12 Days of Kiev.

Ah, the holidays. No matter where you are, there always seems to be more things to do than one has time to do. And here, it's no different. This is true even though December 25th here is just an ordinary working day.

In Kiev, and the whole of Ukraine, the big holiday is New Years Day, January 1st. In pre-Soviet times, January 7th was Orthodox Christmas and January 14th was Orthodox New Year, when compared to the celebrated dates in western Europe, North America, and elsewhere. Early during the Soviet era, the switch was made from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, dropping 14 days, and bringing the civil calendars into sync with most of the remainder of Europe. Later during the Soviet era, religious celebrations were discouraged or suppressed, and in some cases, replaced with a civil holiday instead. Because of the religious background of Christmas, official state celebrations were moved to January 1st, and continues to this day.

So, January 1st, in western terms, is Christmas Day and New Years Day combined. December 25th is a normal working day for most people. Orthodox Christmas and Orthodox New Years are strictly religious holidays. (What a concept. Christmas as a religious holiday).

All of this is just a long way to introduce my year end photo retrospective, the 12 days of Kiev. It's 12 of my best photos of the year from Kiev and elsewhere in Ukraine. Please visit it here.

Have a happy holiday, whichever holiday it is that you celebrate, and I look forward to seeing you next year here at My Kiev Journal.

Technorati Tags: Christmas, Kiev, Kiev Basics, Kiev Life, Kyiv

Ukrainian Folk Remedy #1.

It's common that societies and groups with a history going back many hundreds of years or more all have a fair share of folk remedies. And Ukraine is no exception. While there is certainly any number of "modern" remedies available in drugstores, other remedies are often readily available, and often worth a try.

I first became familiar with folk remedies several decades ago while in South Korea. I was using some of the familiar western creams and gels for a particularly difficult rash, but with minimal results. A Korean friend suggested rubbing garlic on it. Ouch! That sounded painful, and it certainly stung for a while. But what do you know. It cleared up the rash much more quickly than the modern remedies did. Now, I'm not suggesting rubbing garlic indiscriminately on just any rash. There are some that will no doubt not react as well as my rash did. But the point is, there are other remedies, some more effective than the modern ones.

So, what's the Ukrainian folk remedy? Cabbage for gout. Yes, I know it sound silly, but even after prior successes with folk remedies, I was skeptical of this one. What could cabbage possibly do? Here's how it works. Take a leaf or two off a head of cabbage, tenderize it with a meat hammer to break up the fibers and get the juices flowing, and wrap it around the affected area. Wrap a cloth around it to keep it in place, and put a sock on over it to keep it warm. (Assuming it's big toe gout, as it is a vast number of times). Then go to bed for the night. With a little luck, the next morning your gout will be less painful. You may need to do this several times over a period of days for greater relief.

Now, I was taking one or more of the usual remedies at the same time, the allopurinol, or the indothemacin, and so some would argue that cabbage had nothing to do with the eventual relief. All I can say to you is "try it". It's known that some remedies that work for some people do not work for others. If it works for you, great. If it does not, don't close your mind to other folk remedies for other conditions. People have suffered pain throughout history; it's normal that people, over time, found remedies in the environment around them to make their existence more pleasurable.

Technorati Tags: Kiev, Kiev Basics, Kiev Life, folk remedies

15th Annual Christmas Charity Drive.

Last Saturday, the International Women's Club of Kiev (IWCK) held it's 15th annual Christmas charity drive, raising (at last count) $75,000 USD for charities. But I'm not writing about the charity per se. It was at this event last year that I first recognized that as a foreigner in Ukraine, I'm often privy to information that the average Kievan never hears about.

I first attended this event last year, having found out about it from friends in the international community. I had been in the country only 15 months at the time. My wife had been in the country well before the IWCK held their first event, and never during the first 13 years knew it existed. But I hear about it not long after my arrival. And, I'm sure that as a foreigner that I'm also equally uninformed about just about everything that goes on in this city.

I guess it's normal after all. During my time in the states, I was equally clueless to numerous neighborhood and cultural events going on right under my nose. I paid attention to what interested me, and a little research turned up almost everything I needed or wanted. But yet, wouldn't it be nice to really know everything that's going on around you? If you just knew it was there, maybe you would find out after all that it does interest you, or that others are interested in the same obscure things that you are? Even if you are 5000 miles from where you called home most of your life.

Technorati Tags: Kiev Basics, Christmas, Kiev Life, Kyiv

Minor Celebrities in our Own Right.

Sometimes you try hard to get attention, but it just doesn't come. Other times, attention finds you without hardly trying. My wife and I find ourselves in the second situation.

I've been here in Kiev a bit over two years. My wife, decades longer. And in my former life back in the states, I never had much attention come my way. But now it's coming, from places thats maybe not too surprising, and from places that make you wonder, huh?

The first source of celebrity is of my own making. In 2005 and 2006, our family celebrated the US holiday Thanksgiving. And yes, it's a lot of work, since some typical Thanksgiving stuff is not readily available here. So this year, I suggested we might want to tone it down a bit; maybe invite a few less people than last year. But everyone who attended in the past most certainly wanted to attend again and we had to abandon the thought of scaling it back.

The second source of our celebrity came about in a more unusual fashion. I submitted an ad to the Kyiv Post, the English language newspaper in Kiev via email, and at the bottom of the email I included links to my websites, something I include on most outgoing emails. Well, someone at the paper clicked through to my websites, and figured that I would work well for an informal email interview. So just last week, on Thanksgiving no less, there I was, featured in the Kyiv Post.

The third source came quite unexpected, out of nowhere. We got several reports from my wife's family and friends, and her father's coworkers, that my wife and I were recently on TV. And not just a random stroll in the park picked up by a wandering TV crew. No, it was our wedding, on TV, 18 months after it happened.

In the states, this just wouldn't happen. Participants would have to be tracked down and paperwork signed and lawyers consulted. No, it seems a major Kiev TV station wanted to do a report on foreigners getting married to locals in Kiev. And out likely hundreds they could have tracked down, the ended up with ours. How? Likely from the videographer who took video of our wedding. Neither the videographer nor the TV station felt the need to track us down, and why should they? Apparently they are not required to. Still, having only gotten second hand reports that our wedding was on TV, it's hard not to feel a little bit violated, since neither of us really know what was being said about us, or whether we were treated a bit like a circus sideshow.

