Right now we are in Crimea, region of Bakhchysarai.
You can see behind me how many stands here just along the highway selling fruits, vegetables and things like this.
This is you find it in any of the places.
We're going to talk to the business owners here along this road and in Crimea in general
to see exactly what it's like now after 7 years of Russia.
Many of you know that in 2014 Crimea broke away from Ukraine and joined Russia.
There are many scandals about this, sanctions, saying how Russia invaded Crimea and stole the land from Ukraine.
The fact is the locals welcomed Russia with open arms and in fact voted to join Russia.
Now we're going to do as we do almost every we're talking to the business owners and the locals
to find out what really happened in their eyes and what it's like now. Is it better or worse?
We can see here a honey stand. These people not only sell honey here on the side of the road but also they make the honey.
We can see right here across the way, this is where they actually produce the honey.
This is how fast it is – straight from one side of the road to the other side – fresh produced honey.
So we're going to talk to the owner here and see what she has to say about the situation here and what it's like.
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We produce acacia honey in Crimea, here it is. Allergy sufferers, hypertensive patients and diabetics eat it. It stabilizes pressure very well.
We produce mountain honey in the village of Sokolinoye at the foot of the mount Ai-Petri.
It is mainly useful for the upper respiratory tract. It helps with bronchitis, laryngitis, acute respiratory infections, that is, internal inflammation.
We produce lavender honey two kilometers from us in the village of Turgenevka. Basically, it heals the cardiovascular tract, normalizes pressure, soothes.
We produce honey from motley grass twice a year, we get a lot of it. This is ordinary honey from the nectar of plants growing in meadows.
We have white clover honey.
Also we have linden honey, we ourselves add propolis to it.
It helps with arthritis, arthrosis, blood clots, etc.
We have a small assortment, we don't produce a lot of honey.
The honey is of high quality, you can taste every kind of the honey.
Are bees dangerous or not?
When bees swarm, they are dangerous. They are very angry, can attack and bite.
Now they don't bite, they aren't dangerous, since they are well-fed.
The bee isn't dangerous in principle. On the contrary, a bee sting is curative.
Can I see them inside the beehive now?
No, you can't.
I'm not afraid. Can I?
Unfortunately, I can't let you open the beehive now, because all the bees will fly out of it,
and then it will be difficult to close it.
Okay.
Can you say how much honey costs?
From 3,000 rubles, 3,000, 2,400, 2,500 and the cheapest honey costs 2,000.
And what about these jars of honey?
Any of these liter jars costs 700 rubles.
In general people eat honey as a medicine, one teaspoon twice a day, regularly.
It's like prevention for the body.
But if you eat it more often, then it turns out like a sweetness.
I’ll bring you some samples, and you’ll try them all. Wait a second.
Is it honey?
– Is it tasty? – Yes, it is.
The bees won't let you get any closer. See, here they're flying, they can sting.
You can come even closer to record, if you aren't afraid.
The season is not very good this year. The rains get in our way.
There is very little honey. So we can say that the season is very bad.
How many years have you had the apiary?
We have been working with the apiary since 1988, for over 30 years.
In your opinion, was it better in Crimea with Ukraine or now with Russia?
Now it is better with Russia.
Why? What is the difference?
We are small business owners, we aren't much touched. Apiarists can go to the mainland to produce honey, they can go here.
But while it was Ukraine here, we couldn't do that. We could only go to the territory of Ukraine and return.
And nowadays we can produce honey everywhere – both in Krasnodar Krai and in Crimea. We go everywhere.
Are you Tatar?
No, I'm Russian. I'm Christian.
What other difference are between being part of Ukraine and part of Russia, for example, as for the locals or tourists?
Everything is the same. It seems to me that there are little changes.
Hospitals are free now. A lot of things are free, and not like in Ukraine where you had to pay for everything.
I am glad that we have become part of Russia. I like it.
Were you here in 2014 when the referendum was held? Did you vote?
Yes, we did.
We voted for Putin, for Russia. I think that the whole Crimea voted for this, because we waited, we wanted to go to Russia.
What do you think about the fact that in Europe and USA they said that Russian troops occupied Crimea, and the locals didn't support Russia?
In my opinion, when we were reunited with Russia, we had more opportunities than with Ukraine.
For example, I am glad that I can travel everywhere with an internal passport, because in Ukraine I had to do additional documents.
To be honest, Putin has only made good things for us. He didn't do anything bad. It's getting better and better.
The roads were built for us – "Tavrida" is excellent – thank him [Putin] for it.
We have a lot more tourists coming to us, they buy more. So, you can live in Crimea.
Can I get a little closer?
Yes, you can. If you aren't afraid, you can get closer and record.
Clients are waiting for me, I have to go to trade.
You saw that she said it's a little bit dangerous.
But if you remember we were in Abkhazia where we harvested honey as well.
We're coming here... No stings! And anything like that.
We're going to continue to bring you all of the facts about Crimea.
Pushing the limits as we always do!
So, please. remember to subscribe, share and...
... and we always push the limits, and sometimes you get stung when you push the limits. Now it's a little one.
So, please, like, share, subscribe and we're going to bring you as much as we can as we always do!