Happy people: A Year in Taiga

I’m pretty sure I posted this before, maybe last year, but in case you missed it it’s worth posting again.

Happy People: A Year in Taiga goes along the journey of one year with the professional trappers and hunters living along the Taiga river in Russia. These are hardy, no-nonsense old world people. They make a living in one of the harshest parts of the world, one that is at that beautiful and full of natural resources. The skill and resourcefulness they show is admirable.

It’s the second time I watch this documentary. Its four parts, one for each season (as in actual seasons of the year) each lasting one hour. Again, worth every minute of it.

One of the things that stuck with me this time though is that even though I bet they are happy people and some of them probably chose such a life, I sure wouldn’t trade places with them any time soon. In spite of the beautiful natural surroundings you can also see the Spartan way of life, in many ways limited. At the end of the day the trapping, fishing and hunting is done for good old money mostly, and they make rather little of it at that. Clearly being frugal is one of their main survival skills and if applied to any other line of work, likely one that pays better, it’s also understandable that a person would thrive as well.

Again, the skill and resourcefulness is amazing. How they cut down trees to make everything from skies to canoes, driving, navigating, repairing, fishing, hunting, trapping. While these people may be jack of all trades, they sure have mastered several of them as well.

Let me know what you think in the comments below.

FerFAL

 Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

Letters from Survivors in Ukraine Part 3

Part III, looking into various messages from people in eastern Ukraine. Again, I’ve gone through the most interesting parts, posted over at http://www.rferl.org , making some personal comments and remarks. I firmly believe that real-world events such as these present us with invaluable lessons.
FerFAL
Escaping From Donetsk
Olga Astakhov, Anthropologist, Donetsk
I am not going to discuss all the twists and turns of applying for a permit (to cross the boundary between the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) and the rest of Ukraine) because there is a mass of cases like these already.
People, who submitted documents at the end of January, still have pending applications.
Not too long ago, my friend's cousin, living in Zaporizhia, ended up in the hospital. Of course it is hard to leave Donetsk without a permit, that's why she first travelled to Russia and from there went to Zaporizhia in Ukraine.
FerFAL comment: This reminds me, get your passport NOW. Even if you don’t plan on traveling, its essential preparedness documentation. For those that are thinking right now “oh, Ferfal, but I don’t PLAN on going anywhere when SHTF…” to those that are thinking that, just stop it right now. The nature of serious disasters dictate that things don’t go according to your own personal plans and preferences, improvising is what its all about, trying to be ready for the unexpected. Those things “you never thought you’d do”, those are the ones that catch people completely unprepared. More on “I never thought” later. If you can get a second passport, don’t give such a powerful tool up and get one pronto!
Is this logical?
The permit system is permanently in effect on territories of the ATO (Antiterrorist Operation, the Ukrainian military's term for combat operations with separatist forces) zone. Thus, it is impossible to go through the Volnovakha checkpoint without a permit, unless you use dirt roads. These are illegally used to transport credulous passengers for large amounts of money.
FerFAL comment: So many lessons there. Having a vehicle capable of moderate off-roading, having a BOB, having a kit in your vehicle. So often overlooked, having the physical capability of actually walking those distances if needed to cover them on foot.
The same applies to crossing the border between Artemivsk and Horlivka.
If you take the risk of going through the Kurakhov checkpoint, you may get lucky. Some get let through without a problem, nothing is asked of them. It's enough to show a Ukrainian passport.
There are many announcements about the permits in Donetsk: permit registration costs 300-800 hryvnya. Is this a little or a lot for a retired woman, who wants to travel and withdraw her 1,000 hryvnya pension?
FerFAL comment: Cash is king, hoe often have I repeated that commenting in these Ukraine letters alone?
This is how people end up abandoned.
For those who wish to register for a permit in cities and regions under the control of the Ukrainian government, offices were opened to issue the necessary documents. This partially relieved the main coordination centers.
Regarding carriers, there are two sides to this coin. On one side, the permit system significantly complicated and lowered passenger traffic, and thus this affected the income of businesses.
Also many carriers, who work in the controlled and occupied areas of Ukraine, are forced to pay double taxes in order to continue running their business. The taxes are paid to the so-called DNR and Ukraine, which is why resourceful carriers have adapted to the situation.
FerFAL comment: “But sir, its TEOTWAWKI, I’m not supposed to pay for fees and government VAT any more because its WROL.” Its cute sometimes to see how naïve some preppers can be. Its cute but also dangerous folks. WROL is code word for no government, and sadly the government will still be there to make life miserable of. Rule of law doesn’t go away when SHTF, its still there to scew you and never to help you.
"Before we sell a ticket, we check the passenger's permit. It's safer this way. No immigration certificates or Donetsk residency are accepted," says one of the drivers who works in the ATO zone. The age group of passengers has also changed. Before it was mostly youth and pensioners, but now the number of pensioners has decreased and the number of young men has declined even further.
Before they depart, many carriers enquire about the passengers' permits and sell them tickets afterwards – the tickets are sold at different rates. Those who don't have the required permit will have to pay an extra 20-30 percent on top of the regular price. This generally applies to the route between Donetsk and Kyiv.
Travel tariffs are the other factor that affects passengers' expenses. The chaotic exchange rate of the U.S. dollar has had an impact on fuel prices in Donetsk – petrol and gas cost 5-9 hryvnya more than in Ukraine.
This is why the number of trips has been cut down, and passengers spend hours waiting in line to travel out of Donetsk. The price hasn't changed for now, but shuttles in Donetsk and Makiivka no longer accept Ukrainian coins. In front-line cities they only accept amounts up to 1 hryvnya.
In this situation, only one thing is positive – the transportation infrastructure is still trying to survive through the horrible wartime conditions. Some carriers are even helping get people out of dangerous areas for free.
What's In A Name?
A Ukrainian Teacher From Donetsk
'Donbasivtsi' (citizens of Donbas) – this is what some of my students now call themselves.
Adults have come up with other names: Novorossian, or New Russians.
I can't explain why they don't like the more generally accepted name 'Donetchan' (resident of Donetsk), although sometimes they use this word. Maybe, the revolutionary wave that has driven them since last year, demands the creation of everything from scratch, even something so tactless.
The creation of words is generally positive; it mirrors changes in the life of a nation and for that matter, in its spirit.
What can be said about people, referring to themselves with a name originating from a geopolitical region, no bigger than the territory that they occupy?
Psychologists will probably find the teenage complex regarding the extent and signs of delusions of grandeur. Philosophers may point to the characteristics of lazy-spirited people's desire to exaggerate their accomplishments in order to affirm their existence.
The newly created 'Donbasivtsi,' the new citizens of Donetsk, remind me of people who put on colorful contact lenses and will insist that their eyes were always bright emerald.
Dear Donbasivtsi, you can try to convince others of this, and they will probably believe you.
Suck-ups will sing the praises of your "naturally green" eyes; you can even convince yourselves of this. However, you will not be able to change your own nature. I know that your eyes are gray, like your soul. You are gray-eyed and gray-spirited; you betrayed your ancestors and your entire essence of being by tolerating evil.
Now you express many complaints about Ukraine that should instead be addressed to various jurisdictions; but the government is made of people, meaning specific problems need to be resolved with specific people. Why blame your homeland and distance oneself from her?
If history had a sense of humor, she would give you time to develop. In 100 years, you could even become a nation – a nation of traitors. There is but one answer to the question: "Who are Donbasivtsi?" They are former Ukrainians, who denied their people; they are former Russians, who don't know their own customs; they are Tatars, Armenians, and Greeks who forgot who they are.
But history is a fair but tough judge, who won't give such people a chance.
You claim that in general you are doing okay.
Look around, what you refer to as the laws of your new "republic" are just a pathetic lookalike of the regulations of another state. Your freedom with a weapon in your hands prohibits me from referring to my Homeland (and yours) by name and from communicating with her, not letting Ukrainian media in, and basically doing everything possible so that residents don't desert the supervised basements.
FerFAL comment: Censorship, media control, sounds familiar. reminds me of the “Secretary of Strategic Coordination of National Ideology””, created by Cristina Kirchner in Argentina. Since when do we need the government to explain the population how they are supposed to think? Guess we’re now calling that freedom.
Your "prosperity" looks out from underneath empty supermarket shelves, boarded-up windows, closed stores, and half-empty markets. Your salaries resemble sop, just to keep you quiet.
And you -- having surrendered many civil rights, all benefits, allowances, social protections, the opportunity to plan your futures -- are silent. Even you cannot look at the destroyed medical industry -- that is hanging on by a thread thanks to the heroism of everyday doctors and nurses -- or at the disorder in education, closed business or unemployment, through rose-colored glasses. Was this the life you dreamed of?
