It’s well known that Ukraine’s recent successes in targeting and destroying so many Russian oil refineries and tankers has played havoc with fuel supplies on the Russian mainland, and in Russian-occupied Crimea.

As to Crimea in particular, fuel is being severely rationed (if available at all), and there have been reports of a large-scale exodus of those who purchased property there, or simply came to visit, on Vladimir Putin’s assurances that life was good in the Black Sea paradise since his illegal invasion and occupation in 2014 . And apparently, it has been . . .

. . . that is, until he decided to stage a repeat performance involving the whole of Ukraine in 2022. And the rest is well-known: a war, in its fifth year, that is not going at all as Putin had anticipated and promised. Since then, Crimea itself has become a war zone, particularly in areas housing military facilities and in coastal areas where Russia’s famous Black Sea Fleet has been located, making them prime targets of Ukraine’s drone forces.

Why, then, were the Feenstras — Arend, Anneesa, and seven of their eight children — sent to that very place on a week-long farm tour?

Their specific location on the peninsula has not been mentioned in their videos, and it appears that their first two days were spent at inland agricultural areas — much safer locations, due to the absence of military installations that might be targeted by Ukraine. So I followed them through three episodes on their long train ride and to a couple of apparently thriving farms, where they learned a good bit about Russian agriculture and husbandry.

Skipping over episodes 4 and 5 — visits to a goat farm and a cheese farm — due to a lack of time and, quite frankly, a waning interest in the details of Crimean farm life, I went directly to episode 6: a relaxing day by the Black Sea.

My reason for this was twofold: first, to see how the videos would depict life in the more populated areas of Crimea; and also to make a comparison, as much as possible, with the Black Sea resort (Sochi) I visited on my first trip to the then Soviet Union in 1988.

Obviously, 38 years can make a tremendous difference. And, as Arend Feenstra explained in the video, the recreational areas have been updated and expanded in just the last eight years. Needless to say, he commented on how clean and “gorgeous” everything is, how much attention is paid to lifestyles that help “build community” throughout Russia, and how important that is to quality of life in general. If he hadn’t become a farmer, he would have been a great public relations guru.

There was a stop for lunch.

And more strolling around town.

Again, the exact location was not revealed, but it appeared to be a small resort city or town, with both historic and newly-developed areas. He began his video by commenting on the historically amicable co-existence of substantial Muslim and Jewish communities in the region, and pointed out an “Orthodox church” — without mentioning whether it was Russian or Ukrainian Orthodox. The smart money would be on Russian, of course, as all Ukrainian history, language, culture and religion have been or are being eradicated by Putin in Russian-occupied areas.

The video ended with a walk to the Black Sea itself, where one thing hadn’t changed: the typically European rocky beach surface. (We Americans are accustomed to soft sandy beaches.) Some of the Feenstras seemed to have no difficulty walking barefoot on the stones. But I distinctly recall the amusement of some locals when I was unable to manage without my rubber flip-flops, even in the water.

Happily, the region they visited was indeed beautiful and peaceful. The video showed a coastline devoid of large military vessels — just a couple of lesser ships in the distance, a few smaller boats, and a plethora of lovely swans.

Looking at a map of Crimea, they could have been anywhere along a lengthy stretch of coastline.

And it was obvious from the videos thus far that their itinerary was well planned to keep Russia’s celebrated Canadian emigres as safe as possible.

Which is a good thing.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
7/13/26