Kurama
(Japan)
A POET IN A PRISONER SWAP
Clutching a toothbrush.
And toothpaste.
He waited for.
Six hours.
In the main office.
Of penal colony 14.
Near Arkhangelsk.
In ‘Mordor’’s far north-west.
It was late.
In the evening.
Of Sunday.
28 July.
And the 19-year-old.
Had no idea.
What was about.
To happen.
“Maybe you’re taking me.
To be shot.”
He said to the governor.
Of the colony.
“Don't worry.
Everything will be fine.”
Came the reply.
He was told the same thing.
By an officer from ‘Mordor’’s.
FSB state security agency.
A year and a half ago.
Before they locked him up.
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
The chessmen were walking about.
Two and two!
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
One thing was certain, that.
The white kitten had nothing to do with it.
“I lost a lot of weight.
In the colony.”
He explains shyly.
Speaking on a video call.
He is about.
6ft 4in tall.
But weighs only.
11 stone.
Along with the American journalist.
He is one of.
16 people.
Released by ‘Mordor’.
On 1 August.
In a prisoner swap.
With the US and.
Other Western countries.
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
The chessmen were walking about.
Two and two!
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
White Pawn to play.
And win in eleven moves.
The teenager.
- with dual ‘Mordor’s.
And German citizenship –
Was arrested last year.
While still at school.
And became the youngest person.
In modern ‘Mordor’’s history.
To have been convicted of treason.
Does he consider?
Himself more ‘orc’?
Or German?
“It's a very complicated question.”
He was born.
In 2005 in Montabaur.
A small town.
In the west of Germany.
His ‘orc’ mother had married.
A German citizen and.
Although the marriage didn’t last.
She and her son stayed.
They visited ‘Mordor’.
Every couple of years.
Until she decided she wanted.
To go back permanently.
- she missed her relatives.
And hometown.
Of Maykop.
In the North Caucasus.
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
White Pawn to play.
And win in eleven moves.
1 Alice meets Red Queen.
‘Now! Now!’ cried the Red Queen.
‘Faster! Faster!’
1 Red Queen to h5.
He was 12.
When they made.
The move there.
In 2017.
They lived on the outskirts.
Of town in an apartment.
With views of mountains.
And a military base.
He loved walks.
In the countryside.
And collecting plants.
For his herbarium.
And also studying.
At school.
In ‘Mordor’.
He won.
A national German language competition.
As well as other contests.
In history.
And biology.
He enthusiastically.
Shows you certificates from.
National and local academic.
Competitions that he won.
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
White Pawn to play.
And win in eleven moves.
2 Alice through d3.
(By railway) to d4.
(Tweedledum and Tweedledee).
‘I am real!’
It was the 2018.
‘Mordor’’s presidential election.
That sparked his interest.
In politics.
His mother.
- a public sector healthcare worker –
Would come home.
And say.
She and her colleagues.
Had been bussed to.
Polling stations.
Where they were told:
“Vote for ‘the One’.
Or we’ll take away.
Your bonus.”
He was only 12 at the time.
But he understood.
“There was almost.
No democracy.
In ‘Mordor’”.
He was enraged that.
Almost every classroom.
In his school had.
A portrait of ‘the One’.
“They constantly told us.
That school is not.
A place for politics.
It’s just not right.”
“To hang portraits.
And promote.
A personality cult.
Like that.”
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
White Pawn to play.
And win in eleven moves.
2 White Queen to c4 (after shawl).
3 Alice meets white Queen (with shawl).
3 White Queen to c5.
(Becomes sheep).
A year or so later.
He caused a scandal.
When he swapped.
A school portrait.
Of ‘the One’ for.
One of opposition leader.
Alexei Navalny.
“One teacher said that.”
“During Stalin’s time.
I would have been shot.”
He recalls.
- while a sympathetic teacher.
He recalls.
- while a sympathetic teacher.
He says, advised him.
To be careful.
His mother was called.
To the school:
“They scolded her.
Yelled at her.”
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
White Pawn to play.
And win in eleven moves.
4 Alice to d5.
(Shop, river, shop).