You say that your purpose right now is survival. What sort of people do you plan to become in order to survive? What sort of people will your children become?
Those who were Ukrainian yesterday (If you've forgotten, look at their birth certificates, and at the same time look at your own passports that read 'Ukrainian citizen' in two languages!) and call themselves 'Donbasivtsi' today because they hear that being Ukrainian is unworthy, either out of your mouths or out of your illegitimate silence?
You say that it hurts you to hear the words 'Ukraine' and 'Ukrainians', because your husbands are dying in a war with Ukraine. But you started it! Did you not realize that the gun that you were holding in your hands could kill?
It's not Ukraine that hurts you; it's your drowsy consciousness attempting to awaken your soul. Wake up!
People queue for free food distributed by pro-Russian rebels near the town of Debaltseve last month.
Debaltseve After The Fall
Nadezdhia, Sociologist, Horlivka
This story is of an acquaintance, who surprisingly left the city recently and managed to get herself to Ukrainian [controlled] territory. The horror came later, when the separatists took over Debaltseve and the flags of the executive committee changed.
I was remaining in Debaltseve until the end, even during the evacuation. It was scary to leave.
The city died. It was razed to the ground, yet I was still trying to find a way to survive in conditions unfit for life. My countrymen are trying to restore their homes after the shelling and they are trying to recover property that remains in the buildings. But that's impossible.
Everything has been looted and destroyed.
People stand in long lines to get humanitarian aid and prepare food under the open sky. Practically all the buildings in the center have been seized by Debaltseve militants, destroyed or damaged. To assess the humanitarian situation, it is enough to look at the gray-with-hunger faces of its residents. There is also nowhere to live. People live in basements, get sick, and die.
There is no medicine. According to my calculations, more than 80 percent of the buildings in Debaltseve were destroyed during the war. The kindergartens and other institutions are closed. They have been promising to reopen the central city hospital since February 25.
There is another hospital by the train station, completely destroyed.
FerFAL Comments: Always the basics folks, dont forget to cover medicine, water, food and shelter. These you will always need!
The city is full of mines; it's dangerous to walk anywhere. There is no electricity. Every day they bring in bread and hot tea and distribute it for free. Under Ukrainian control, we even got canned food, grains and potatoes. For now, we are still getting bread and tea. However they said that something was delivered by the International Red Cross.
My countrymen are living in unsanitary conditions; they are hungry and cold. In Debaltseve the problems don't end with electricity. There is no gas or water. Few people have stayed. Usually no more than 200 city residents wait in lines to receive humanitarian aid. All these people are elderly.
The last weeks before the departure of the Ukrainian army, the attacks did not abate – a number of buildings came under fire. Since the end of January, Debaltseve has been without heating. Since the beginning of February, it has been without light and water.
Around 6,000 or 8,000 people remained in the city. This is around 30 percent of the original population. They mainly sit in their basements because it is cold in their apartments. They prepare food near their driveways on a fire, outside. In addition to this, most of them don't have any money at all, which is why they can't leave the city.
I'll tell you about the basement, that I had to live in. It's dark inside and damp. There is a table with a candle in the middle of the space. Women sit at the table feeding their children.
Before the departure of the Ukrainian Army, the residents of Debaltseve left the city in masses. They fled to Kharkiv in particular. Women with children and the elderly mainly went there, some left with their entire families, men included.
There is no rush to deliver groceries to the territories occupied by the Donetsk People's Republic. Other cities and villages are collecting food for Debaltseve. Other than food, medicine is also vital. The people, who weren't able to leave, now have to wait in long lines just to get water. Very often they collect water directly from puddles on the street. Fortunately the snow has melted. There is risk of intestinal infections.
Everyone who gets the opportunity will probably attempt to leave the city at the soonest possible moment; just like us.
Oleksandra Samoylova, Student, Luhansk
State universities in the occupied territories of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions have come under separatist control. For students, that means changes in everything from class size to curriculum.
Here in the Luhansk People's Republic (LNR), the first lesson on Mondays usually begins with the question, "How are you?" The teachers aren't asking about course work or whether we're prepared for class; they're asking about our domestic life. Is everything OK with our homes and families? Did everything go well on our trips back home?
There are so few students going to lectures these days that teachers have time to pay attention to each individual student. It turns out they're not only capable of reading out loud from a book; they can actually communicate and express human emotions. Only now have I begun to see the human side of my teachers.
The small groups are very interesting. Every student gets maximum attention; everything is explained to them, and all their questions are answered.
At the same time, while communicating with their students, lecturers often slip up and inadvertently talk about politics. Topics can include: dissatisfaction with the Education Ministry, problems with salaries, and working overtime because rising debt has forced them to cut back personnel.
Compared to previous years, studying has gotten easier for me. Now we can spend more time on interesting core subjects, and less on general topics like religious studies. A lot of students elsewhere probably lose interest in their studies because of a lack of financial incentive or scholarships. That seems sort of funny to us now.
Student Life Outside the Classroom
At the start of winter, the university had organized a lot of concerts and events and assigned us to volunteer duties. They did this to create the illusion of a flurry of activity.
The various tasks associated with bringing an Orthodox element to higher education were especially absurd. Talks about the friendship between science and religion were full of cliches. The female heads of various student committees, all blonde atheists tired of the long, boring conversations we were subjected to, lied depressingly about "broad support for useful student initiatives."
But students these days embrace the Orthodox Church about as much as wolves do vegetarianism. At the bus stop near our "temple of science" it's not uncommon to hear conversations like this:
-- How did you celebrate Easter?
-- With three beers!
-- Oh, and I drank wine.
Students are used as "extras" at rallies. This has always been true. But while once there was only a limited range of gatherings, now they call us out for any number of reasons. Once I saw a coordinator of a so-called "initiative group" get into an argument with his teacher. The point is that students are being dragged away from their classes to attend events that even their lecturers haven't been told about.
Incidentally, all the different departments have been forced into new formations due to the low number of teachers. The concepts behind these new "associations" are pretty unique. Translators, for example, are now part of the Philosophy Faculty.
'Liquid' Teachers
In our department there's just one teacher left from the old staff. She's the one person with whom I feel free to openly discuss my views. True, I can see with a kind of horror that if she hadn't persuaded me to enroll, I'd now be considered "on the continent," as they say -- pro-Kyiv, in other words.
Many other teachers flow in and out of the university like water. You don't have time to get your grades or finish a project for one before you have to get used to the personality and questions of another.
The first reason for that is the salary. They get paid only twice in six months. Other reasons include the incredible amount of paperwork (the transition to Russian standards, translating documentation), problems with co-workers, or dim prospects for certain subjects -- particularly for those specializing in Ukrainian history or Ukrainian language and literature.
The Price Of A Russian Diploma
Almost every day students ask their teachers for guarantees that they'll receive Russian diplomas. No one is talking about "local" diplomas from the Luhansk People's Republic.
But we worry that's what they're going to give us, although they're of no use to anyone. Even the rare ardent fans of the "blue, blue, and red" -- as the separatist flag is known -- say they're "out of here" if there aren't going to be any Russian diplomas.
They've apparently already received Russian diplomas in some universities around here. I haven't seen photographic proof. There are different ways of getting them -- you can defend your degree there in Russia, or from here by Skype. Some people get sent elsewhere to take their exams.
The teachers say that everyone will get their degrees. But how much value will these diplomas have, if.... students are studying unsystematically: gunfire and explosions can prevent them from going to class. A majority of those enrolled this year can't call themselves university students without embarrassment. Many of the upperclassmen have come up with their own individual schedule for finishing their course work and are located in different countries. Studies are the last thing they're thinking about.
It's a complicated question: for what accomplishments, and according to what criteria, is our generation of students going to receive its diplomas?
I hope that the labor market will dump us in the service-industry niche of Slavic fast food -- or whatever they're planning to build instead of McDonald's -- and that no catastrophes will ensue.
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