But that's how things often go in Ukraine, and elsewhere, no doubt.

Technorati Tags: Kiev, Kiev Life

The $20 Turkey and other Holiday Tales.

One way to lessen the transition from one culture to another is to continue to celebrate some of the important dates that were unique to your previous culture. One of the most American of holidays is Thanksgiving, and this will be our third year celebrating it here in Kiev.

There are often challenges to celebrating a holiday from a prior culture in a different country. Since most celebrations involve food, you may find yourself looking for foods that are not common, or are out of season. The quintessential Thanksgiving food is turkey, but finding turkey in Kiev in November can be a challenge. We know now that the only real way to get one is to go to a supermarket a week in advance and have them obtain one for you. And expect to pay for the privilege.

Another challenge, should you accept it, is a traditional Thanksgiving pie, whether pumpkin or apple or something else. I haven't yet found pies like Mom used to make in the stores, so we've tried the make it yourself way. My wife, being native to this part of the world, does not have a recipe, so we went to American websites to find one. That was the easy part. Finding some of the ingredients to make the pie is not so easy. The one we have yet to find is shortening. Yes, vegetable shortening, like Crisco. It's something that Americans take for granted, but unheard of in these parts. Not that that's a bad thing, mind you, with the likely connection between hydrogenated oils, like vegetable shortening and heart disease. There are strict limits on hydrogenated oils in many parts of Europe, and some countries have banned them outright. But it's just another challenge to overcome.

Another is that while Thanksgiving and often the next day are days off in the US, both are normal working days in most other countries. If you intend to invite others over for your celebration, remember that Friday evening will be a lot more convenient for most guests. And maybe for you too.

The challenge to maintaining traditions from your prior country of residence comes down to this: Plan early, be flexible, and accept that it may not be exactly what you've been accustomed to.

Technorati Tags: Kiev, Kiev Basics, Kiev Life, Kyiv, old traditions, Ukraine

First Snow, then a Second, and a ...

Ah, a theme I can't resist revisiting on occasion. The weather.

The bottom fell out on fall temperatures two weeks ago, leading to an early, and hopefully, temporary onslaught of winter. Yet, it has been two weeks now, so who knows?

The first week bought some light flurries several days, followed by an early snow storm. In fact, this was the biggest one day snow since I've been here. This was followed by another day or two of light flurries, followed by a steadier and heavier snow last Friday.

But there are positives to it. Just look at this picture I took last Friday.

Technorati Tags: winter, Kiev Photos, Kiev Weather, Kyiv, Kiev

Street Dogs.

Two years ago it was a lot more common than it is now. Dogs living on the streets of Kiev. While it is sad, it is probably not unexpected that when a family hits hard times, the pet is the first to go. But dogs roaming the streets are always potential problems. They may step out in front of cars, scare children, and carry rabies.

It was made clear to me a few weeks ago that while the Kiev authorities have come a long way with this problem, the problem is still here. A few weeks ago I was Khreshchaty Park, near the Ukraine and Russia Unification Statue, when four large dogs came rushing at me out of nowhere. From their behavior, they very much seemed to be acting as a pack. While even domesticated dogs are pack animals, where their human family comprises their pack, once set out on the streets, their normal behavior is to roam the streets by themselves, avoiding humans as much as possible.

While I am no expert in canine behavior, it seems to me that after an extended period on the streets, dogs may revert to pack behavior with other dogs, more commonly if they mate and have offspring. My guess is that this process would happen over a year or more. So my question is: What are four dogs, clearly showing pack behavior, doing loose in one of the highly populated parks in Kiev, late on a Saturday afternoon, not far from areas where children congregate en masse? I might be able to understand it early in the morning, since there are numerous islands, minimally inhabited, in the Dnepr River, some of them connected to the main parts of the city via footbridges. They could have entered the populated city areas this way. But come on. Someone must have seen these dogs' behavior hours before I witnessed it; someone must have reported it to someone, someone should have been dispatched to look into the problem, but yet, here they were, late on a Saturday afternoon, acting in a very menacing manner, not to all people, but to certain people.

Come on, Kiev authorities. I'm sure by now you've gotten these dogs. The question is, did someone fall asleep on the job this day? Are they still working for you? If so, why?

Technorati Tags: Kiev, Kyiv

I'm Big. I'm Black. I'm Big and Black.

No, I'm not talking of how physically large a person is, nor the color of their skin. I'm talking about how people apparently self-rate their importance on Kiev streets.

In the US, whenever you saw the big vehicles drive by with only a driver, you always joked that the driver was trying to compensate for a shortcoming elsewhere. Unless the driver was a woman. She must be compensating for some other type of shortcoming.

In Kiev, the top self-ranking goes to the "big and black". Everyone who owns a "big and black" definitely believes they are important. So, traffic rules can be ignored when the situation dictates. And they expect you to recognize their importance too. They will drive up the wrong side of the road if space permits, and sometimes if it doesn't. When they must merge back into traffic, they may sometimes signal their intention, but most often, they will just force their way over. If you just knew how important they are, you would immediately yield the right of way, or incur their anger. This also goes for making right turns from the left lane, or vice versa. Not surprisingly, they are just your common, ordinary road bullies, and will fume and sulk if they don't get their way. Out on the highway, they drive at a high rate of speed with their lights on, and when they come up behind you and blink their headlights two or three times, you just know they're important.

I've heard people here have pity on people driving old Soviet Ladas or Zhigulis should they be in an accident with someone "important". But my experience is different. Nine out of ten accidents I've seen in this town involve only cars that are big, are black, or big and black. People driving old Soviet models are content to leave enough time for the trip and take their time. Only people too important to follow the rules are involved in accidents, or so it seems.

Hey here's a thought. If you must be somewhere in an hour, leave an hour to get there. I'm really not all that impressed at you or your driver needs to compensate for your personal shortcomings.

Technorati Tags: Kiev, Kiev Basics, Kiev Life, Kyiv, Kiev roads, Ukraine Traditions

Life at the End of the World - Photoblog.

I've made several photo postings to My Kiev Journal in the past, but getting photos on to this site and positioned correctly is just a pain sometimes. Even then, they're usually too small for my liking, and surrounded by text and all the other stuff normally found on a blog. So, I've created a photoblog as a showcase for my photos. It's just a better way to post and show photos, in my opinion. There are shortcomings to the photoblog though. The biggest being that I can only post one photo per day. Oh well.