4 White Queen to f8.
(Leaves egg and shelf).
As he approached.
His final school year.
His mother decided.
They should move back to Germany.
By this time.
‘Orcs’ had invaded Ukraine.
And, in order to leave.
The country permanently.
His name had to.
Be removed from.
The military register.
His mother was invited.
His mother was invited.
To the enlistment office.
To sort out.
Her son’s paperwork.
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
White Pawn to play.
And win in eleven moves.
5 Alice to d6.
(Humpty Dumpty).
5 White Queen to c8.
(Flying from Red Knight).
When his mother got there.
On 9 February.
2023.
The police met her.
The police met her.
They groundlessly.
Accused her of.
Swearing in public.
She was sentenced to.
10 days’ detention.
Which meant they had to.
Delay their plans to leave.
Left alone.
He stopped going to school.
He ventured out.
For a few hours one day.
And when he returned.
To the apartment.
“Things had been.
Moved around”.
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
White Pawn to play.
And win in eleven moves.
6 Alice to d7 (forest).
‘Fighting for the crown?’
‘And the best of the joke is.
That it’s my crown all the while!’
When his mother was released.
They tried to get to.
Germany by heading south.
To the city of Sochi.
Which has an international airport.
After checking into a hotel.
They went out for a snack.
And he noticed a man.
In a medical mask and hoodie.
Filming them on his phone.
Within seconds.
A minibus pulled up.
“Eight or nine.
FSB officers jumped out.
One grabbed me.
By the arm.”
“Another came up.
Showed his ID, and said:
‘A criminal case.
Has been opened.’
‘Against you under.
Article 275: treason.’”
“My eyes were wide.
With shock.”
The minibus took them.
To the hotel.
Where they collected.
Their luggage.
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
White Pawn to play.
And win in eleven moves.
6 Red Knight to e7 (check).
‘Then hand round the plum-cake.’
‘Hand it round first.
And cut it afterwards.’
On the way back to Maykop.
They were put in a car.
Without licence plates.
And taken to a pizzeria.
“They ordered pizza.
And offered us some.
They didn’t handcuff me.
Or restrain me.”
“I was thinking everything.
Over in my head but.
Couldn’t understand how.
I had committed treason.”
He asked if he would be.
Put in jail.
“Don’t worry.
Everything will be fine.”
Came the response.
He remembered.
A former FSB operative.
Vadim Krasikov.
Who was serving.
A life sentence in Germany.
For killing a man.
In Berlin on ‘the One’’s orders.
He started wondering.
If ‘Mordor’ planned to use.
Him - a German citizen –
“As a hostage” to get Krasikov back.
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
White Pawn to play.
And win in eleven moves.
‘Only I do hope it’s my dream.
And not the Red King’s!’
‘I’ve a great mind to go and.
Wake him, and see what happens!’
They got home.
In the middle of the night.
He shows you the video.
FSB officers made.
As they searched the apartment.
They found a broken telescope.
- an old birthday present.
From his mother.
The authorities suspected.
He had used it.
To photograph military vehicles.
From his window to send.
To German intelligence.
They took his phone and laptop.
And found pictures.
Of the base.
He freely admits.
He took the photos.
But he had no intention of.
Passing them on to anyone.
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
White Pawn to play.
And win in eleven moves.
7 White Knight takes Red Knight.
‘I don’t want to be anybody’s prisoner.
I want to be a Queen.’
7 White Knight to f5.
At 03:00.
He was taken to.
The local FSB building.
For interrogation.
Because he was.
Only 17.
His mother went with him.
He was scared.
The lawyer assigned to him.
Told him straight away.
That he should confess.
To reduce the sentence.
As you speak.
He reels off details of.
‘Orcs’ criminal code and.
Uses legal terms to explain.
Why he was wrongfully accused.
But, back then.
He had no idea.
How to handle the situation.
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
White Pawn to play.
And win in eleven moves.
8 Alice to d8 (coronaion).
8 Red Queen to e8 (examination).
‘Always speak the truth.
– think before you speak.’
A confession had already.