Letters from Survivors in Ukraine Part 1

A man walks past a building damaged in recent shelling in Donetsk's Kyivskiy district, near the airport, on October 7.

 

There’s nothing like survival knowledge gained from real disaster accounts. The following letters from survivors in Ukraine are full of such gems. In some cases it may sound anecdotal, in others it may be specific to that particular place and time, but “this actually happened” is always more valuable than speculations.
The following testimonies are published by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. http://www.rferl.org
I added some of my own thoughts and observations. I hope you learn something from it and as always comments are always welcomed.
…
Mykhaylo Vasilyev, pensioner
Luhansk
Luhansk used to be poetically called "the city of fountains and roses." Now it is the city of downcast faces. Sad, downcast, emaciated. And very tired -- tired of having no money, mass unemployment, poverty and damaged homes, constant problems with electricity, water, heating, and telephones. But most of all, tired from the loss of hope.
There are downcast faces everywhere. On the streets, in the half-empty stores and various offices, in the remaining markets. A smile in Luhansk has become a rare thing, like a dandelion in winter. Smiles remain together with the interrupted peace -- in the past, in our memories.
FerFAL Comment: In most disasters that I have researched over the years, especially long term ones, having enough money helped greatly. Paying for food at inflated prices, bribing your way out of war zones, paying for transportation, housing and settling somewhere better/safer. Cash is king and money makes the world go around. And when you don’t have money, you better have hope, because chances are you’ll have little else.
Gloomy people are very cautiously buying groceries. And gloomy clerks are sympathetically measuring out 50 grams of cheese or liverwurst, packing two or three cracked eggs into a plastic bag (they are cheaper and so in great demand), or weighing out a single frozen chicken wing.
FerFAL Comment: Just read that paragraph again whenever you wonder if you have enough food stored (and don’t forget water!)
But they categorically refuse to accept change. Change has become the subject of fierce arguments. A cashier in one downtown grocery angrily said they have several hundred thousand hryvnyas' worth of change down in their basement and they can't get rid of it.
The same is true of the 100-hryvnya notes with the little portrait of Taras Shevchenko that were given to many pensioners on the eve of the "elections" in the "Luhansk People's Republic." They, it is said, are no longer valid, banks don't take them. And so stores and traders don't either. Retirees are unhappy, upset. They swear a lot, but they don't threaten to file a complaint. There is no one and nowhere to complain to. They just wonder, "what banks?" Not a single bank in Luhansk is open for business. Recently the last Sberbank offices shut their doors. There are long lines at the bank machines despite the cold.
FerFAL Comment: And while cash is king (and lines form at ATMs “bank machines”), all fiat currencies have their limits. The lesson here is have enough cash, have enough cash in more stable currencies such as dollars and Euros, better yet, have most of them in an offshore account and then for worst case scenarios have real money, gold and silver.
Now lines are forming at Internet providers. At the end of November, Triolan completely unexpectedly and without warning stopped providing free Internet services. So now hundreds of people are standing in line to get reconnected. There is great demand and few technicians. The infrastructure is damaged and express connections are going for 150 hyrvnyas ($9.60), which not everyone can afford. So, for many, even the Internet has become a temporarily inaccessible luxury. A window on the world has closed, one that enabled people to watch Ukrainian television. In Luhansk, they only broadcast Russian, Crimean, and Belarussian television. A door has closed to a world in which heroes are called heroes, terrorists are called terrorists, mercenaries are called mercenaries, and occupiers are called occupiers. And the latter are not portrayed as angels with shining halos.
That's why there are more people than usual in the Internet cafes (8 hryvnyas per hour).
FerFAL Comment: Have your own communications. A small “world radio” can open again that closed window mentioned above. Also, expect propaganda and censorship. War or economic collapse, expect lots of censorship.