"Life at the End of the World" is the name of my photoblog. Since "Ukraine" loosely means "borderland," I felt the name appropriate. And, in the context of the late "Cold War," Ukraine was quite literally "beyond the end of the world." At least for most Americans it was.

If a photo is related to a post here on My Kiev Journal, then the photo will continue to be posted along with the post. However, if it's just photography for photography's sake, then these pictures will be posted to the photoblog.

My photoblog will highlight my Kiev and Ukraine photography, but will also include photos taken long before I came to Kiev.

Click here to visit, or click the link under "Must See Blogging" or the "My Photoblog" link on the top of the page.

Technorati Tags: Kiev, Kiev Photos, Kyiv, Photos, Photoblog

Sofia of Uman. A charmed life; a cursed life.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to spend the day at Sofiyivsky Park in Uman. The park is listed as one of the seven wonders of Ukraine, and is considered to be an outstanding example of European landscape garden design. Here is the story of Sofia, who inspired it.

Count Felix Pototsky began construction on what would later be known as Sofiyivka Park in 1798 as a gift to his new bride, the legendary beauty Sofia. Sofia had been born in Greece, then was sold into slavery by her parents while 12 years old. The Polish Ambassador to Turkey bought her as a gift for the Polish King Stanislaw August; however, while traveling back through Ukraine she met the son of the Polish army commander, Jozef Witte, who fell in love with the 15 year old and bought her from the ambassador. The newly married Madame Witte quickly became a celebrated society figure among the Polish gentry. She soon took up delivering diplomatic mail and was rumored to use the opportunity to spy for the Polish king as well as Catherine the Great.

Sofia eventually left her husband and two children but was soon remarried to the Polish Count Pototsky in Uman. He adored Sofia and designed the park as a memorial to her beauty and incorporated in it the mythology of ancient Greece. The 400 acre park has it's own Isle of Lesbos, a terrace of the Muses, red poppy Elysian fields, a Cretan labyrinth, and an underground stream called Styx. Long before the park was finished, the Count uncovered an affair between his son from his first marriage and Sofia. Brokenhearted, he grew seriously ill. Sofia supposedly spent two days on her knees begging for his forgiveness, but the count died without forgiving her. She finished the park herself during a brief affair with the Russian Count Potemkin, then lived out her days in melancholy. The fact that a freak earthquake pushed her graveyard out of the Uman churchyard has the locals convinced that she was a witch.

Please go to my photoblog "Life at the Edge of the World" for photos. There will be more photos on an ongoing basis.

Technorati Tags: autumn, Photos, Ukraine, Uman

Water, water, everywhere. Now which one should I drink?

You arrive in Ukraine. After a long trip to get here, and maybe even some time going through immigration and customs, you're tired and you need something to drink. Something simple, like bottled water.

But here in Kiev, bottled water isn't a simple matter. In the US, you just go down the aisle with the water, find a brand you like from a choice of three or four, and take it to the cashier to pay. Two problems here. First, except in some larger stores and supermarkets, you just can't walk down an aisle and pick up your purchase. You must tell the attendant what you want and she'll get it for you. That may be a problem if you are Russian and Ukrainian challenged. But let's say you know "voda" the Russian word for water. You ask for voda and she'll start asking you questions. This is because water is no simple matter here in Kiev. And here's the second problem. Your choices may consist of:

• Plain water without gas.
• Plain water with gas.
• Mineral water without gas.
• Mineral water with gas.

Many small stores will have a selection of each. You may see a brand you recognize, like Bonaqua. But there are different Bonaquas too. What to do? Easy. Just point and hope for the best. If she picks the wrong one, just say "nyet" and motion with your hand. Elegant? No. But it will generally work. Just make sure you have some hrivens (the local currency) handy.

So, is there something simpler? Maybe there'll be a vending machine around. Or maybe not. But if you don't have to have water, the simplest thing you could order would be Coca-Cola. The name's the same here, and there's less chance for misunderstanding. Order anything else and you may get it with a side order of confusion.

Technorati Tags: Kiev, Kiev Basics, Kiev Life, Kyiv

Memory Day, 2007

The first time I did this, two years ago, it ranked up there as one of the most unusual customs I've run across. My wife calls it "Memory Day", though I 'm sure it's an imprecise translation. Here's how it works.

October 25th is the anniversary of the death of her grandfather, on her mothers side. So every year on this day, family members take time to visit the cemetery site of the departed. First thing to do is to clean up the site, pull weeds, plant something new, even though it is the end of October. Then, we set the table at the site (most plots have their own table) and have a small meal and a cognac toast in their memory. And always the stories. And we'd always leave some cognac and food for the departed too. This is even more striking since her family is not particularly religious.

Coming from the American tradition, or maybe it's more of a Catholic tradition, where many families would have trouble remembering the anniversary, knowing where their relatives are buried, or living hours away, this certainly surprised me the first time around. But after you do this once or twice, you begin to think "why not"?

So I was preparing myself mentally again this year for "memory day" when I found out things would be different this year. While it seems this ceremony is often observed for the first ten anniversaries, this year is the 11th, and we would be remembering at a relatives house this year. It was actually a bit of a let-down for me.

Another mystery for me about "memory day" is just who qualifies for such an honor. There hasn't been any mention of a "memory day" for her father's parents in the two years I've been here. And for my wife's mother, the ceremony day is more flexible, often done up to a week before or a week after the anniversary, depending on what's most convenient.

I guess it's just another of those imponderables for me, an foreigner living in East Europe.

Technorati Tags: Ukraine Traditions , Memory Day, Kiev, Kyiv

Living in the Past.

My wife and her father was recently had visitors from their past. Lazar and Luda were friends with my wife's family for many years, but not too long after the breakup of the Soviet Union and Ukraine independence, they chose to emigrate to the USA. As the Soviet Union disintegrated, so did the economies of many of these soon to be independent nations.

Several times during the ensuing years, their USA friends would send "care" packages to friends who remained behind. But something wonderful happened in the ensuing years. As time went by, the economies of many of the newly independent countries, and Russia itself, improved vastly. In wasn't always easy, and it wasn't always smooth, and things were not always trending up, but time went by and things improved.

