another pc ukraine volunteer recommended this documentary about ukraine and its political state — both current and past. it’s 47 minutes but very insightful towards a country/history most people don’t know much about. it was certainly interesting to watch this video having lived in ukraine during the time of yulia tymoshenko arrest and the latest elections.
life is very different in the southeast of ukraine. during peace corps training, it was decided that i would learn ukrainian as opposed to russian, though as fate would have it, i was then placed in a russian speaking region. a region where all my fellow volunteers learned russian, where not much ukrainian is heard, and some ukrainians that can’t even understand ukrainian (a weird thought). here the communist party, russia stickers and flags decorate cars, and the shouts of ‘russia forever!’ from my students really blurs the line of what country i’m actually living in.
it was wonderful to see a different side of ukraine, one that is striving to be independent from russia, one that wants to preserve ukraine and it’s language. to see people passionately fighting for change in their country was a welcome change from the complacency i’ve encountered. east vs. west, ukrainians agree on one thing: the ukrainian government is a mess. while ukraine aspires to join the E.U., repeated parliament brawls, political corruption, and lingering ties/debt to russia will not help ukraine move forward towards that goal. it will be interesting to see what the future holds for ukraine.
i strongly encourage you to take the time and watch this film.
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/witness/2012/11/2012112261029228352.html
borscht and babushkas 