Blackmail

30 ZAPORIZHIA, UKRAINE

Randy Guimond pulled the curtain back from the window of his room in Hotel Intourist, not far from the apartment he had occupied the previous day. His eyes scanned the crowd gathering in Central Square, site of the murder of three pro-Russian politicians last night. As expected, the crowd was largely ethnic Russian, demanding the government hunt down the assassin and protect the Russian minority from pro-Western radicals. The platform erected for last night’s event still stood at one end of the square, its wood floor stained with the blood of the fallen.

A half-dozen men and women had taken possession of the stage, taking turns with the microphone, preaching to the growing crowd, while off to the sides of the square, all the major news organizations were covering the event, their cameras rolling. Antigovernment demonstrations and murder, Guimond mused, made for excellent television ratings.

Guimond leaned forward, obtaining a better view of the square and the regional administration building across Sobornyi Avenue from the square. A few years earlier, Central Square had been the site of Euromaidan protests, leading to the occupation of the government building by four thousand pro-Western demonstrators. However, the shoe was on the other foot this time, with the protesters being predominately pro-Russian. Last night’s attack on Russian sympathizers in Zaporizhia hadn’t been the first, but this time the pro-Western sympathizers had gone too far. The pending arrest of the radical tied to the rifle’s fingerprints would only add fuel to the fire. For now, however, Guimond added fuel of his own.

Guimond watched several dozen men work their way through the crowd. They were titushky, mercenary agents who supported the Ukrainian police during President Yanukovych’s administration, who were now in desperate need of a paycheck, one Guimond had arranged. However, their goal for this outing had been reversed: rather than intimidate and disperse demonstrators opposing the government, their task today was to reinforce and agitate the crowd.

In response to the growing mass of people in Central Square, city officials were taking measures to ensure the regional administration building wasn’t overrun again. Zaporizhia’s police force, its members wearing riot gear and holding clear full-body shields, assembled in front of the government building, forming two solid lines. With the help of the titushky, however, this only served to agitate the crowd, drawing their attention to the government building, providing a focus for their frustration.

Off to the side, the crowd parted as a man, his left arm in a sling, worked his way to the platform. Guimond cracked open the window as Alex Rudenko, one of the two survivors of last night’s savage attack, stepped onto the stage. Taking the microphone in his good hand, he addressed the crowd, and not long into his speech, he pointed out how the occupation of the administration building during Euromaidan had helped pro-Western demonstrators force the government of Zaporizhia to side with western Ukraine instead of its neighboring oblasts to the north. They should seize the building and not leave until Zaporizhia declared its independence. The crowd began moving toward the building, spilling across Sobornyi Avenue.

An additional squad of Ukrainian police, similarly dressed in riot gear, joined the formation, reinforcing the two lines against the burgeoning crowd of protesters already pushing against the wall of police. What the men and women below didn’t know, however, was that the new squad of police were also titushky, hired for a much different purpose from that of those in the crowd.

Rudenko’s voice boomed across the square, working the crowd into a frenzy, and the mass of demonstrators surged against the long blue line, attempting to break through to the government building.

A shot rang out and a protester in front of the police fell to the ground. The crowd simultaneously broke in two directions, some fleeing from the police while others charged the line. Additional shots were fired and another dozen protesters collapsed onto the ground. There was pandemonium in the street as the spectators scattered, with Ukrainian police continuing to gun down the protesters. All captured on camera.

Guimond released the curtain, letting it drift across the window.