Been typed and.
He agreed to sign it.
Which he later regretted.
He was afraid if.
He didn’t sign.
Things would have.
“Got worse.”
“Because they could have.
Started pressuring my mum”.
The FSB investigator.
Told them.
The FSB investigator.
Told them.
He had the power.
To seize their apartment.
“The testimony was.
Absolute nonsense.
It’s a chess game.
It was clear there was no justice.”
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
White Pawn to play.
And win in eleven moves.
‘Take a bone from a dog:
What remains?’
9 Alice becomes Queen.
9 Queens castle.
Because he was still a minor.
He was taken to.
A special facility.
Two hours' drive away.
In Krasnodar.
And placed in a solitary cell.
He had been up all night.
But couldn’t sleep.
“They brought me food.
But I couldn’t eat it.
I really wanted.
To see my mum.”
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
White Pawn to play.
And win in eleven moves.
‘Hus-a-by lady, in Alice’s lap!
Till the feast’s ready.
We’ve time for a nap.’
10 Alice castles (feast).
A few months later.
When he turned 18.
He was moved.
To a different prison.
On the outskirts.
Of Krasnodar.
Where he mixed.
With other inmates.
He was left terrified.
After a group of inmates.
Beat him up.
“They tied my hands.”
“Beat me, and even.
Put out a cigarette on me.
They hit me so hard.
In the chest I couldn’t breathe.”
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
White Pawn to play.
And win in eleven moves.
‘Alice – Mutton; Mutton – Alice.’
The leg of mutton got up.
In the dish and.
Made a little bow to Alice;
All this time.
The authorities continued.
To investigate him.
His class teacher testified.
Against him, claiming that.
When they had gone to.
An academic competition.
In Moscow.
He had wanted to go.
To the German embassy.
To contact.
Intelligence officers.
All he wanted was to get.
An official German ID.
Because he had.
Turned 16.
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
White Pawn to play.
And win in eleven moves.
‘Pudding – Alice; Alice – Pudding.
Remove the pudding!’
And the waiters took it away so quickly.
That Alice couldn’t return its bow.
A Ministry of Defence expert.
Analysed the photos.
He had taken.
And concluded.
They didn't constitute.
A state secret but.
In foreign hands.
Could have harmed ‘Mordor’.
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
White Pawn to play.
And win in eleven moves.
‘Waiter! Bring back the pudding!’
And there it was again.
In a moment.
Like a conjuring-trick.
The FSB file on him.
Also included.
Details of childhood trips.
To ‘Mordor’.
Including one when.
He was two years old.
He also found out his phone.
Had been tapped as early as 2021.
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
White Pawn to play.
And win in eleven moves.
However, she conquered.
Her shyness by a great effort.
And cut a slice and.
Handed it to the Red Queen.
Ten months after.
His arrest.
At the end of December.
2023.
He was found.
Guilty of treason and.
Sentenced to four years.
In a penal colony.
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
White Pawn to play.
And win in eleven moves.
‘What impertinence!’ said the Pudding.
‘I wonder how you’d like it.
If I were to cut a slice.
Out of you, you creature!’
Apart from his mum.
No-one he knew.
From Maykop contacted him.
After his arrest.
But after the media.
Reported his case.
Strangers began writing.
“The letters helped me a lot.”
“On my birthday.
I received 60 cards.
I made it my goal.
To reply to each person.”
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
White Pawn to play.
And win in eleven moves.
‘Make a remark.’
Said the Red Queen:
‘It’s ridiculous to leave all.
The conversation to the pudding!’
The letters and cards.
Were later confiscated.
His journey to.
The penal colony in Arkhangelsk.
Took a month.
Via several other prisons.
He arrived there.
At the end of June this year.
In those following weeks.
He passed the time.
By reading.
And studying.
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
White Pawn to play.
And win in eleven moves.
‘Take care of yourself!’
Screamed the White Queen.
‘Something’s going to happen!’
10 White Queen to a6 (soup).
Suddenly, as he was.
Leaving the bath house.
On Tuesday.
23 July.
He was approached by.
