Point of view

Zircons are a symbol of courage and indomitability (memories of local residents)

Circuses are not just the name of a place on the map, but a real symbol of courage and indomitability. The residents of this village lived through difficult times when the shadow of occupation hung over them, but many of them remained here, steadfastly enduring all the trials that befell them. Of course, not all of them were like that, but step by step, conversation by conversation, the journalist of IA “FAKT” Anna Bezhenska revealed to her the stories of brave people who told us about their most difficult days and events during the occupation.

Among the interlocutors were different people: old, young, those who agreed to reveal themselves, and those who decided to remain incognito. However, they all remembered every touch of the enemy on their native land. Each story is a separate fate and a story that reminded that even in the darkest hour you can find a ray of hope.

  1. Praying Hearts: A Story of Survival in Hell.

Zircons are a symbol of courage and indomitability (memories of local residents)

«When we realized that the Russian soldiers were already in the city and we had nowhere to run, the only thing we could do was hide in the house. Since it was our house that remained intact, four families hid in it at once. There were 5 children among us, two of which are very small – 4 and 5 years old. We wrote “people and children” on the fence, hoping that they would not touch us. Until a certain time it was so.

None of us provided any help to their military. We just sat at home and tried to somehow survive, getting water and looking for food. Some, who could, managed to bring with them, but when the supplies ran out, they had to go out. They went out one by one so as not to attract too much attention.

The Russian military came to us many times, but they never touched anyone, although there were already many rumors about violence and murders in the city.

I can talk about this hell for a long time, but the most terrible thing in my memory is the moment when one of our men, who was out looking for food, was hunted by drunken soldiers. By some miracle, he managed to run to the house, but literally 20 minutes later, we started being shelled from some kind of weapon. Absolutely everything was falling and flying. HELL!!! We just pressed ourselves to the floor and prayed. I don’t remember anything after that. Black abyss and fog. Not everyone managed to survive. Two children also remained children forever…“, – said local resident Hanna Petrivna.

Zircons are a symbol of courage and indomitability (memories of local residents)
Photo/ IA “FACT”
  1. Memory under the tarpaulin: a pile of wood with a history of death.

The special attention of the journalist was attracted by an inexplicable pile of wood covered with a black tarpaulin. But my heart stopped when, only when I got closer, it became clear that these were coffins. There were many of them and of different sizes, and in the center of the whole pile were small coffins for children. Eyewitnesses passed by and told about this place.

Zircons are a symbol of courage and indomitability (memories of local residents)
Photo/ IA “FACT”

“There were a lot of killings. Very… I’m even afraid to name this number. I will say one thing that the population of Tsirkuns before the occupation was about 15,000, and when we were rescued, there were 800 people who survived. Of course, many managed to leave, but not everyone. There was a huge number of deaths, from drunken shooting of people, to murders for non-cooperation. Many were raped and killed to cover their tracks. Many people had to hide in their yards, but among there were artisans in the village who were not touched due to the fact that their workshop was a valuable object for further fighting. .

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Unfortunately, most of these coffins were still needed. And this is… the remnants of memory and work that cost the lives of these masters.

I don’t believe it at all, but they say that these coffins are not taken out of here for the reason that the war is still not over… Because suddenly it will be needed… But I don’t care. We will stay here and be at home,” – said Iryna Vladyslavivna.

Zircons are a symbol of courage and indomitability (memories of local residents)
Photo/ IA “FACT”
  1. Secrets of the main saboteur: testimony of an outspoken opponent

Along the main road, we met another person who categorically opposed the use of any photo and video equipment, but agreed to verbally share the story about the main saboteur of the Circuses. It was proof that this man trusted us because he was ready to share his biggest secret:

“Everyone in the village called him “Georgyn”, but his real name was forgotten over time. I didn’t know him myself. But he arrived here about two years before the war, bought himself a good house and immediately began to consider himself an old man, trying to do good deeds and make friends with the locals. At the beginning of the occupation, he immediately showed himself “in all his glory” and announced his true plans.