The package was sent via boat shortly before they left the US, and arrived here in Kiev several weeks after our guests had left. While they were here, they seemed a bit awed by the mega-bazaars and the mega-stores that have blossomed here in recent years. It was no longer a time of Soviet shortages or post Soviet upheavals. But our package reflected the old times. Coats and shirts and pants and even underwear, all things in abundant supply these days. Even the styles of many items were straight out of the past.

But we thank them nonetheless, because their hearts were certainly in the right place. Their memories though were of another time.

Technorati Tags: Kiev, Kiev Life, Kyiv, old friends

(Don't) Question Authority.

I wonder sometimes just how they did it. How, almost three years ago, there were, at times, anywhere from 1-2 million people on the streets of Kiev. The world watched in awe. While most people around the world were content to complain about the way things are, here were people who actually took to the street in the Orange Revolution to change things. Inspiring, yes?

Fast forward to September 2006. Our son returns to school. My wife and I had questioned our son's teacher competence to some degree the prior year, and here we were, questioning it again. (Here in Kiev, you have one teacher assigned to your child for his/her first four years in school. So, if you get a lemon of a teacher, you may be stuck with it for four years. The obvious problem of course, is that this teacher can do a lot of damage in four years. So, the obvious solution to this problem is to get the teacher removed. Or so you would think.

It started innocently enough. Early on, we paid her some extra money to work with our son on his lessons after school ended, a quite normal practice here. But we quickly found out that these "lessons" were giving our son an assignment, after which she went and read a newspaper for forty minutes. That's not exactly what we were expecting, to say the least. But there were more troubling incidents too. Not explaining to the children what their homework assignment was. Openly blaming students when things went wrong in her class. At times expecting my wife to run errands for her. One day when my wife went to school to pick up our son, four of his classmates came up to my wife and told her our son was a problem in class. Now, I don't know about you, but when four of his classmates tell my wife the same thing, I suspect someone coached them about what to say.

My wife and her father had several discussions with the school's director, and several times were led to believe the problem was solved. But it wouldn't be long before there would be another reason to openly question his teacher's qualifications. But except for one other boy's parents, there was no problem here. The teacher was just fine. But when we talked to the school director, he would often assure us that action would be taken. Then the director and teacher would talk, and the teacher would retaliate against our child.

Three days before school was supposed to start again this fall, we got the news. This teacher, who was scheduled to be our son's teacher again this year, had asked to be reassigned closer to her home.

On the first day of school, my wife and I attended the "Day of Learning" activities. (See earlier posting for information and photos). It's then that the other parents piped in. "They finally got rid of that crazy teacher" seemed to be the common thought of the day. But not one of them had lifted a finger to make it happen. How, if you think your son or daughter is stuck with a lemon of a teacher, can you sit back and deny that there's a problem?

The lesson here is not that the schools are filled with problem teachers. No, they are as a whole very hard working and vastly underpaid. It takes real dedication here to be a teacher. The lesson should be that when you see a problem, take steps to resolve the problem. Do not permanently damage your child's future by letting them be stuck with the same bum teacher for four years.

Technorati Tags: Kiev, Kiev Basics, Kyiv, Kiev Schools

The Lone Worker.

Just wanted to put up one photo quickly from last weekend. There will be more to follow.

Although my wife has lived down the street from this for many years, she doesn't know anything about it. In fact, she asked me "where did you find that"?

Technorati Tags: autumn, Kiev Photos

The Streets of Kiev.

You see them quite often here on the streets of Kiev. The 20 year old Ladas, Zhigulis and Volgas. Along with 20 and 30 year old trucks and tractors of late Soviet origin. And one thing they mostly all have in common is smoke coming out the tailpipe. Often, lots of it. But what has changed most in the last two years is an explosion of other cars on the streets. And I wish I could say it's often the smaller cars people most associate with European travel. But you see the worst of the American excesses here, in spades; the Cadillac Escalades, the Toyota Land Cruisers, Prado Edition, bigger and more polluting than the regular version, and yes, even the Hummer. Gads, how did Toyota get this reputation as environmentally friendly?

I generally don't have a big problem with the people who own the old Soviet era cars. They are mostly owned by people who need some way to get around beyond mass transit, and can't afford a less polluting, more modern model. The government could implement programs to help them fix them up or replace them. But it hasn't. But the western and eastern imports of recent years are another problem. Everybody who buys one of these modern day monstrosities could certainly afford something less expensive and less polluting. And since each monstrosity takes up the same road and parking space as two Soviet era models, they are and will continue to be a driving force in bringing this city to a standstill.

So here's the central problem. When an economy goes into a recession or depression, who has the money to fix pollution problems? Not the government, and industry will certainly claim not to have it either. But then the economy comes back to life, so now's the time to do something, anything, about pollution. Right? Wrong. The government worries that even moderate pollution controls will send the economy back into recession and industry fuels those fears. Industry also sees a chance to make outsized profits, and fights any attempt, reasonable or otherwise, to implement sensible sustainability. And since the national culture here in Ukraine is based on not questioning things, there is little citizen pressure to bring change.

But soon, the city itself, not the politicians, may force a solution. This city was never designed for today's auto traffic, and gridlock may force people back to more sensitive alternatives. Or maybe, just maybe, people will become sick and tired of the noise and pollution and take back their city.

One can hope, yes??

Chernihiv trip photos, Part I.

Ever since the summer, I've been looking for a chance to get to Chernihiv (Chernigov in Russian). Chernihiv was a major historical, cultural, and religious center for hundreds of years, at time competing with Kiev in prominence. Last Saturday, my wife and I had an opportunity to go on an excursion, and we jumped at the chance. After waking at 5:30 in the morning, getting ready and having breakfast, we hopped in her father's car for the trip to Public School #8 in the Obolon district of Kiev, the starting point for our trip.

The trip was an organized excursion for the teachers of this school, in honor of Teachers Day on Friday. An excursion like this is not something the teachers of the school can afford on their own, since teachers here are near the bottom of the pay scale, along with doctors, the police, and any other public sector employee. But the word we heard was that this excursion was paid for by one of the most important politicians in the country, because one of the trip organizers had worked on this politician's recent election campaign.

Although neither my wife nor I are employed by the school, my wife's father worked for said trip organizer on this politician's campaign. There were two busses, on for the teachers, and one for the VIP's. My wife and I got the VIP treatment.

