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Beths Stories::

Gas WAR

It is December 30th, 2005 and the life that I and others have grown to know over the last 14 years is about to change dramatically and we are not so sure it is for the better. In Christian circles here in the Ukraine there is the jargon that takes place everywhere, but at least in Kharkov there is a slight twist to it. The jargon includes a reference to the "end times" but they add it is coming quicker because of Putin, Youshenko, or some other politician with a slight movement of the hand that indicates all is not normal in the "bell tower."

For generations there have been many instances in history where Russia has tried to and often succeeded in enforcing it's will over the area called Ukraine. Sometimes this has been the results of a war, or political ideology , or just plain orneriness on the part of some leader. Many times there have been uprisings and revolutions that resulted. And such as the last has taken place in the last two years in the Ukraine.

As a result of the loss of that friendship and camaraderie, Russia is retaliating with the threats of cutting of gas to the Ukraine unless it pays four times as much for the privilege. This is really strange behavior between one group of Slavonic people and another. With Russians it is WHO you know that usually decides the issue of the day. So to find these two basically Russian peoples at each others throat seems a bit odd. Until you know the second thought…. It really is quite normal. Russians always, as one could say "push the envelope", always! This always seems to be an attitude of having something to prove.

This die was cast by Peter the Great. He attempted to drag his country out of the 1st century B.C. into the world of advancing Europe in one generation. They always had something to prove. They were always behind and at the mercy of everyone else… until along came Peter. Then along came Lenin and then came Gorbachov and then came Putin. We even have matrouska dolls with these four gentlemen's faces painted on them. Each doll tucking neatly inside the other leaving Putin the last and the biggest with all the others inside.

Most people would say this hasn't got much to do with anything. Maybe they are right, but if you look at it biblically…. NOT SO! You see you are part and parcel of what has happened before you. The Ukraine is not different; it has always struggled for its independence from surrounding kingdoms throughout History.

A country can do without gas as long as they can make some adjustments fast enough. A country can do without electricity (which is generated by gas turbines) as long as there are enough candles and lanterns to go around. Or maybe they can crank up an atom generator and produce a little more to cover the missing gas. But the Ukraine is struggling to raise its standard of living to meet Europe's standards and that is simply not possible without gas or electricity. Ukraine really has something to prove and very little to prove it with except the will to keep going.

To explain this let me give you an example. We had a group of our young people go to Moscow to Bible College there. Soon we heard they had a car. We thought HOW did they do that? Well some one had given them a very old Moscovich (Russian version of the Yugo) and they had done some very minor repairs and it was running. That made getting to the bible college a bit easier from where they lived and definitely cheaper.

The issue for us was who was feeding the gas tank and the oil reserve that was needed to run this little hummer up and down the streets of Moscow? We soon heard the answer. They would go for some little part to the junk yards on Monday of each week and while they were there they emptied the tanks of all the wrecked cars that had come in over the weekend. Very inexpensive gas.

So you see it is possible to do with very little! And it is possible to change a lifestyle in a few hours, but that doesn't always mean it will be for the better. I have no visions of "sugar plums" dancing in my head, instead I can see us having to install a wood heating stove which will also double as cooking stove. I can see us buying up all the candles we can find in a hurry and going to bed early at night. I can see us not using our computers for a time and having to get a different telephone that doesn't demand electricity and by the way that means the mobile phones are out also. Am I complaining????????? Welll I try not to complain too hard.

Some years back I lived in a similar situation in Yeltsin's Russia , the far east of Russia to be exact, east of China even. (that is why it is called the far east) Our city for all of the time we lived there had similar circumstances. This resulted in electricity for only two or three hours a day. The funny part was we had a brand new refrigerator furnished by our landlord. It even had a freezer for ice cubes… something unknown in Russia. We used this electronic marvel for a cupboard.

There was NO gas, everything in our apartment block and about 90% of the city was electric. We purchased a little gas stove (one burner) and installed it in the window of our kitchen… because the canned gas that came to us from China was deadly IF used in a closed atmosphere. Forty five minutes of cooking time to each container of gas.

We also had to go to the street pipes to get water. We would fill our bathtubs with drinking water when they turned the water on. Everyone used their bathtub for water storage. Toilets worked but the plumbing systems were often plugged which kept the city workers busy cleaning out pipes.

If Russia can cut off its own people from the luxury of gas it will do it to someone who is no longer a friend.