Late last year, while walking around the otherwise somewhat drab western Ukrainian town of Uzhgorod, I came upon a building which looked like something straight out of 1001 Arabian Nights: a Moorish-influenced synagogue constructed in red brick with Andalusian-style motifs and flourishes displayed on the façade. Originally constructed in 1904, […]
Recently, the western Ukrainian city of L’viv has been getting some pretty bad press. Last year, the Jewish Daily Forward noted the town had hosted a march in remembrance of a World War II-era SS unit, complete with Nazi salutes no less. The march, which drew a thousand people, honored […]
When Ukrainians speak of their yearning to join the European Union, what is their innate understanding of the west or “western values”? Such questions are assuming greater importance as Ukraine’s presidential election approaches in March. Though western leaders may have thought Kyiv was on track to embrace social tolerance and […]
Champion of the underdog or pseudo-populist? Ukrainian patriot or kowtowing to Russian interests? Inheritor of Maidan’s legacy or channeling the oligarchs? Love or hate her, Yulia Tymoshenko is one of the most controversial figures on Ukraine’s political scene and this grande dame will no doubt play a key role in […]
As Ukraine ramps up for its upcoming March, 2019 presidential election, what’s the political mood in Kyiv? In the midst of escalating tensions with Russia in the Azov Sea, which has even prompted president Petro Poroshenko to declare martial law, what are the chances that the West has Ukraine’s back? […]
Can Berlin’s “rebel culture” survive in the midst of an inexorable march toward gentrification? It may be a tough order, though anarchists and others are basking in victory after internet giant Google abandoned efforts to open a company “campus” in the trendy neighborhood of Kreuzberg. The corporation would not say […]
One of the highlights of my trip to Uzhgorod was a visit to the old Moorish-style synagogue, which now serves as a local concert hall. I climbed up on a hill of gravel, and beyond it looked like there was some type of construction or restoration going on. Returning several […]
Walking around Kyiv, I came upon a rather incongruous site: Czarist-era military fortifications designed to keep outsiders from intruding upon the town. In light of the fact that Ukraine now finds itself in a war with Russian-backed separatists, such fortifications take on a somewhat ironic twist. Ukrainian soldiers, who are […]
In a big political shakeup, the local Ukrainian Orthodox Church has been granted independence from Russia. Such developments will undoubtedly encourage a renewed sense of nationalism in Ukraine and a greater sense of self-identity. Perhaps, given the new political climate, old medieval religious centers such as Chernihiv, located two hours […]
Uzhgorod, which is now part of Ukraine, used to be known as Ungvar and was a Hungarian settlement. Underneath the museum, visitors may visit a subterranean dungeon which once formed part of the city’s fortifications. An old medallion honoring Franz Joseph and the old Austro-Hungarian Empire. To this day, Uzhgorod […]