Around 7:30 AM, our trip took off, and we had the obligatory vodka toast, the first of many this day. Then, about 40 minutes out of Kiev, our bus turned off the road to Chernihiv for what I assumed would be a slight detour, but after an hour it was apparent we were going somewhere else. It seems our excursion was not to the city of Chernihiv; rather it was to lesser known destinations in the Chernihiv Oblast (administrative district). But being the adventurous sort, I made the best of the day. As you can see from the pictures, I hope you'll agree it was worth the detour.

Later in the day, at our third and final stop for the day, we had the obligatory feast, with vodka, cognac, and wine for all (except the drivers, of course). Later we returned to Kiev, arriving home at 9:30 PM.

Technorati Tags: autumn, Chernihiv, Ukraine Photos

Chernigov trip photos, Part II.

What's a country to do upon gaining Independence?

I found the following read disturbing at first, since it just seems so wrong. Ukraine has been around as an entity for well over 1000 years, but less than 5% of that time were they independent. Their history has always been the history of another. But that's not all that different from other places in Europe either. So to develop a new national identity, I guess it's natural that some aspects of the past will be glossed over, toned down, spiced up, ignored, or just plain made up. Read and decide for yourself.

Remaking History in a Kiev Museum

By Dmitry Shlapentokh

Constructing a new national identity often requires a new vision of the past. In Ukraine, this phenomenon can be seen in several of Kiev's museums.

Exhibits at the Museum of the Army of Ukraine show the Ukrainians as European people who enjoyed monolithic unity while busily liberating themselves from the "Asiatic" Russians.

Ukrainian history has emerged differently in the other major national museum, the Museum of Ukrainian History. Russia is still seen as a major problem, but the flavor of the museum is distinctly different. Russians often disappear from sight, and Ukraine's conflicts with everybody else are also downplayed. In fact, Ukrainians are presented as self-sustained, peaceful people who preserve their distinct lifestyles despite being incorporated into a foreign empire. It seems this image of Ukraine's past -- and implicitly, its present -- is what Ukrainian authorities have tried to develop and inculcate.

The arrangement of the displays in the Museum of Ukrainian History was markedly different from what I saw in my youth. There weren't many changes in the hall dedicated to the Stone and Bronze Ages, but later periods had gaping omissions. Events that were prominent in Soviet days disappeared or were marginalized. There was practically nothing about the Mongols, presumably because featuring the Mongol invasion and Mongol yoke would require elaborating on Russia's positive role in fighting the invaders.

The Treaty of Pereyaslav in 1654 -- the lynchpin of Ukrainian history that ultimately led to Ukraine's incorporation into Russia -- was reduced to a marginal episode. The famous painting depicting this event that had hung prominently in the museum in Soviet times was taken away. A small note informed visitors that there was no Ukrainian-Russian unification as such, but rather a Russian "protectorate" in which Ukraine preserved independence -- or some sort of autonomy that was close to independence.

The reign of Peter the Great and his fight with the Swedes on Ukrainian territory also posed a big dilemma for the exhibition organizers. Celebrating Peter's victories was out of the question. One option for the museum was to stress the glory of Ivan Mazepa, the Ukrainian noble who took the Swedish side in the battle and tried to save his people from the rule of the brutal Asiatics. The other option was to ignore the event entirely, which is precisely what the organizers did. As a result, Peter the Great and the Battle of Poltava disappeared from the exhibit.

In addition, the big hall dedicated to the War of 1812 with Napoleon, an epic event in European history, also disappeared. Information about the war was reduced to a picture of Russian general Mikhail Kutuzov and a few artifacts.

When those who organized the museum moved to the 20th century, they faced another problem -- how to reconcile revolutionary violence with the theory of national unity, the major premise of the political philosophy of Ukraine's elite. In fact, there was no information whatsoever about the revolutionary movement. The 1905 Revolution was ignored even though Ukraine was one of the epicenters of the revolution, especially in cities like Odessa and Sevastopol. The February and October Revolutions of 1917 also disappeared. A typical visitor to the museum might leave with the impression that the conflict was not between the Whites and Reds at all but between an independent, nationalistic Ukraine and the Russian state.

World War II was also marginalized, and nothing was displayed about postwar Soviet history, implying that the war helped strengthen Ukraine's incorporation into a foreign empire -- that is, the Soviet Union.

The 2004 Orange Revolution, however, was prominently displayed, suggesting that it brought Ukraine closer to Europe -- its historical destiny. Incorporation into the European family implied the sacred notion of "multiculturalism" and ethnic and religious tolerance.

The exhibit pointed out that Ukraine is populated not just by Ukrainians but also by Tatars and Jews, and all nationalities live in apparent harmony. There was no information about the Holocaust, possibly because it would require elaboration on the unpleasant role many Ukrainians played in the "final solution of the Jewish question."

The vision of history as science was also quite different from what I encountered in other museums. The Ukrainian officials all claimed that they had presented history accurately, and they angrily rejected any notion that history was arranged to suit current political needs. The representatives of the Museum of Ukrainian History were much more open in their views of history as the servant of political necessity. I talked with an elderly woman who sat in the hall and watched over the visitors, sharing my amazement at how displays of Ukrainian history had changed radically since my last visit, more than 30 years ago. The woman took note of my ironical smile and responded that I had a wrong view of history. In my view, history is fixed. This is not the case, she said, because history should follow the lead of current politics. I told her that what she stated fit the postmodernist vision, which says that there is no objective truth but just a construction of history, and that there are only politically correct or politically incorrect views. She responded that she had never heard of postmodernism or political correctness, but she fully supported the idea nonetheless.

The presentation of Ukrainian history in the Museum of Ukrainian History seems to be the image that the Ukrainian elite is trying to spread. It involves emphasizing Ukraine as an independent political force and ignoring or minimizing all events where Russia played a prominent and positive role.

I found the same version of history in the Museum of National Art. At one exhibition dealing with modern art, the curator explained that after 1991, the paintings dealing with the Great Patriotic War -- which were used by Moscow during the Soviet period to emphasize the unity of Ukrainians and Russians -- had been removed. Instead, there was a big painting that displayed the entry into Kiev of Bogdan Khmelnytsky, one of Ukraine's greatest national heroes.

After my visit of Kiev's museums, I became even more convinced of the validity of the quote attributed to Gregory Bateson, the British anthropologist, social scientist and linguist: "History is as unpredictable as the future."

Dmitry Shlapentokh is a professor of history at Indiana University South Bend.

The Moscow Times.

