Crimean officials are looking on the bright side of the peninsula's recent electricity shortages.
Much of the peninsula has been in the dark since saboteurs exploded power cables from Ukraine last month, but there could be a silver lining: “In 2016 because of this situation we're simply going to have a demographic explosion,” Andrei Filonov, a local government chief in the city of Yevpatoria, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency Thursday.
To cope with the impending baby boom, Filonov requested extra cash to renovate a maternity clinic from Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov. “Well done. You're not wasting time. The president said we need to double the population,” Aksyonov replied, according to Interfax.
Crimea previously received around 70 percent of its power from Ukraine, where anti-Russia protesters have hindered work to fix the cables. Russia, which annexed the peninsula last year, has promised undersea cables from the mainland and announced on Thursday that some power had been restored, but it will take time to fully meet the peninsula's energy demands.
On Friday Crimean politician Vladimir Konstantinov waded in, joking that electricity had become so large a part of Crimeans' lives that boys should be named after the diesel power generators in use all over the peninsula.
“It's a very good name — Generator Ivanovich. Gena for short. Not bad at all,” Interfax quoted him as saying.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