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But even in the Internet cafes, there aren't that many people. There are noticeably fewer people downtown in general. After 4 p.m., it is better not to leave your home unless you have to. Offices and businesses "unofficially" close even around lunch time. "Night" grocery stores that formerly were open around the clock, close at 5 p.m. Why should they stay open when there are no customers? Even in the daytime, there aren't many. As evening comes, it is scary to walk down the dark, deserted streets. Packs of starving dogs have flooded the courtyards of the central city. The dogs have bitten many people, but, of course, there is no one to try to catch them.
FerFAL Comment: This we also saw a lot after Argentina’s economic collapse. People that cant afford to feed themselves wont feed pets. Many just kick them out, and they form wild packs that often attack people, especially children. A little tip to keep in mind: you know when things get really scary? When these packs quietly start to disappear, and all of a sudden you just cant seem to find a single cat. Cats are the first to go, they word gets around fast that they taste better than dogs…
The faces of the pensioners are particularly gloomy. At 6 a.m., in the dark and the cold, they are trying to cram themselves into packed buses to go to Lisichansk or Starobelsk to collect their pensions. Who can say what awaits them during the many searches at various checkpoints? Or what they will be accused of as they stand, in their sunset years, in front of young armed men like prisoners of war before a tribunal or helpless prisoners in front of all-powerful gulag guards?
One of my neighbors has already traveled to Izyum four times, but still hasn't gotten his pension. Some sort of issue with his documents. But he doesn't complain and maintains a gloomy silence. When I ask him about it, he turns and walks away.
Complaining is not allowed these days. And in general many Luhansk residents who were formerly quite chatty have turned to silence. They might comment on the weather, but no one is speaking about politics, about the economy, about the state of affairs in the city. Even within the circle of their old friends or former colleagues. Who knows? A word is not a swallow that will fly away -- many people are recalling 1937 and the black vans that collected the condemned. Shadows, they say, come at midnight.
FerFAL Comment: Lots of waiting in line, at times for days, for things that in other places are either automatic (a pension paid to your account) or can be fixed online or with a five minute phone call. Queues everywhere, for the most mundane thing, a line for bread, for cash at the ATM, for your document/passport.
Here's a small example from the life of our neighborhood. After the heating season began, one homeowner began repairing a war-damaged floor. A neighbor thought the workers were too noisy and that they were bothering her, although they worked only during the day and were pretty careful. She told someone she knew who had connections in certain circles. Very soon, a few armed people in camouflage showed up, confiscated all the workers' tools, and took the homeowner -- as the organizer of the disorder -- away "for a check" in prison (as they call the basements that have been adapted to hold Luhansk residents in rooms where 15 or 20 people share one wastebucket that is emptied once a day). Only after 10 days of truths and lies and agreements and who-knows-what-else, his wife managed to get him released. He'd lost weight. He'd aged. He'd become a different man.
In short, Luhansk, under the "LPR," has become a city of downcast faces. A friend of mine who moved to Kyiv in the summer tells me that people in the capital can immediately recognize those recently displaced from Luhansk and Donetsk precisely by the particularly mournful expression on their faces, by the clear stamp of a unique wartime syndrome. How long must a person live in peace before that expression is washed away? And does it wash away entirely?
FerFAL Comment: Sadness and self-censorship. You never know who’s listening. My mother in law is like that these days back in Argentina. When my wife calls and talks politics with my sister in law, criticizes the government, her mother quickly reminds them to keep thier voice down because neighbors may hear them. What are they afraid of? Criticising the government in Argentina can get you in trouble, sometimes serious, sometimes not so much, but it’s still recommended not to do so, for your own good.
Pyotr Ivanov, psychologist
Luhansk
The siege of Luhansk this summer was predictable. The war was in full swing, the city was being shelled, and all those able to flee the city had already done so. Those who had stayed in Luhansk tried to stock up on supplies, bracing for the worst. When the siege began, people quickly realized that what they had considered vital items were actually not at all what they now needed.
When they prepare for war, people often fail to realize that they will run out of water, not of food! And when the water runs out, they find themselves surrounded by bags of grains of which they can only consume a handful, at best.
Water ran out in Luhansk on August 31. All of it. I mention this so that people clearly understand. Some people thought the shortages would affect only drinking water and bought large quantities of water purification tablets. But very soon, there was no water in Luhansk in which to drop these tablets! There was no drinking water, no tap water, not even puddles (it rained only once in August). In the first days of the siege, you could still find bottled mineral water in shops. Then it disappeared entirely. Two weeks later, bottles went back on sale, at the market. The price for it was twice -- then thrice -- what it used to be.
Then water started being delivered in vehicles. For free. As many as 200 or 300 hundred people would queue up, there were scuffles. Residents were eventually given access to the city's water reserves. Again, hundreds of people would stand in line and scuffles broke out. The fighting ended when machine-gun-touting insurgents began supervising the queues. All in all, we gathered water at gunpoint.
FerFAL Comment: Remember what I said earlier about water? You run out of water, you run out of food. Eventually you realize you should have left. This is true for Syria, Ukraine, and it will always be true for any war-torn region.
For some people, another product is even harder to forgo than bread. Cigarettes. At least, cigarettes help to forget about food. Cigarettes disappeared in Luhansk two weeks before water. Smokers cleared up the shelves regardless of brand and price -- the first huge queues in Luhansk were for cigarettes. A few weeks later cigarettes turned up on the black market, at exorbitant prices just like bottled water. By mid-July, a pack of filterless cigarettes cost 17 hryvnyas on the black market, almost two dollars at the exchange rate back then.
FerFAL Comment: Like any other drug, its wasted money, bad for your health and a sign of emotional weakness. You should be able to get by without smokes and without booze. Kick the habit now and don’t be one of those pathetic souls willing to trade a can of food for a smoke or a beer.
Today's pampered consumers rely heavily on their fridges. They zealously pack fridges up the brim and are confident that with such stockpiles they can survive an atomic war. Just in case, let me point out that fridges require electricity.

Residents hide in a shelter in Makeyevka near Donetsk in mid-August.
FerFAL Comment: A good point often overlooked by prepers that just buy more freezers. Freezers require electricity, they also break down and offer relatively little storage space. Instead of filling freezers buy dried food and canned food, or invest it in canning equipment.
Electricity was cut off as early as July 31. We had no electricity for almost two months, right until mid-September. On the third day, a campaign started in Luhansk called "remove the rotten meat from your fridge." It was conducted in those flats and shops that were still inhabited (or in the case of shops, that were guarded). Half of the city's residents had already fled, leaving their fridges plugged in. These people held the "clean-your-fridge" campaign only when they returned, in September and October. Many threw out the fridge together with the rotten meat.
What did people eat during the siege? Almost all the shops were closed. Out of a dozen shopping sites in the city, only one still operated. The remaining products were sold there and at the market. The bakery worked round-the-clock, but there still long queues for bread. People feared there wouldn't be enough. Elderly people started queuing at 5 a.m. Fortunately, the shelling would usually start later, after "breakfast time" as residents joked.
During a siege, candles and batteries are essential. Still, in the evening, you could see only two or three lit-up windows across the vast residential expanse. Many apartments were deserted. The others were inhabited but people in them could afford neither candles nor batteries.
FerFAL Comment: How useful those low lumen modes can be. How important it is to have batteries, common ones for your kit running AA and AAA. How much money you can safe with rechargeables. And a quality solar charger? Priceless!