He forcibly took a lot of kitchen appliances from people from different houses and organized a bakery factory in one of the buildings, where local residents were forced to work for the Russian military and were sometimes given bread in exchange for labor. I also had to work in this factory, because refusing could have cost my son, who had just turned 16, his life. Almost all people agreed to work under such unfavorable conditions. Everyone understood that this factory served only the interests of the occupiers.

This “Georgian” organized cooperation with the enemy, threatened and was often the cause of the death of many of our compatriots. Despite this, he always smiled sweetly and convinced us that after the war we should choose him as the headman of the village.

However – God’s grace!!! – we were saved. And where this abomination is and where it went – no one knows for sure, because during the liberation of the village this factory was destroyed. A lot of people died as a result…hope he’s among them.”

Zircons are a symbol of courage and indomitability (memories of local residents)
Photo/ IA “FACT”
  1. Memories of an old watchman: he survived a bullet while saving a child

We managed to talk to one more man. His speech was very incoherent, and that’s why we’re only adding photos instead of video footage. But the reason for such speech turned out to be much more shocking – the man received a bullet wound to the head and miraculously survived. Here is his tragic story:

Zircons are a symbol of courage and indomitability (memories of local residents)
Photo/ IA “FACT”

“My name is Artem Mykolayovych, and I am a simple caretaker of rural machinery. When the war started, we lost water, communication and light. My two sons always fetched food and water. And again, at the moment when my children went to fetch water, Russian soldiers started hunting them, but this was not the first test for them. My boys were fast, agile, and they ran away every time… Until that terrible evening when three Russian soldiers did not come to our house.

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 My wife and I opened the door. They knew exactly why and why they had come. The soldiers of the Russian Federation demanded passports from all of us, promising to shoot for any attempt to resist. We fulfilled all their requirements. They grabbed the eldest son right away, because he is already over 30. It is impossible to convey those emotions of horror and suffering in words. I was sure that now we will also lose my wife, whose heart is just breaking with pain. Then they started taking our youngest, but he was only 14 years old. He has a card passport, not our old paper ones…they passed this card to each other and laughed… But they did not lose their intention to take this child somewhere and for some purpose. We begged them to let him go, because he is only 14 years old, for which we heard yet another threat.

When one of them started dragging my son, I jumped on him without thinking and felt the shot. A strange feeling… I can’t even say that it was painful… According to my wife, the bullet hit the head area, but after that I didn’t remember anything. The last thing I heard was the screams of my wife, sons and the Russian “Ты что сварыш???”…

 It seems they got some kind of command not to kill anyone or something. Maybe they were scared themselves, because they are very young… I don’t know. But it doesn’t matter anymore. Both my children remained alive and well at home. They took only the passport of the eldest son with them, and we still cannot recover it or find it. Well, as you can see, even now I’m trying to work…

Thank God that he saved my sons’ lives, miraculously left me here alive and preserved our family. But we thank our heroes of the Armed Forces, who freed us.”

These four stories are just drops of the great river of pain and heroism that surrounds us, evidence of the invincibility of the human spirit and the courage of our people. Circuses are a place where every path, every corner hides incredible feats. The occupation was a time of trials, when every fate was at stake, but in the midst of this darkness, the actions of ordinary people, who can now be called heroes, shone through.

Zircons are a symbol of courage and indomitability (memories of local residents)
Photo/ IA “FACT”

How many more such stories are preserved in the memory of those who survived those terrible times! How many unknown exploits and heroic deeds are hidden in the hearts of people! Perhaps right now, learning about these stories, we give them a second life, preserving the memory of those who were ready to sacrifice their lives to save others.

May these stories be a constant reminder of the power of good and faith in victory over evil, may they become an eternal source of inspiration for us and future generations, showing that in any conditions people are able to survive and behave like true heroes.

 

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