Arriving in Ukraine.

If you've browsed around travel websites like Travelocity or Expedia for flights to Kiev, you've probably been asked the question that puzzles all first time travelers here. Which airport in Kiev would you like to arrive at? The only answer, really, is Borispol. (KBP). Under the Soviet regime, Borispol was the airport for flights originating outside the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact nations, and this protocol remains largely in place today. In the past, Borispol was the lesser utilized of the two. Now, it's the main Kiev arrival destination, although Borispol still retains many aspects of the sleepy outpost it once was. But it's changing, quickly. Population wise, Kiev sits somewhere between Chicago and Rome. But Austin, Texas and Colorado Springs likely see more air arrivals than little visited Kiev. But that's changing quickly.

If you're flying into Ukraine, you most likely will stop at Borispol, even if Kiev is not your final destination. And if you're flying in from the states, you'll likely have to stop somewhere else in Europe before arrival at Kiev Borispol. Thankfully, Borispol is changing too. Depending on arrival time, customs and immigration is speedier and less intrusive, though it can still be confusing as hell. The baggage carousels are easy to find, since there's only three, and the wait once clearing immigration is reasonable. But there's not a lot of English in the place, whether you're looking for someone who speaks it or even signs for directions on where to go next. When in doubt, just do what the person in line ahead of you did. But once you clear all the bureaucratic hurdles, things go remarkable well. It's ten minutes from terminal to parking to off the airport grounds, assuming you're not waiting for transportation. If someone has come to pick you up, there's no long walk from the terminal to parking, since people park just about anywhere there's some spare room, whether it's legal or not.

Welcome. Your Kiev adventure has begun.

Moving away from politics...

I was going to revisit the election one more time in this blog, then move on, but this blog was never meant to be mostly about politics. Sure, politics affect many things when you travel, like what countries you can go to, whether you need a visa, what you can bring or can't bring with you, how long you may stay, and how freely, as a foreigner, you can move around.

But this isn't a blog about Ukraine politics. There are many others that do that better than I ever hope to do. But where ever one finds themselves in the world, there will be politics to deal with, or ignore, for better or for worse, often for worse.

Plus, you can follow the current political situation from the links in the sidebar.

So, let's move on.

My take on the Parliamentary Elections.

On September 30, I will celebrate my two year anniversary in country, and Ukraine will have it's second parliamentary election in two years on that date. While I certainly don't view myself as an expert in what might happen, here are my views, for what it's worth.

Similar to most parliamentary systems, there are several major parties and many more minor ones. The major ones are the Party of Regions (PR), led by Victor Yanukovych, Our Ukraine (OU), led by Victor Yuschenko, and Byut (B), the Yulia Tymoshenko bloc. OU and B can be categorized as the "Orange" parties, parties that led and benefited from the Orange Revolution of 2004. PR was the big loser in 2004, having "won" the original election, but then losing it through charges of election fraud.

Neither of the three will get enough to govern without forming a coalition. OU and B are ideological partners, sort of, but personality opposites, while PR is ideological opposites from the previous two. PR has their support in the east and south of Ukraine, where the population tends to be more Russian, while the other two garner support from the west of Ukraine, where Ukrainian nationalism is more prevalent.

While PR likes to promote itself as "new and improved", the only real difference from the PR that governed earlier in the decade is the presence of "Image Managers," mostly from the USA. It's the same PR as before, just fancier duds and more democratic talk. Corruption as a way of live is still prevalent here, and PR leads the way in this regard. But it seems that if you want something done here, practicing a little corruption goes a long way.

The best description I've read about OU, one I totally concur with, is "never has so much goodwill been squandered so quickly, with so little results". As the big winner in the Orange Revolution, they could have changed a lot of things, but didn't. In addition, while Victor Yuschenko may be good at running a country, he fails at the most important job a politician has: being a politician.

Then there's Yulia Tymoshenko. She's continually running as a reformist, and compared to the other two, she is. While charges of past corruption continue to follow her, one wonders how much of a reformer she really is, or indeed if she could be one in the first place. Yet, she has set herself apart to some extent from the "business as usual" crowd. That may or may not bode well.

So who one might want to lead the country depends on a number of things. Each candidate has their own peculiar weaknesses, making enthusiastic support difficult. It then comes down to where you stand on certain "big" issues. "Business as usual" or reform. Russian leaning or EU leaning. Pro NATO or anti-NATO.

I cannot vote during this election. If I could, who would I select? Likely, Yulia Tymoshenko and her party. I believe a reformer is still needed to move Ukraine ahead, even if she shows herself to not be that much of a reformer in the end. I believe closer ties to Europe is beneficial for Ukraine, which she supports, but not at the expense of worse ties to Russia, which would likely be the outcome of such closer ties if not handled well. Staying friends with Russia will yield many political and economic benefits in the future, ties people here should not ignore. Her pro-NATO stand is most troubling, though. A pro-NATO stand, while popular with Ukrainian nationalists, would only needlessly antagonize Russia and Ukraine's Russian population and possibly lead to a call by certain factions to split from Ukraine. And that benefits no one.

Technorati Tags: Kiev, Kyiv, Ukraine Politics

Ukraine Poll Could End Orange Revolution.

MOSCOW, Russia -- It was, at least in the eyes of the Russian president, the scene of Vladimir Putin's greatest humiliation. Hundreds of thousands of ordinary Ukrainians massed in central Kiev in late 2004 to protest against a presidential election victory rigged in favour of the pro-Kremlin candidate Viktor Yanukovych.

Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko

After weeks of noisy but peaceful protest, they succeeded. Viktor Yushchenko, the pro-Western reformer, was swept to power amid scenes of unprecedented euphoria.

Almost three years after those heady days, Ukrainians return to the polls next weekend to vote in a parliamentary election.

At stake, their leaders say, is a simple choice: to revive the stalled ideals of the Orange Revolution or to kill it off altogether.

Both Moscow and Washington will be watching closely in a country that remains an important battleground in the growing power clash between the West and a resurgent Russia.

For Ukrainians, however, the optimism engendered by the Orange Revolution has largely been replaced by disillusionment and indifference.

The result of Sunday's poll is likely to be little different to the outcome of the last parliamentary election held 18 months ago.

And again the bitter divisions of Ukraine will be on inglorious display.

