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