THEY MUST SHOW MR. GOVORUKHIN ON TV

Our correspondent informs from Samashki

"Moskovskiy Komsomolets" newspaper, April 22, 1995, p. 1

By Yulia Kalinina

Govorukhin is right. There was nothing special in Samashki. Just usual war. Russians tried to get Samashki during three months. They didn't allow it. At last elder men, after the oath of Russian command "not to bomb", have convinced their people's militia (thirty-three fighters) to retreat.

Militia left the town. Federal forces entered Samashki and took a revenge. Though, not on those who fought against them, but just on their relatives, friends and neighbours. Their apologies: they kicked just those whom they could get.

At the afternoon of April 7 residents of Samashki were told that the onslaught will begin at 4:00 p.m. Residents just managed to hide in basements when the first volley burst at half past three. At 6 at the next morning they probably have considered the bombardment was good enough. Federal forces took some rest and went to storm Samashki, where no fighters stayed.

There are only about 2000 houses in Samashki. The town stands on: not more than 200 houses destroyed: four streets of "Dudayev's" citizens. The onslaught must have been prepared by experts for local customs and traditions. It is natural to suppose that "directions" were given by local opposition. But this is not too important.

It is important to realize what happened there after the artillery bombardment.

Nobody was allowed to pass to Samashki during 5 days. The town burned, peasants, going mad, running out of there. Everybody said the same: "House was burnt, they killed my (enumeration of relatives), buried at the kitchen-garden and run away."

The first group of "visitors" was allowed to pass to Samashki on April 11. Only women and only locals. Anatoly Shabad, deputy of Russian State Duma, dressed in skirt, blouse and woman's kerchief, has got into Samashki along with the crowd. According to witnesses, his hairy legs "slightly" betrayed him, but those didn't embarrass experienced guards.

Women from Samashki used their great wits and inventiveness and, along with the deputy, have managed to bring videocamera to Samashki, and promoted everything they saw to be recorded.

Those video recordings (there are at least three tapes of them) can lay claim to get a prize for the best horror movie of the year.

Certainly, recordings were copied and distributed among all foreign journalists who was in the neighbouring Severodvinsk city. I saw "horrors" left to five well-doing European and Northern America states. The whole world knows about Samashki, while we are still hesitating who lies -- Shabad and Kovaliov, or Govorukhin?

It is not interesting to retell movies, but because we will see those recordings after all peoples of the world, here are several scenes to imagine the whole.

A woman and a girl of about 8 years old gather black bones to a pan at the wall of a burned house. "These remained of 13 years old daughter. Look, we've found one earring." They shot the girl at the yard, then poured gasoline over the house and set it on fire.

Burned bed. Black clotted mass on the metal base. Seriously ill woman burned here: she could not get up from her bed. They take something like a scull from under the bed...

A woman in a hospital, "in a hard condition". Tells how they cut her daughter's head and raped herself.

Burned school building. Twenty-two people hid in the basement -- children with several women. The school was set on fire. Three floors, beams and coverings, heaped up the basement. Everybody was burnt. Now it is impossible to get them up and bury. Nobody will. Chalk handwriting on the burnt blackboard: "Death to Chechens."

Enough?

Men with crazy eyes walk along in the neighbouring Severodvinsk city. One man limps, the other holds himself at his liver, the other again holds himself at his heart, many with terrible bruises on their faces. Those people are from Samashki. Russians have already set them free from the filtration camp. They found out that they were not fighters. They were indifferent what kind of power they have over them. They just wanted to live in peace with their families.

In addition to all tortures, they were baited by trained dogs. They showed bites, pieces of their body torn out. They say in the town, that nobody of them can have a child now.

Now music farewells to women who came to look at the ashes. After the onslaught, every vehicle has its large good audio-tape player. The music played is especially national, "Chechen" one. About brave and proud residents of mountains.

That's all.

The whole Chechnia knows about Samashki. They consider that some special squad was used there. Witnesses inform, that they were big guys in green kerchiefs, with their faces painted in black stripes, a la Rambo.

Our "rambos" must have used drugs much during the operation of "liberation" Samashki. In any case, there are many plastic syringes where military men were. Certainly, syringes have been already sent to many countries, but results of analyses are unknown yet.

Chechens say: "We will cut them". Russian military men in Samashki say: "That was nothing. Now we'll take Bamut, and have fun there."

Maybe it is surprising, but residents of Samashki were shocked not by circumstances of "restoration of the constitutional order", but by Stanislav Govorukhin, the chairman of Duma's Commission for investigation of events in Chechnia.

When he visited Samashki after the onslaught, peasants, crazy with distress, showed him all remains, ruins, bones and ashes. Govorukhin, they say, was shaken with committed deeds and distributed his deputy's letter forms and told to write everything they've seen.

Inspired by support and sympathy, residents of Samashki saw their "defender" on TV in several days; Govorukhin explained the public, that tragedy in Samashki is all a bluff and Dudayev's propagation.

They were shocked in Chechnia. Women from Samashki now regret that they didn't record Govorukhin's visit on video. They promise to be prudent in future.

The war is on...

Relieved guards play football at the squad site, so kind and good men... If you need something, ask them, they will never deny. Ask for water, food, or to take you where you need, and they will help you. Like 6-7 years old boys, who can hang a cat on a tree just to look at, and immediately feel a sincere pity for her orphan kittens.

Translated into English by A.Prishchenko, April 25, 1995