On the outskirts of Kyiv lies Mezhyhirya estate, former home to deposed President Viktor Yanukovych. The gaudy surroundings attest to Yanukovych’s corrupt and opulent lifestyle. Today, however, many visitors simply opt to ride bicycles through the local park or pose for selfies. Yanukovych’s house is closed, and actually getting to […]
Four years after the revolution, crowds of Maidan square are gone though signs of previous political struggle are still evident. On the side of a building, a banner reads “Freedom Is Our Religion.” Meanwhile, flags representing right wing military battalions flutter up above Maidan square. For more on the Azov […]
Has Ukraine succeeded in promoting a truly multi-ethnic and pluralistic state? On the local Kyiv food scene at least, the country seems to have succeeded. On a somewhat more unusual note, Kyiv also offers Carpathian cuisine, not to be confused with the Caucasus region (note: for more on Transcarpathia click […]
What will become of Ukraine’s aspirations to join the West and embrace cosmopolitan modernity? It’s not the first time the country has sought to negotiate western cultural influence, as evidenced by a few art nouveau buildings peeping through Kyiv’s cityscape. The buildings, which date to the Czarist period, attest to […]
Like the All Russian Exhibition Center in Moscow, Kyiv’s Expo Center also showcases Soviet-era pavilions. Indeed, in many ways the physical sensation of being in both places is remarkably similar. Like the All Russian Exhibition Center in Moscow, the Ukrainian Expo Center also showcases the Soviet state’s fascination with agriculture […]
Despite the recent military conflict between Kyiv and Kremlin-backed separatists in the Donbas region, there are certain striking similarities between Russia and Ukraine. Take, for example, traditional rural life. In the Russian city of Novgorod, visitors may see a recreation of a traditional rural town. To the outside observer, Pyrohovo […]
From stained glass to sculpture, riding the Moscow metro evokes ties to the old Soviet Union.
Even as war rages in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and Kyiv, commuters may take in the sight of supposedly bucolic Ukrainian life at Kievskaya, a Soviet-era metro stop in Moscow.
Traveling in the Moscow metro provides a keen reminder of old Soviet days. Take, for example, the Byelorusskaya metro station, where visitors may taken in vintage mosaics depicting Belorussians who are happy and content within the old Soviet state.
In Moscow, some of the vestiges of the old Soviet Union are still apparent. Far beneath the surface, people may visit an old Soviet nuclear bunker.