Ukrainians in the Russian-speaking industrial heartlands of the east as well as in Crimea in the south will largely vote for the pro-Kremlin Party of the Regions headed by Mr Yanukovych.

His party is expected to become the single largest one in parliament, but will fall short of the overall majority needed to form a government.

This means it will have to enter coalition talks with the two parties in the Orange camp led by the president and his rival, Yulia Tymoshenko.

Mr Yushchenko will then have to appoint either Mr Yanukovych or Mrs Tymoshenko as his prime minister.

He has tried both before. Mrs Tymoshenko served as prime minister for nine acrimonious months in 2005 before the president sacked her amid charges of corruption and divisions over economic policy.

After the last election he turned to his erstwhile rival Mr Yanukovych, whose supporters were accused of slipping dioxin into the president's soup in 2004, leaving his face badly scarred.

Most analysts expect that the president will now turn back to Mrs Tymoshenko, whose bloc is the only party likely to increase its representation in parliament and who this time will be in a stronger position to dictate terms.

She will also be able to use the premiership as a platform to challenge Mr Yushchenko for the presidency in 2009.

Indeed, the glamorous 46-year-old already seems to have the aura of a presidential rather than a prime-ministerial candidate — something demonstrated when she flew to London on Friday for talks with Margaret Thatcher.

A Tymoshenko premiership is also likely to upset Russia. She supports Ukraine's membership of the European Union and NATO and has also been vitriolic in her condemnation of Moscow's interference in Ukraine.

When Mrs Tymoshenko was prime minister in 2005, the Kremlin severed gas supplies to Ukraine, the main energy conduit between Russia and Europe, causing both interruptions and panic in the EU.

Relations improved when Mr Yanukovych was prime minister but some analysts warn of a new gas dispute if Mrs Tymoshenko returns.

Source: The UK Telegraph

Technorati Tags: Kiev, Kiev Life, Ukraine Politics

The Doctor Makes House Calls.

It probably won't surprise anyone when I say that many things here in Ukraine are totally opposite what one would expect in the states. I like to say that under the prior Soviet system, they looked at how things were done in the USA, then made everything as different as possible. I'll address many of those differences in future posts, but for now, lets state that health care here is totally opposite that in the states.

While I'll also go into those differences in the future, one enormous difference is that doctors here will make house calls. Even for routine stuff. On Wednesday this week, I had an appointment at the Boris clinic, one of the clinics favored by foreigners. But that day, my doctor fell I'll and couldn't make the appointment. My wife then arranged for the doctor to come to us for the appointment instead. The problem wasn't of an urgent nature, nor was inability to travel an issue. My wife insisted on the home visit because we had taken two hours out of our day to travel to the appointment, to wait in the waiting area, and to travel back home. But the home appointment wasn't just a courtesy for a broken appointment: I've had home appointments on other occasions.

While I may have had an occasional home appointment as a child in the US, it's save to say that I've had more home appointments in my two years in Kiev than I had in the previous three decades in the USA.

Technorati Tags: Kiev, Kiev Life, Kyiv

September 1 Holiday - "Day of Learning".

September 1st here in Kiev is "unofficially" a holiday. My wife refers to it as "The Day of Learning". What is "The Day of Learning"? It's the day when schools begin again for the fall session. Unlike in the states, here the first day of school is marked by pomp and ceremony. Weather permitting, the whole school gathers outside, where students greet their teachers with flowers, and students starting their first year or entering their last year are greeted. There's the national anthem, lighting the torch of learning, the raising of the flag, and the Procession of Students into their new classrooms.
Clearly, we're no longer in the states.

Before the ceremony: Yes, the flowers are for the teachers.

Carry the Torch and the School Flag:

Ringing in the new year:

The Processional:

Technorati Tags: Kyiv, Day of Learning, Kiev Life, Kiev Photos, Kiev

End of Summer at Pechers'k Landscape Park.

Traditionally, the last week of August brings the end of summer botanical displays at Pechers'k Landscape Park. This year was no different, and like last year, was spectacular.

Here are a few random images:

Technorati Tags: Kiev, Kiev Life, Kiev Photos, Kyiv, Pechers'k Landscape Park, summer

Kiev parliament defies Yushchenko.

Less than two years here, and here's another national election. I'm thinking people are starting to tire of ongoing election cycles and frequent street protests. - Matt

By Roman Olearchyk in Kiev

Updated: 9:11 p.m. ET Sept. 4, 2007

Legislators backing Viktor Yanukovich, Ukraine's premier, on Tuesday raised the stakes in an already tense election campaign by holding a session of parliament of questionable legitimacy.

This act of defiance is expected to test the nerves of Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine's pro-western president, who dissolved parliament in the spring, setting the stage for elections.

A group of 269 legislators backing Mr Yanukovich's coalition government gathered in parliament on Tuesday. They passed two laws, accused the president of illegally dissolving parliament and pledged to keep the legislature open ahead of the September 30 vote. Ukraine's vague legislation does not clearly specify whether parliament should immediately close when dissolved, or serve until new legislators are elected.

Political analysts in Kiev said the reopening of parliament would provide Mr Yanukovich's allies with a bully pulpit for rallying voter support.

It could also complicate preparations for an election that will gauge how far Kiev's fragile democracy has matured since the Orange Revolution, when street protests against election fraud propelled Mr Yushchenko to the presidency over Mr Yanukovich.

Mr Yushchenko is unlikely forcefully to shut down parliament. Doing so could spark rallies backing his foe and complicate election preparations. In a televised address to the nation, aired the night before the extraordinary parliament session, Mr Yushchenko said: "The driving force of this provocation is a desire to sabotage the elections.

"It is motivated by the fear of losing power. Any decision by this parliament will not be legitimate," the president said, stressing that elections would proceed on schedule.

Government officials this week said elections could be cancelled if the parliament functioned stably.

Mr Yanukovich called for calm. "We do not seek destabilisation of the election campaign," he said. "A functioning parliament does not entail any risk to the stability of the country."

After losing the presidential contest in 2004, Mr Yanukovich returned as prime minister last summer after an inconclusive parliamentary poll. Both leaders have since been locked in a battle for authority.

Mr Yushchenko convinced Mr Yanukovich to accept early elections this summer after their spat escalated into a constitutional crisis.

Copyright The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved.

From MSNBC.

Technorati Tags: Kiev Life, Kyiv, Kiev, Ukraine Politics

A Farewell to Summer (Cottage).