Anker 14W Dual-Port Solar Charger $39.99

I cursed myself a lot for failing to put batteries in our old transistor radio. By the time I realized my mistake, I couldn't afford to buy four batteries (the price for one had already climbed to $1.30). This summer in Luhansk, a radio was worth more than 20 computers put together. That's because transistor radios stations can pick up stations that broadcast useful information, news. For some reason, more recent models like mine caught Chinese radio stations better than Russian- and Ukrainian-language ones.
So I would sit on the balcony in the evening, under the starry sky in a city without lights, without noise, and I would listen to Chinese music. In the morning, my neighbors would ask me to switch the radio on again tonight. As it turned out, they also listened to it, from their windows.
Halyna Mudra, mathematician
Donetsk
The Ukrainian president and his cabinet of ministers have imposed a total financial and economic blockade on territories controlled by the separatists. They have also stopped paying pensions and other social allowances to people there.
This has prompted the leaders of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (the DNR and LNR) to come up with their own measures.
On December 4, DNR head Oleksandr Zakharchenko and LNR head Ihor Plotnitskiy approved the action plan (or "road map") drafted by the so-called "council of ministers of the republics." The measures will allegedly ensure the stable payment of pensions and social allowances, create a financial system, establish regulations governing budgetary processes, set up a temporary banking system, which will in turn support socially vulnerable people, and create financial institutions while remaining in the Hryvnia zone.
The "road map" was first applied on November 4 in the town of Torez. In the building of the local pension fund, employees (who obviously now already work for the DNR) started distributing 1,000-hryvnya vouchers ($63) to pensioners. According to a special schedule, every day 50 pensioners can exchange their voucher for money at the DNR "bank."
People start queuing up at 4 a.m. Fights and brawls are common -- four people have already been trampled, one woman broke her leg. The militants restore order by firing their rifles into the air.
The pension fund handed out as many as 2,500 vouchers in just two days, which means the last of these vouchers will be exchanged on January 25, 2015! The lucky first 100 pensioners received their cash on December 4 and 5. The actual origin of this money is murky, especially considering that the DNR "bank" is based in the seized building of the former Privatbank, on Gagarin Street.
Interestingly, people already registered in Ukraine as people displaced by the conflict are not entitled to vouchers. Before handing out vouchers, pension fund workers open the Ukrainian state pension registry and check whether the claimant is listed on it. How come the DNR has access to the state pension registry? Obviously this happens across the DNR and concerns other government records!
Before the separatists took control of Torez in June, 80,000 people lived in that city, including 27,332 pensioners. Many have since fled to other others parts of Ukraine and to Russia. But while the number of residents has dropped sharply, the number of pensioners remains more or less the same. This means the DNR will need a year and a half and about 27 million hryvnyas ($1.7 million) to support all Torez pensioners for just one month!
Torez is now ruled by a "military commander" and a "police" force. Electrical and water supply is sporadic, banks and cash points are closed, government and official law-enforcement agencies have been evacuated. Ukrainian authorities halted the payment of pensions, social allowances, and salaries on July 15.
On November 17, disgruntled Torez residents blocked a street in protest. A DNR representative eventually sent the protesters home with the promise that payments will be resumed. This is why the first pensions were paid out in Torez. But pensioners are unlikely to be satisfied with the new system, not to mention disabled people and women with children. As for doctors, teachers, and other public sector employees, they have not been paid since July.
There were other attempts to mollify pensioners. Ahead of the November 2 "elections" of the DNR's so-called "People's Council," for instance, all housing offices across the Donetsk region accepted applications for 1,800 hryvnya ($114) in retirement benefits. They sent people home and told people to wait. When the payments failed to arrive, impatient pensioners demanded their money. Now, pensioners are being asked to file new applications for retirement benefits, this time only to the amount of between 500 and 1,000 hryvnyas.
In view of the project's complete economic failure, residents of the Donetsk region, even those who voted for the DNR, are starting to doubt. They don't understand what kind of economic, political, and social system these "People's Republics" are supposed to have. Who will take ownership of the region's key assets -- factories, mines, agricultural land, transport infrastructure, housing -- is also unclear. And it's precisely who owns these assets that will determine the quality of life, the level of social benefits and social protection of citizens.
If at least Ukrainian authorities understood that people need help grasping complex issues. For example, they could try explaining to Ukrainian citizens in the DNR the decree adopted on November 4 by Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council [the decree spells out urgent measures to stabilize the socio-economic situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions]. Russian and separatist television channels have been brainwashing people since April. So I'm afraid Ukraine is completely losing the information war here in the DNR.
Folks, I think this is great information and a lot can be learned from it. Food, water, money, batteries, essential supplies such as medicine are surely precious as well. I think that the key is still to have means so as to not be there in the first place. Have a bug out plan. A place to go to, means to get there, and as I’ve posted many times before: TIMING IS EVERYTHING. Leaving in time means you can get the most out of what you leave behind, sell, or take with you. Running when the bombs are dropping is a tad to late. Expat or refugee, its all about timing. Feel free to quote me on that one!
Take care people. I'll do Part 2 soon.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

Russian Conflict: USA sends tanks and armor to Europe

U.S. is sending tanks, Bradley armored fighting vehicles and self-propelled howitzers to its allies in Central and Eastern Europe.

 It will include 90 tanks, 140 armored vehicles and 20 pieces of heavy artillery. Enough equipment to arm an entire brigade will be positioned in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Romania and Poland.

This is a clear response to Putin’s actions in Eastern Ukraine and a show of support for its NATO allies. U.S. had this same amount of armor stationed in West Germany during the Cold War, making it more of a symbolic move than a strategic one.
At this point, it could all end in sabre-rattling but with this kind of escalation there is always the possibility of more serious conflict erupting.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

More Great real-world Survival Lessons from Ukraine

OK, some more great real-world lessons from Ukraine and thoughts being translated from Russian speaking forums. I think some folks here will get an aneurysm when they read about big cities being better, people being stuck in the war zone "because of my farm" and big off-road BOB vehicles not being that great an idea. (off road vehicles are actually being confiscated for official use of either faction, expensive cars are being stolen at checkpoints)
The following quotes have been translated by Sygata from a Russian forum and he kindly let me use them here. I fixed a few typos and spelling errors here and there for clarity.

Bugging in, Bugging out and where to Live

Posted by bofors30
When it was just starting in Kiev nobody was worried. Big deal, more unrest in Kiev. The first concerns started to appear after the Maidan shooting . It became obvious that there was no way back. After the annexation of Crimea it became obvious that we were going to have war. Interestingly, almost nobody believed that (there were no war for 70 years). I did not want to believe it either, but in reality was suggesting that the war is inevitable. After the appearance of armed people in Slavyansk I realized that I need to make a decision now. And after visiting Khramatorsk and hearing constant gunfire I had no doubts left.
First decision you have to make is to evacuate or to stay. If you are evacuating, you need to do that as soon as armed groups of people appears. It does not matter if they armed with shotguns or pitchforks. If the government is not capable of stopping them, that's the end. If you react early enough, you still can sell your house and some of your belongings. The later you go, the less things you will be able to sell, and the less things you will be able to take with you. The earlier you go, the easier it will be to settle on a new place.
But, if there are roadblocks set, it is too late to evacuate. Especially horrible there were groups of cars with signs "Children", that tried to pretty much storm through roadblocks under gunfire. There were a lot of those, but a real spike was not when the shells first fall onto our city, but when the city got blocked there was nowhere to go.
Later, about a month after that, there were the same thing going in the opposite direction, when people who thought it will be over in a month started to go back home. But it was far from over.
Posted by valdem01
Usually first evacuation spike is after the place is shelled for the first time. And in the summer people usually were going south, to the beach. In reality, the real combat could have started a month or even more later. By that time people had no money left, and were forced to come back home. Those people are the most scared, they would panic even if an explosion is far away. You also need to take into account the location of the city. City on the single main road could be blocked in a matter of hours. Bigger city would always have an escape route.
Don't think you can get away using back roads - usually there are patrols on most of them and on nearby altitudes and any movement there could be treated as enemies Sabotage-reconnaissance group. And now there are mines everywhere. The safest way out for the family is through the main road and road blocks. A lot trouble comes if you have older relatives - they don't want to go even to a close relatives, but only until shelling did not become constant. When the walls start trembling, they what to go anywhere, but by that time it is impossible.
Probably the best prepping for situations like that is having some money in some stable currency. You can buy what you need (especially in big cities) or you can use those money to settle in the new place.
Posted by Lastmad
What's better - city car or 4 wheel drive... The thing is, even outside of ATO zone you go only through roadblocks. Of course, if you have a 4WD, you can try to ride through fields or forest roads. But, first of all, if any military sees you that would try to stop you or just will start shooting, either side, because there are a lot of Sabotage-reconnaissance groups. And second - the are mines. And there are a lot of them, and they set by both sides without any maps, so that their own troops get blown up.
Posted by Kolhoz
For me everything was clear starting February (2014), and I started preparing. But I did not believe into a full blown war, even though I have prepared. I still have some left - canned food, spaghetti, sereals, bataries, radios, etc.
There are no jobs, at all. Government workers (teachers, police, doctors) are working pretty much for free. I have heard of people getting a can of canned food ant two teabags for a week of work.
I am not leaving because of my farm, and the farm gives me hope for more or less normal life in any case.

