelty on both sides’: the truth behind one of Ukraine’s deadliest days | World news | The Guardian
▻http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/30/there-was-heroism-and-cruelty-on-both-sides-the-truth-behind-one-of-ukr
In one of the most deadly episodes in Ukraine’s turbulent 2014 power transition, 48 people were killed and hundreds injured on 2 May last year in the Black Sea port of Odessa. Street battles culminated in a fatal fire at Soviet-era building where hundreds of pro-Russia activists were barricaded in.
As the one-year anniversary approaches, multiple investigations have shed little light on events. There is not even an official list of the dead, and none of the pro-Ukraine activists involved have been put on trial. Many allege that investigators are dragging their feet for political reasons, possibly to cover up high-level complicity. At least one participant formally accused of murder and attempted murder remains free while awaiting trial.
The events in Odessa last year played a key role in the unfolding violence further east, where Russia-backed separatists rose up against Ukrainian authorities. Russian state-owned media characterised the day’s events as a “massacre” planned by “fascists” in Kiev, a narrative that has gained widespread traction.
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The 2 May Group has proposed one theory for the development of events. Citing multiple sources, they argue there was an unofficial deal between the police and activists on both sides. As part of the deal, football fans were to be allowed to burn tents erected by pro-Russia activists near the Trade Union building.
Police, local officials and pro-Ukraine activists thought the destruction of the encampment would improve the security situation in Odessa, while pro-Russia activists, increasingly marginalised, counted on it raising their profile.
Such a deal would be in keeping with the Black Sea city’s history of trade and colourful local mafia structures, said Gerasimova of the 2 May Group. “There was an attempt to resolve the confrontation through the famous Odessa bargain,” she said.
Pro-Russia activists point out that one obvious outcome of events has been the complete dismemberment of Odessa’s pro-Russia political movement.