No chickens here (Kyiv ~ Ukraine)

September 2019

Kyiv was our first stop in Ukraine so on arrival in the city we went for a stroll to get a feel of things, hit an ATM, sort out a sim card etc. Our stroll took us to the Independence Memorial which commerates Ukraines split from the Soviet Union in 1991, but based on the displays around it detailing the events of 2013 when the then pro-Soviet president Viktor Yanukovych was booted out and quite a few protestors were killed think Ukraine really became independent then.

Our wanders took then us through various suburbs where whimsical and odd statues were found and Art Deco (or is it Noveau, can't recall which is which) buildings were spotted.

And finally to massive metal "People's Friendship Arch" built by Russia in 1982 celebrating the 6th anniversary of the USSR. Surprised that it hasn't been ripped down given Russia  - Ukraine relationship over the last few years. The two figures under the arch represent Russia (the large well muscled man) and Ukraine (the not so large not so muscled man).

With independence a lot of statues from the previous regime were toppled. All that remains of one of Lenin is a pedestal, left we assume as a reminder.

Next to the Independence Memorial is a slightly odd museum as it is the Museum of Jellyfish. Sadly closed on the day we were there.

In Ukraine one of the fast foods of choice is sausage ina bun. That is you take a frankfurter sausage, wrap in dough and drop into a deep fat frier. I'd give it a 7 out of 10 but given the queue here the locals really love it.

Within Kyiv is an area called the Lavra (which refers to high-ranking male monasteries for monks of the Eastern Orthodox Church) and is also home to some amazing churches and ancient caves containing the perfectly bodies of various long dead monks - all a little bit odd.

South of the Lavra is the Motherland Monument - if you look closely you will see that the sword was cut short - as it was higher than the cross of the main church in the Lavra. Beneath the monument is a museum of Ukraines involvement in WW 2 which includes some rather horrific displays of artifacts from Nazi POW camps - i.e. mills for grinding human bones for fertilizer and a guillotine for executing prisoners.

There is a book by Robert Harris called Fatherland and is set in 1960's in an alternative world where Germany won WW 2 and is based on the premise that the holocaust is covered up for 20 or so years. This is a work of fiction. The fact that is The Holodomor is so much worse.

In the 1930s the Soviet Union set in place various reforms that were responsible for the estimated death of 3.5 to 7.5 million Ukrainians. This was covered up from the rest of the world by Soviet sympathetic reporters in the West, such as Walter Duranty of The New York Times, and out right denial and propaganda in  Russia. It wasn't until the 1980s that it really came to light. The timeline of events is quite interesting and detailed here  http://holodomorct.org/holodomor-facts-and-history/