A Farewell to Summer (Cottage).

Visgorod – August 28th 2007 – My wife and I trundle down the dusty road in front of our summer cottage, saying a goodbye to our neighbors. For some, it is goodbye, because we will not see them until next summer. For others, it’s “see you soon”, because we will be back every weekend possible while weather permits. And for others? Well, more about them later.

We spend the day gathering up the everyday things we moved out here three months ago. Clothing, small kitchen appliances and utensils, my computer and camera, and Pasha’s toys. There is a part of me that’s excited to get back to Kiev full time. What excites me? The bathroom and shower in the same flat where we eat and sleep is a pleasure when the evenings start turning cool and the skies get dark early. Additional modern conveniences we don’t have in Visgorod. Fast Internet, and fewer reasons to go outside, so I can get my work done.

But the passing of the summer cottage season leaves me profoundly sad too. For the return to Kiev and the shortening days mean that summer will soon recede into memory too. The river water at our beach will gain an unpleasant chill. Outdoor barbecues will morph into dinner cooked on the stove at home. The leaves will soon drop from our apple, cherry, pear, and walnut trees. Natali’s cheery flower and rose garden will droop and fade. Our tomatoes will yield their last fruits and go the way of the cucumbers, corn, and strawberries before it. The one major task that remains is to gather the grapes and try our hand at wine again.

There was a time, not too long ago, when I thought there was a special skill to barbecue. A skill I did not possess. But our massive stone grill burning real wood made me into a master quickly. The same goes for winemaking. I never envisioned myself making wine. Ever. But after a minimally successful try last year, we hope to succeed this time.

Sad. The fading of summer and the progression to fall and winter.

And so we proceed down the street with our goodbyes. Goodbye to Elena “Cat Lady”. Widowed, 74 years old, with two cats. Although she does not have heat in her cottage, she will likely remain here through October, as usual. Twice a week she will walk 15 minutes to catch a bus into town to buy supplies, and make the return trip.

Nina and Kola. Married 58 years, going on eternity. The man is either a saint, or deaf, or an expert at tuning her out. She rarely has a nice thing to say, and always directs his each and every task from the bench near the door. She seems to be mostly blind, but we have our doubts sometimes.

The doctor down the road, the only one else here who has good English, besides my wife and I. I’ve had yet to figure out what to say to the guy though.

Marina and her husband (what’s his name again)? And Roy the dog. He’s always ready for a game of fetch or a swim in the river.

And Pasha’s friends. And his birthday in July. And the memorable moments children always seem to come up with from out of nowhere. If we could just get him past his shyness…

The memories of a summer well spent.

Oh, what about the others mentioned in the first paragraph? Three people from the local community who were with us last year were not this year. No, they didn’t move, they passed away. All, in one-way or another, related to alcohol. Then I look down the street at a neighbor we saw infrequently this summer, Tatiana. She has two moods, both alcohol induced. One, depressed as all hell or ready to dance and party all night. She was with her husband at the beach two weeks ago, and twice she just fell, flat on her face. Does her husband know she’s drinking herself to death?

Will we see her again? Only time will tell, and it’s secrets must await a future day.

Technorati Tags: Kiev, Kiev Life, Kyiv, summer

More about the weather.

It's come to my attention that maybe my post about the weather was not as complete as it could have been. And this pertains to air conditioning. I mentioned that I had no desire or need for A/C, but should have mentioned that our primary residence has a small park in the front and a small parking area in the back, both areas with many trees to moderate the temperature. And we live on the third floor and benefit from the shade immensely. If we lived on the fifth floor or above, I'd be singing a different story since we'd be above the tree line. If that were the case, I'd be singing the praises of air conditioning daily.

But having said this, I like the summer weather here quite well.

Technorati Tags: Kiev, Kiev Basics, Kiev Weather, Kyiv

Kiev Weather.

The number one question people have about a place they've never been, it seems, is "What is the weather like there"? So, just what IS the weather like in Kiev?

Before I found myself here on a more or less permanent basis, I had the same question. So I asked. "What IS the weather in Kiev like?" And more than once I got the answer, "it's like New York City". Good, I thought. Having spent 95% of my prior life in NJ, and getting my weather from NYC TV and radio stations, I knew what NYC weather was like. I could handle this.

So, is Kiev weather like NYC weather? In a word, NO. Being more similar to NYC than, let's say, Miami or Anchorage, does not make the weather remotely similar at all. Much of it has to do with geography. Kiev is at 50º north, with makes it farther north than everywhere in the USA, except Alaska. Furthermore, NYC abuts the Atlantic Ocean, which influences every aspect of it's weather, from how cold it gets in the winter to how humid in gets in the summer. Kiev, not being near any sizable body of water, does not likewise get affected.

As for this summer in Kiev, the daily high temperatures have averaged between 72-86ºF, 22-30ºC, with low humidity. There have been some downright cool days, and thunderstorms numerous times. Unofficially, it did reach 104F, 40C in parts of Kiev back in May. Although these days you see air conditioners sprouting up around here like mushrooms after a rain, in my almost two years here, I have done without, and have no need or desire to purchase one for home use. (Our car does have it, however).

There will be more about the weather in future postings.

Technorati Tags: Kiev, Kiev Basics, Kiev Weather, Kyiv

So, how did I get here?

I guess that one of the first questions that might arise is "how did I get here?" Here in Kiev. Especially since I have no family heritage from this part of the world. There just aren't that many native English speakers here, especially ones who cannot find their way around the Russian or Ukrainian languages all that well. But there certainly are some! And oh yes, then there's that Cyrillic thing. The local alphabet.

So how? Or why? Marriage is often a factor when one finds oneself in another part of the world. And I am no exception. I moved over here 22 months ago, and have been married about 17 months. The culture shock between here and my former life in the states is large, as one might imagine. But then there are times it's not that large at all. And once one graduates into their second year in a new culture, a sense of normalcy returns, and while not all things go well, things are, well, better.

In this journal, I hope to highlight some of the pluses and minuses of my move, life in Kiev (Kyiv) and Ukraine, and comment in general about life behind the former iron curtain.

Oh, about "Kyiv". This is how the Ukrainians prefer the name of their capital city be spelled and pronounced in the Latin alphabet. But since it has not yet been widely adapted, I will continue to use the more familiar form, Kiev.

Technorati Tags: Kyiv, Kiev, new beginning