Stories about Ukraine from June, 2007
Ukraine, Russia: Serhiy Taftay's Guitar
uaMuzik tells the tale of one Ukrainian musician's legendary guitar.
Ukraine: Lviv Coffee and Food
Olechko prepares to spend August in Lviv: in this post, she writes about the newly-discovered local coffee houses and restaurants.
Ukraine: Erotic Symbolism in Folk Songs Lecture
A Ukrainian Diaspora ethnologist will give a lecture in Kyiv on Aug. 25 on the erotic symbolism in Ukrainian folk songs, Nash Holos reports.
Ukraine: A Spanish Embassy Ordeal
In an ideal world, there'd be no need for travelers to waste their time and money obtaining visas: buying a plane ticket and booking a hotel room would suffice. Tanya Kremen, a Ukrainian journalist, studies Spanish but feels that a plane ticket to Latin America costs too much. So she decided to go to Spain. She had a valid visa - unlike the two of her friends who wanted to go along. What follows is the story of their frustrating visit to the Spanish Embassy in Kyiv, posted by Tanya on her blog at Korrespondent.net.
Ukraine: Kyiv Traffic Jam
Olechko gets stuck in traffic in Kyiv and discusses possible reasons for the jam with her cab driver: “[…] end of year graduation, Rada’s last meeting for the year, end of business quarter, beginning of four-day weekend!”
Ukraine: Ukrainian Music Blog
The history of Ukrainian band Mandry and more – at Ukrainian Musical Matters blog.
Soviet History: Speeches Made on June 22-23, 1941
De Rebus Antiquis Et Novis posts four speeches – by Adolf Hitler, Vyacheslav Molotov, Winston Churchill, and Sumner Welles – that were delivered on 22-23 June 1941.
Romania: Economic Relations With Neighbors
Romerican writes about the prospects of Romania's economic relations with its neighbors: “Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Ukraine all represent logical markets for exporting Romanian-made products and Romanian-performed services sold under Romanian brands of Romanian-owned companies. There’s a ready audience right across the border just ripe for the taking. Do it.”
Eastern & Central Europe: U.S. States’ GDPs
U.S. states have been renamed for countries with similar GDPs and the new map has been posted at Strange Maps: Russia is New Jersey, Ukraine is Idaho, Belarus is Alaska, Poland is Missouri, Czech Republic is Nebraska, Hungary is New Mexico, Romania is Delaware, Croatia is South Dakota.
Ukraine: Kurkov's Novel
Music and Life – Everywhere! writes about “The President's Last Love” by Andrey Kurkov: “unfortunately, of course, surreal in Ukraine is probably real.”
Ukraine: Lviv
Olechko visits Lviv and posts some photos and a sketch.
Ukraine: Elton John and the Fake Philanthropists
Ukrainiana writes about Ukraine's horrifying AIDS statistics and the wrong crowd that Elton John has gotten himself into.
Ukraine: Elton John and Kids With AIDS
Michelle Knisley of Greetings from Kiev attended Elton John's AIDS awareness concert, along with approximately 200,000 other people. Before the concert, she happened to watch a TV clip about the orphanage she used to work at and recognized two girls with AIDS she once played with.
Ukraine: Want an “A”? Pay $30!
When Ukrainian news site Korrespondent.net reported last week that Kyiv street cleaners would be receiving $400 a month beginning this June, a number of readers confessed that they were earning less working as college lecturers or medical doctors. How some skilled Ukrainians manage to survive on their meager salaries was highlighted five days later, when Korrespondent.net ran a piece about a college lecturer who had told her students they were to pay her to pass their exams. To the readers who have commented on the story, corruption at Ukrainian colleges appears to be a familiar subject: hardly anyone was shocked by the lecturer's crime, but many found it surprising that the woman was charging very little.
Ukraine, Russia: Dugin's Views
Ukrainiana translates a “Eurasian” perspective on Victor Yushchenko's Ukraine.
Ukraine: Elton John to Sing in Kyiv
uaMuzik and Nash Holos write about Elton John's upcoming concert in Kyiv.
Former Soviet Union: Victims of Communism Memorial
As the Victims of Communism Memorial opens Washington, D.C., J. Otto Pohl lists “the nationalities deported in their virtual entirety by the Soviet government from their homelands to distant areas of the USSR”: “In total they numbered nearly 2,000,000 people. Over 500,000 of them or more than one in four...
Ukraine: Victor Yushchenko Interview
Mark MacKinnon posts the full transcript of his recent interview with Ukrainian president Victor Yushchenko.
Ukraine: Kyiv Street Cleaners Get a Raise
Kyiv street cleaners - all 6,000 of them - will be getting $400 a month from now on. This raise, city administration officials hope, will help hire 3,500 more people needed to keep the Ukrainian capital tidy. Judging by a discussion that erupted after the Ukrainian news website Korrespondent.net ran an item on this salary increase initiative, Kyiv's laborer corps might soon become overstaffed - and many of the new recruits are likely to be overqualified for the humble yet arduous work of a street cleaner.
Ukraine: Economy
Orange Ukraine writes about the problems and successes of Ukraine's economy: “Furthermore, as much progress as has been made, some sectors of the economy are still sadly backwards. The prime example is the grain market, still subject to grossly inefficient government quotas and bureaucratic meddling.”
Ukraine: Berestechko
Olechko re-visits Berestechko, the site of the 1651 historical battle, for the first time since a school trip many years ago.