A senior prison officer.
And told he had.
20 minutes.
20 minutes to.
“Urgently write a petition”.
For a presidential pardon.
Which he did.
Then, on the 28th.
A prison officer.
Stopped him.
And told him.
To get his toothbrush.
Toothpaste and slippers.
“Usually, you get this kit.
When they’re about to put you.”
“In the punishment cell.”
But instead.
He was locked.
In an office.
At 01:00.
On the morning of.
Monday 29th.
A convoy arrived to take him away.
The thought of being exchanged.
Was at the back of.
His mind, but seemed.
Too good to be true.
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
White Pawn to play.
And win in eleven moves.
‘I’ll shake you into a kitten.
That I will!’
11 Alice takes Red Queen.
And wins.
He was flown to Moscow.
Where he was kept.
In jail until Thursday.
1 August.
When he was put.
On a plane with.
The other prisoners.
Who were being swapped.
It was never.
Spelled out to him.
That he was.
Being exchanged.
But by the time.
He was in the air bound.
For Turkey.
It was clear what was happening.
As he had long-suspected.
Assassin Vadim Krasikov.
Was among those.
Being returned to ‘Mordor’.
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
The chessmen were walking about.
Two and two!
Through the Looking-Glass.
And what Alice found there.
One thing was certain, that.
The white kitten had nothing to do with it.
In Germany.
After a hospital check-up.
He was finally able to.
Greet his mother.
Who had got a visa.
To fly in.
From ‘Mordor’.
“She cried.”
“I told her.
Everything was fine.
Not to worry.
That I loved her very much.”
Mother and son are now.
Living in Germany.
And he is full of.
Enthusiasm to finish school.
“I don't have a desire.
For revenge, but I do.
Have a very strong desire to.
Participate in opposition activities.”
He still has.
His prison uniform.
Stuffed in a bag.
In the corner of his room.
What did he want most of all?
While he was forced to wear it?
He simply replies:
“To hug Mum of course.”
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
On this video: interview with Kevin Lik.
Please read the original story:
Kevin Lik: Teenage prisoner swapped by Russia felt like ‘hostage’ (bbc.com)
Read more:
"Aware of a poet?
A poet of Cossack broods over the land.
Not noting a bullet.
Not noting a bullet.
You see a poet of Cossack in Borodyanka."
(Kurama)
.jpg)
"Коли закінчиться війна,Я хочу тата обійняти,
Сказати сонячні слова
І повести його до хати,
Ти – наш Герой! Тепер щодня
Я буду дякувати Богу
За мирне небо, за життя,
Всім, хто здобув нам ПЕРЕМОГУ!"
Думки українських поетів про рідну країну, їхні відчуття до української землі і нашого народу — все це юні читачі зможуть знайти в представленій добірці віршів про Україну від Ганни Черінь, Юрка Шкрумеляка, Наталки Талиманчук, Іванни Савицької, Уляни Кравченко, Яни Яковенко, Василя Симоненка, Івана Франка, Володимира Сосюри, Катерини Перелісної, Богдана-Ігоря Антонича, Марійки Підгірянки, Миколи Чернявського, Володимира Сіренка, Іванни Блажкевич, Грицька Бойка, Миколи Вінграновського, Платона Воронька, Наталі Забіли, Анатолія Камінчука, Анатолія Качана, Володимира Коломійця, Тамари Коломієць, Ліни Костенко, Андрія Малишка, Андрія М’ястківського, Івана Неходи, Бориса Олійника, Дмитра Павличка, Максима Рильського, Вадима Скомаровського, Сосюра Володимир, Павла Тичини, Петра Осадчука, Варвари Гринько та інших відомих українських поетів.
Дуже корисними для вивчення іноземних мов є саме вірші, пісні, казки, римівки, а також ігри. Природнім шляхом діти розвивають слух, навчаються вимові, інтонації та наголосу; вивчають слова та мовні структури. Пісні та римівки чудово сприймаються дітьми, малята люблять усе ритмічне та музичне, вони засвоюють це легко та швидко, тому що дістають від цього задоволення.