Bugging in

Posted by bofors30
If you live in large apartment building, you have no choice but to move to your relatives, or look for abandoned house. In the apartment building everything against you:
Height provokes hits by shelling, sometimes unintentional,
Overall condition of such buildings is not ideal (couple days ago because of the shell that hit an entrance stairs from first to third floor collapsed in the 5 stories building),
Heating (Critical in winter, and if central heating pipes froze, thats unfixable)
Water (Filtration station stopped countless times)
In the house you can concentrate on solving those problem and solve them much faster and simpler then in the apartment.
And the most important thing - the shelter nearby. Running to a shelter from 8th floor under unexpected shelling is useless, but covered dugout in the garden is 80% of your survival. We could not make it in our garden because of ground water, so we used kitchen made of concrete blocks, which saved me when 122mm gift landed in my garden.
Water - your well, or find out where is the closest one. Tap water, if working, is horrible quality, comparably with melted snow from the outside.
I have gas heating and wood stove. Gas was out couple times, but in general it was stable so far.
Posted by Lastmad
Windows... At first, big roll of duct tape was waiting for its time, than we put it on windows, now there is a huge market for rolls of plastic (it just disappeared, and brought here with humanitarian aid). In Donetsk people put Styrofoam wrapped into plastic food wrap in windows instead of double glazing.
Posted by Kolhoz
I had a brick house. Pretty solid, holds on against bullets and small RPGs. Widows covered by bricks, even without cement hold on surprisingly well.
Here is my house. Look at the window on the right on a second picture - the bricks are still intact.

People asked where to live better - suburb, city or village. I think the best is a house close to the middle of the city. All the suburb had combat, in the remote villages were no laws, but in the middle of the city there is always some sort of government.
I am planning to build a new house instead of the old one. My wife told me do whatever you want, but I want a bomb shelter. I am going to build a deep (dual purpose) basement at least 2 meters below the ground. 4 ventilation holes (2 in 2 out), 2 entrances - from the street and from the house, electricity, would stove, put couple bags of charcoal. Make shelves, so that they could be used as beds if needed. Put some shovels there as well.
Posted by Dr. NeWatson
My sister s house in Gorlovka, 2.5 stories, pretty good, was not touched by military. Its a war, tactical consideration prevail against greed.
Posted by Vladar
Tank could break through the gates of your house without opening them if it will improve its position.
Separately standing big house would be a taken for the needs of commander.
When I was walking to my parents house (about 30 min walk) I would attach a label with my name and tell the neighbors where I am going. There I would walk house - well - toilet (I used their toilet to save some water)
If Grad hits near your building - it is not that bad except if it got directly into your window or into the roof. The most dangerous are the fragments. If it hit right under the house foundation, it just breaks the close by windows. It is much worse if it hit the tree or a an electric post - than you would see the fragments trace all around the house front.
Nobody would put bricks or sand bags on the windows, but I put foam pillows there, and slept for two month in the hallway. The basement in my building is very narrow, but I visited my friends. They live in an apartment in a 3 stories building with 2 apartments on each store. they had huge basement, and 3 families from houses without basement lived there. About 10 people lived in a room about 13x32 feet, for about 3 month.
If my neighbor in his apartment keeps large propane tank, I would kill him, and nobody would say anything.
IMPORTANT!
If you leaving the house for a day in such situation throw away everything from your refrigerator. You may come back in 3 month, and door to your apartment will be broken by neighbors because of the smell. If the gas company would say that the gas would be given to the building if all apartments checked for leaks, or if the water is leaking and you did not left the keys to the neighbors - the doors would be broken.

Bug out bag

Posted by Kolhoz
I lived in suburb called Metallist. At first we started to hear gunfire, that tanks and armored vehicles started to come into the neighborhood, first shelling came. For some reason we were still sitting there, nobody wanted to leave the house. And last 3 days we could not anyway. Finally 2 heavily armed guys showed up at my house and said they are going to use the attic, and it would be safer if we move. they gave us 10 minutes to leave the house, and this is were my bug out bags became useful.
I was planning to have 4 Bug out bags, fist one universal - medicine, roll of plastic, rope, some water, second one expanding the first one -kitchenware, warm clothes, etc., but never got time to complete bag #3 and #4.
So we threw into a car whatever those bags and whatever we can find in 10 minutes and under shelling left to a farm on the other side of the city, were we had only unfinished barn. Until now we drinking tea with metal caps from bugout bag.

Electricity

Posted by bofors30
The problems start when electricity goes off. And generator won't save you. The stores are first to close, phones and internet are not working, businesses are shut down.
Lastmad
Generators are good, but they are confiscated by both sides for the needs of roadblocks, so the noise is your enemy. I "lost" (meaning stashed not to be found) 3 generators, and left only a small 1 kW one.
The thing is, even a low noise generator, when everything dark and quite makes enough noise to be heard. So, I turn it on only during the day, when it is noisy outside and I am sure there no patrols. I charge 12V car batteries, and support my refrigerator and freezer from being completely defrosted.(refrigerator can go 2 days and freezer 4 days without a need for electricity).
Inverters (250W, 350W and 800W) means I can get 220V (220V is standard for Ukraine - sygata) in complete silence. For me that means light, TV, radio and everything else were lower power 220V is needed. One thing, if you have light, cover your windows unless you want some gift to fly in.
Some neighbors are running small generators in the apartments, putting a hose on the exhaust and putting it into a window, covering the generator with the cardboard box and mattresses. The run time is short though because of the heat. I really think small (0.75-1 kW) generator is a must.
Posted by Vladar
We lost power a bunch of time for 1-2 days and couple for 3-5 days.
Power would jump from 15V, that became normal at evening (standard in Ukraine 220V) to 170-180 during the day. Surge protectors is a must. When the power is low, most washers would not even turn on (and at that time you will get water once per 3 days, 5pm-7pm). Refrigerators may work on 150V - 180V but sometimes compressor would overheat. Microwave won't work on low power and charger won't charge the phone.
You need to plan your lighting for 1-2 weeks of independent work. Car battery - LED - Converter 12V to USB. Look for rapid chargers with 12V input, you don't want to sit there for couple hours and wait until 2A charger charges 10A powerbank.
For not covered lighted window you can get a shot into that window from AK. Prices for batteries and candles grew several times. Powerful flashlight is not needed and even bad for you. The one I used is Akoray k-106 with AA battery, put on a min. and Tank 007 as EDC.
The most useful flashlights were two I had with motion detectors.
Posted by Valdam01
I am hiker and out of all my equipment solar panel with battery charger proved to be one of the view really useful items.

