Ukraine War Day #338: On Mystical Birds And The Carpathian Problem, Part I.

Dear Readers:

Just for a couple of days we are going to move from the Donbass front over to the other side of Ukraine, namely to the magical Carpathian Mountains in the West. The people who have dwelled in those parts for centuries have a fascinating history and culture, speaks a multitude of languages and dialects; and have the misfortune to be passed from Empire to Empire. Not every Empire always treating them with the dignity that every human being innately deserves. The dignity of being able to speak their own mother tongue, worship in the religion of their choice, celebrate their ancestral heroes, and tell their own spooky stories by the campfire.

A turul is a cross between an eagle, a falcon, and a crow.

In those parts you will hear about a mystical bird called a turul. Which reminds me of this other story I saw, which I will insert here quickly: A couple of days ago I was reading in Ukrainian press and various blogs about a bad omen in the skies over Kiev. Namely huge flocks of crows were swirling over the city of Kiev. It’s not like people haven’t seen crows before, but these flocks were unbelievably vast and aggressive, almost blotting out the sky.

The people of Kiev were terrified. Many Ukrainians are superstitious. And being at war doesn’t help sharpen the mind; on the contrary, the stress and fear lead to ever more bouts of mystical thinking. These superstitious types (and also pro-Russian opportunists just trying to scare superstitious Ukrainians) connected this phenomenon with the banning of the Russian Orthodox Church and with the Ukrainian government’s seizure of the Kiev-Pecherskaya Lavra monastery. As in, this was God’s response. God taking the side of the Russian army, of course. [Which almost begs the famous quote from Frederick the Great. Regarding the side that God usually takes in any war between humans.]

Fortunately, despite the overall degeneration of the Ukrainian state and educational system, there are still some rationalist scientists around who can explain these natural phenomena without resorting to religion or mysticism. (Or geo-politics, except as it affects animal food supplies.) Ukrainian ornithologist Vadim Mishin, who runs a bird sanctuary, is able to explain this strange behavior of the crows. It has to do the disappearance of their normal food supplies, and their ever more desperate search for chow. Mishin explains that crows would normally swirl around in smaller flocks. But when food is in short supply, they will gather themselves in ever greater flocks to swarm through the sky, their keen eyes hunting for anything that looks tempting, down below. The larger the flock, the better the chance that one of the individuals will spot something edible and lead the gang down to feast. Whether the disruption to the food supply of these birds is connected to the war, or perhaps other factors like climate change, Mishin did not elaborate.

To The Carpathian Mountains

Next we take a journey to the beautiful Carpathian Mountains. I saw this two-part article by Rybar on the issue of the Hungarian minority living in the Transcarpathian region. Here is my translation of Part I, and tomorrow I will do Part II.

Rybar On the Oppression of Ethnic Hungarians:

Our colleague, the [blogger] Warsaw Mermaid has written about how the Ukrainian government has recently started to oppress and provoke the Hungarian communities of Transcarpathia.

The Palanok Castle is a famous tourist attraction.

Last year, at the Palanok Castle in the city of Mukachevo, the Hungarian national symbol of the “turul” bird was replaced by the Ukrainian trident.

The turul is a mystical giant bird with features of both an eagle and a crow. Hungarians associate this bird with key events of their national history. The castle itself, which is mentioned in ancient documents as far back as the 11th century, is a beloved object for the Hungarian nation: It is considered the symbol of their struggle for independence.

The Turul bird features in Hungarian mythology.

And then, several days ago, in various cities populated predominantly by ethnic Hungarians, it was ordered that all the Hungarian flags had to be taken down. People were told that the local governments of Transcarpathia had decreed that only the Ukrainian yellow-blue could fly. Plaques with Hungarian inscriptions were also removed.

Simultaneously the leader of a major Transcarpathian Hungarian cultural organization, was fired from his regular job, as the principal of a school.

But all of this pettiness and showy bullying is nothing compared to the real blow against the local population: Namely the mobilizations and draft notices. Already the Carpathians have taken a terrible hit in this war, with their men dying massively as “cannon fodder” thrust up against Russian artillery. It is said that the Ukrainian “recruiters” aggressively go from house to house in these regions, seeking ever more cannon fodder for their war, especially among ethnic non-Ukrainians. It is easy to find videos posted to youtube or TikTok, with heart-rending images of men being dragged out of their homes while their children cry and cling to their legs.

When the war first started, Hungarian activists accurately predicted this outcome of events. Long before this war even started, the local Hungarians experienced much oppression and even what they call “genocide” on the part of the Ukrainian authorities. Now they have decided to appeal directly to the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, begging him to save them from the Ukrainian Nationalists.

Viktor Baloga

Journalists place much of the blame on a single man: His name is Viktor Baloga. Viktor is a Ukrainian Nationalist who serves as a Deputy in the Upper Rada. His son Andrei serves as Mayor of Mukachevo, the main Hungarian enclave in the Ukraine. Viktor is said to run a vast criminal gang that controls all the smuggling that takes place on the border between Hungary and Slovakia.

Baloga began building his criminal empire back in 1998, when he became Mayor of Mukachevo. Eventually he took under his control almost the entire market of petroleum products and foodstuffs produced in the Transcarpathian region. Also lumber, medicines, agricultural products and non-alcoholic beverages. Baloga also deals in arms and weapons. Under his Mafia-like rule, this region became the very poorest in the nation.

In 2004 Baloga enthusiastically supported the “Orange Revolution” and joined the administration of President Yushchenko. When Yushchenko was replaced by President Yanukovych, Baloga quickly adapted and went to work for Yanukovych. [yalensis: Russians have a saying: “A fisherman can spot another fisherman…”]

Currently, Baloga, his two brothers, and his son, own Mukachevo in an iron grip that cannot be broken. In 2015 Baloga turned local Right Sektor militias into his private army. He brags that he used his own money to finance both the Right Sektor and the Maidan Revolution itself.

Next: Baloga targets Hungarians…

[to be continued]

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