Clothes

Posted by bofors30
It is funny now to read comments from "experts" pointing out that camo jackets and outwear is pretty common and does not surprise anyone now, so after SHTF it would be even more common. They would say that half of population were they live are using woodland or something similar, and that this is not a uniform but just regular clothes.
It was just like that here. But at certain point it disappeared. Even civilian colours. Only military and separatists are wearing those. For the olive M65 jacket I almost got arrested (they thought I am an artillery spotter or something like that). Any green colored clothes stand out like a naked prostitute in the middle of church.
Posted by Lastmad
Camo and any military styles clothes you can wear only if you are in the military. For civilians it is better to have jackets from Gas or another utility company uniform - they they seem to treat you better on the roadblocks and you are not drawing attention.
valmad01
If you have anything on you that even remotely looks like military you will draw unwanted attention with unpredictable results. If you wear ballistic vest, in the best for you case it will be confiscated for the needs of the army and your house will be searched just in case.

Comment by FerFAL: I’d rather get my vest confiscated if found rather than get killed by bullets or shrapnel but I do see the common theme: If you look “military” in any way, either faction will assume you’re an enemy. The best thing to do is to look as normal as possible, and I for one would get rid of any suspicious material before going through a checkpoint. Great point about camo. Camo only makes sense if you are involved in the conflict. Even olive green color can be problematic. We go back to the gray man approach: Be smart, look normal, wear normal clothes in darker, subdued colors and tones like black, dark, gray, dark blue, so as to not attract attention but not look “tactical”. Even my favorite pants, the 5.11 taclite, would be suspicious for a soldier at a checkpoint with a good eye. Same for tactical footwear. I think it’s a good idea to focus on high end, high quality outdoors gear. These tend to be as good or better than military style clothes and don’t look as tactical. In fact, many special ops prefer premium outdoors gear when it comes to clothing and footwear.

Phones

Posted by Lastmad
On a street in your pocket you should have an old black and white Nokia, with a good battery. Definitely without memory card and camera since those will cause a lot of troubles on roadblocks. The more you can go without charging it the better. GPS is working only in some places, mobile network often goes down, Having SIM cards from multiple providers helps, but if found causes questioning on the roadblocks.
Phone that only allows to call or send SMS is much better if you stopped at the check point. And there is a lot of those. Also, people are charging the phones in groups, for example by the whole building, and if you don't have a common charging connector you may not be able to charge it.
Every smart phone or a tablet is a reason for special attention at the checkpoints, roadblocks or by patrol. They would go through you pictures and may or may not give it back.
God forbid you are calling or just holding the phone near your ear when driving through roadblock. Minimum you will be beaten up and the phone confiscated, maximum - go to another world, but only after you would proof that you are not an artillery spotter or a scout. Not many people in Donetsk are talking on the phone while walking the streets.
Posted by Vladar
Wired phones worked while we had the power. Then they had couple weeks of generate fuel worth. Battery on a local station lasted 1 hour.
For the streets only the simplest phone without camera or anything else. In a contact book only Mom, Dad, etc. (unless you want to explain who are each of those other people) For the record in your contacts with inappropriate location code you could disappear for couple days. Smartphone will be checked thoroughly - social media accounts, email, pictures, etc.
You may spent 30 minutes explaining who you wrote what and why.
You need to have a smartphone though - because of the internet. Viber was working better than SMS. There were cases when phone would display "Emergency calls only", but Viber was able to send and receive messages. The only thing you need to buy SIM cards in advance. The starting pack for "Kievstar" was going for 100-200 hryvnas (regular price - 15 hryvnas)
One advice - you need a headset. When you hold a phone in the hands it is not finding connection well, but with bluetooth or wired headset is more convenient for redial, you just push a single button and can redial multiple times. I would tape my phone to the top corner of the window and and would dial while lying in the hallways floor. Or would attach on a tree, where there is a connection and dial standing nearby.
Military on both sides usually willing to help you to charge your phone. In some cases, if the connection present only when you on altitude, that would have somebody standing with you listening to your talk.
In some cases phone would be able to dial after 10-30 retries, or after midnight. SMS could take 2-3 days to go through, and will take 20-60 tries.
Also, keep in mind, when connection is bad, the battery goes down much faster (couple hours).
In the event of shelling don't put info to the internet for couple of hours, especially if it has GPS tagging, since it could be used to correct shelling.

Radios

Posted by Lastmad
Radios... you better off leaving them home. And at home I "lost" (meaning hid - sygata) anything decent from Yaesu and to scanners like Aor and Icom. The only thing I have now is Baofeng, that is good enough for scanning and I know I can throw it out without regret if I have to.
In summer a cab I took was stopped at the checkpoint. The cab had a radio, driver showed a copy of a license and was let go. In fall in the same situation the radio could be ripped out of the car and you beaten up(as part of interrogation), especially if don't have the papers). Most cab drivers now using android smart phones.
Posted by Dr. NeWatson
For carrying weapons you may just get beaten up and weapon is confiscated, but carrying radios, binoculars and and complicated looking electronics is just a sadistic way of suicide. And it is wholeheartedly supported by locals, especially after couple missiles hit near the places giving out humanitarian aid.
Posted by Kostikfraerok
In summer time we had a very heated discussion on the roadblock and almost got beaten up for the radio in the cab we took.
Posted by Vladar
The only use I can see for the radios is after close explosions to check on relatives living within your radio range. Thats it! Do not talk about what got hit by missiles, were you can buy bread, etc. Never let the neighbours see radios, you don't know when they will tell about it. Like on the roadblock, they can say: "Hey, my neighbour has the same radio".
For communication I would have prefered a long range phone, like Senao
Posted by Kolhoz
The main goal of the searches on roadblockes is finding radios, weapon, optic sights and other spy equipment. If found, in the best scenario it confiscated, you lightly beaten up. After that you are interrogated and based on the result either arrested or taken for questioning.
None of the HAM operators I know got in trouble.
Friend of mine lives in Schast'e. His house is covered by HF and UHF antennas. Armed forces showed up in his house and offered him a job. He refused and they left him alone.
When my house was searched, here is the radio setup I had:

I just showed my license and there was no problem
In September I asked in commandant's office how to extend the papers and register the radios. They told me to sit quiet and not draw attention. And promised to confiscate at the first sign of trouble.
Yesterday we were hit by Uragan's ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BM-27_Uragan ). After explosions, like usual, ham operators started to talk, we figured out were the explosions are, so I was able to call my friends to check on them. We also determined what type of missiles was used. We also listening police and emergency teams.
Today, I have heard how my friend (70+ years old) talked on the radio with a person from the other side. We figured that out by him mentioning ts-2000 ham radio in a car and the fact that he is making kebab.
One of the ham operators remembered he heard the same guy in the summer. Two other guys started to turn directional antennas. So, basically in 3 minutes we (as a group of HAM operators) identified that person and his location to a 600 yards radius circle on the map.

Comment by FerFAL: Great points on phones. On one hand any smart phone will look suspicious because of its intel ability. The basic phone without camera and no one in your contacts will be checked less thoroughly. Personally, I’d be VERY distrustful of a person with a phone with no contacts other than mom, dad, girlfriend, sister. That to me has spook written all over it. But the point is still valid: They will look into your cell phone, they will check your facebook app and see what you’re up to. You better be pretty neutral and have pictures and comments that reflect that.
At the same time, you need a smartphone so as to go online, talk, connect with people maybe even work or make bank transfers, buy plane tickets. So, you need it, but you have to be careful of what they’ll find if checked and you have to be ready to lose it. My solution. Have both, have a smartphone ready to be checked and have a more basic phone. If it comes down to it, you can try to reason with the soldier and get him to let you keep at least the basis phone. Maybe your son or one of the kids can have it as their personal phone, which would look even less suspicious.
About the radio guy being offered a job. I’m sure that’s exactly what happened, but his position is FAR from ideal. They may come back later and not ASK but they’ll you that you now work for them. Then again, enemy factions may think you are working for them and shell your position or get you with sniper fire. Is the house well placed, with radios, a nice vegetable garden and looks well put together? That’s called a command center my friend, and one side or the other will eventually end up living in it. People in strategically positioned houses, or particularly good houses or structures to set a barrack or command post are either asked or forced to leave.

Medical Care

Posted by bofors30
If 911 is coming, they don't have any medicine with them, Pharmacies are empty, they don't have even common painkillers. If you have chronic disease, your chances are not good. Hospitals are working, but doctors are without salaries. Good doctors are gone (fled the area), the ones that left are not treating you well. Trauma and surgery department are overflown.
Military goes to regular hospitals, doctors just assigning the medicine, getting it is up to you.
smith_SVP
In February we decided that we should keep enough medicine to last for my grandma for 6 month. I also got contact lenses for myself enough for 4 years.
Posted by Kolhoz
It became a bit better with the medicine, but still most of what pharmacies offer are herbal teas.
Posted by Valdar
Tranquillizers are a huge deficit. Most pharmacies merged their supplies. One pharmacy was delivering medicine (patients had to pay for it) to people with heart conditions, diabetics, and other chronic disease. In September only most expansive medicines were left in pharmacies.
My friend had to go to the dentist, got into the chair, and at this point there was a power outage for the whole day.
In the hospital there were turning on generator for 10-30 minutes an hour, as they said to charge equipment in intensive care unit. But the power was gone multiple times for up to 5 days.
Ketanov(ketorolac) and similar painkillers disappeared among the first, also Omez (Omeprazole), tranquillizers, antiseptics, bandages. Some specialized medicine you were able to find because pharmacies merged their storages and most people with chronic disease fled.
Posted by Dr.NeWatson
All medicine with unchanged form and colour considered good. But without real need we trying not to use it on kids, elderly, pregnant, etc.
So, here is a real life problem:
You have a patient with pneumonia and collapse, and you have
1. AI-2 ( Russian military first aid kit, http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/АИ-2 ) of unknown year with tetracycline and sulfadimethoxine, that looks intact, but cannot be younger than 1992 (they stopped making those)
2. Ampiox ( this is oxacillin and ampicillin, http://www.ndrugs.com/?s=Ampiox ), dated to year 2000.
3. Ephedrine manufactured in 1974.
What would you do?
We injected ephedrine, tried microdose of ampiox to check for allergy and injected it when no reaction was found and used sulfadimethoxine. Tetracycline was excluded because of the age and possible toxicity.
For pain prior to hospital we are giving Ketonal/Ketorol + Butorphanol/Nalbuphine. Hospitals have Buprenorphine and Promedol. Large burnes are handled with local anaesthetics, but our hospital does not have burn department.
For gunshot wounds we setting drainage. Fasciotomy is not used because of the low skill level of the surgents and most of them have not even read battlefield medicine guide. Your body encapsulates small shrapnel just fine.
Tetanus injection should be made to all wounded, and we trying to enforce this, but in reality it may or may not happen.
Also for wounded we use injections or IV with contrykal or gordox. If there is a wounded enemy soldier, I will not treat him unless I have a direct order.
I am against the use of tourniquet by non-medics. Especially because a lot of people when facing the choice to die or become disabled are choosing to die. Long and tight elastic bandage will press a small/medium blood vessel same good and much safer. ( with tourniquet neuromuscular injuries are common). Major blood vessel injury is equal to amputation, nobody would bother making blood vessel suture. From my point of view two tourniquet per group - one carried by medic and one by commander or by sniper is more them enough. Looks like Sweden figured this out, their first aid kit has a semi-elastic bandage.
My friend almost committed suicide - he thought he lost a leg, but then he figured to look, and saw it intact, he just didn't feel the leg because of the tourniquet.
Looting/Confiscations by armed forces
Lastmad
Imagine the suburbs of the city. The following group enters: pickup track L-200 with large calibre machine gun, two sedans with no tags but some armed forces markings and two large KRAZ.
A group of 20-30 people with guns wearing balaclavas gets out and goes to closest house.(is it random or by someone tip is different question). The owner opens, and they asking to see the documents of everyone in the house and permission to look around the house. In the first house the owner had no problem with that, and they did not even go into the house. In the next one the owner shows the documents, but refuses to let them to search, and as the result that owner is on his knees with a gun to his head and the house is turned inside out. And it goes like that on the whole street.
Special attention payed to the people without documents, or if the address in the document does not match this place. If you are a citizen of another country, depending on a country you could be detained.
A lot of thing if found, confiscated: weapon, regardless licensed or not, radios (after interrogation - why do you have them), generators.
If camouflage clothes found, balaclavas, hunting/military knives, etc, they are confiscated, and you need to prove to them that you are not an enemy soldier, and to yourself that you are not a moron. Also, if found, gold, worm clothes, gas canisters, flashlights, etc.
Posted by Vladar
Abandoned house will be looted, may be even by neighbors, that later will blame military. If a non regular army comes to a village, they would loot houses of local officials and business that support the other side.
If the village is on a way of combat, some forces are moving in, some retreating, both would definitely stop by to get something.
If the village is under control by the same force for a long time, the only not-abandoned houses looted will be the once of the people suspected in collaboration with another side of the conflict, and that would be as a "house search".
If military occupies some business building or a factory for more than 5-10 hours, all safes are going to be open.

The sign on the following picture says "Will look after you house during the war". This is actually very useful. A lot of people left thinking it is for 1-2 month, and no cannot come back. People looking after the house may fix windows or heating, mail you some things you left, etc.
If some store gets hit, it considered open and is looted. In some cases some good people were taping the process and gave the recording to the owner, but nobody was punished.
Home improvement/construction stores are either looted, or closed by local government (declared a strategic supply reserve)

  It goes without saying that not all situations are the same and what works well or makes sense in one specific case may not in another. Survivalism has no black and white answers. In fact, the key to survival is adaptability. Learn and adapt. Adapt the things you learn to your specific case. Having said that, by far the best source of information to learn from is real world events, other people's real experience. Too often we hear about survival “experts” telling others that things will go down this way or another and when you confront them with FACTS, things that actually happened, that actually went down a certain way, the answer usually floats around something along the lines of: "...yeah... but it would be completely different here, cuz this is 'Merica!". And if you ask why is it that they rather not learn from things that have actually happened, rather than prepare based on what they see on "The Walking Dead" the answer doesn’t make much more sense and it goes along something like "... cuz... this is 'Merica!"
Don’t be that guy. Learn from these experiences, from what others have gone through. It may not happen exactly the same but there are a TON of similarities, there always are. This is much more useful than wasting time debating the survival lessons seen in some TV series.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.