On the Streets of Kyiv (Kiev), Ukraine

August 2010

So what do you like to do when the temperature reaches 104' F(40' C)?  If you live in Kyiv, it looks like you head for the water fountains of Independence Square.  Perhaps you are confused about where and what Kyiv is --even now my computer puts a red line under Kyiv for me to correct the spelling.  But Kyiv (pronounced as one syllable Keev) is the Ukrainian name for the more commonly known Kiev (2-syllable Kee-ev) as the city is known in Russian.

As the Soviet Union crumbled in 1991, the Ukrainian parliament voted for the independent country of Ukraine,  Kyiv became its capital, and Ukrainian (similar to Russian) became the official language.  But that is neither the beginning nor the end of the complex history of the Ukraine.

At Independence Square, one is drawn to the cooling waters of the founders of Kyiv--three Viking brothers (Kiy, Shchek, Khoryv) and their sister Lybed  who came down the Dnieper River from the north in the 9th century and founded the first Eastern Slavic state.   Previously there had been Cimmerians, Scythians, Greeks, and an assortment of tribes.

These Kyvian Rus or Varagians, as they were called, established an empire under Prince Volodymyr (978-1015) that stretched from the Danube to the Volga to the Baltic with Kyiv as the capital.  Prince Volodymyr (not to be confused with Voldemort from Harry Potter)  also converted to Christianity in 989 and married the sister of an Byzantine Emperor--thus establishing the Eastern Orthodox religion in the area.  Ukrainians are quick to point out that  the Russian and other Slavic states grew out of their empire, and for many years, Kyiv was a religious and political center when Moscow was only a small town.

But as I have certainly seen on this journey, no kingdom lasts forever, and, in 1240 AD, Batu, the grandson of Ghengis Kahn sacked the city.  Subsequently there were Tartar, then Lithuanian and Polish rulers until in the 17th Century when it gradually became part of Russia under the early Romanovs.  Once again it became a glittering city.

When the Bolshevik Revolution started during WWI, Kyiv was the site of bloody battles between the Red and White armies.  Although Kyiv was conquered by the Nazis in WW II, the Ukraine remained with the Soviet Union until its independence in 1991.  The giant Statue of the Motherland  (photo)  commemorates the freeing of Kyiv during the "Great Patriotic War,"  WW II.  (look for future  post on Dark Days in Kyiv).


When planning my summer trip, I chose to combine a Danube Cruise (see sidebar posts) with a visit to Kyiv where close friends were serving a mission for the LDS (Mormon) Church to prepare for the opening of the LDS  Temple in Kyiv (look for a  future post).  Through them I got helpful hints and made arrangements, including a wonderful personal guide (Helen).

After an unexplained plane delay in the  Bucharest airport for an hour, I arrived at the Kyiv airport and tried to use my friend's advice to rush to the correct customs line, only to end up with the slowest of all the customs agents.  Fortunately, the arranged driver had waited around, not surprised by all the delays.  I had always heard Kyiv was a beautiful city, but found it exceeded my expectations.


Dropped off at the Khreschatyk Hotel in the center of the city, I checked in and headed up hill to the St. Sophia Cathedral (started in 1017 AD)  to meet Helen in the sweltering heat to begin my discovery of this enchanting city.  Over the next 5 days, despite the terrible heat wave that swept the area (Moscow had record temperatures and terrible bog fires),  I (mostly) walked the streets of Kyiv, consuming countless bottles of water and falling in love with a city whose language I could not speak.  (see sidebar post UA Kyiv:  Failure at McDonalds).

I enjoyed the location of my hotel.  Though not one of the city's expensive luxury hotels, staff were friendly and spoke English, rooms had air conditioning and good beds, and I had a view from my room of  the glimmering domes St. Sophia, and the reflection from Independence Square of the statue of Michael, the Archangel (patron saint of Kyiv) from the entrance.

There was no way I could cover all of my experience in Kyiv in one post--so you will have to wait for separate posts on its parks, churches, memorials, LDS temple, and the fascinating House of Chimeras.   It was hard to extract these from Kyiv, but there is still plenty left to see in the slideshow:  silent, silver-coated mimes and street entertainers near Independence Square;  fashionable buildings that survived the communist regimes; and  expressive statues and plaques of some of Kyiv's great ones: architects, authors, artists, leaders, and others who contributed (not just stiff generals on horses).  They made me want to sit down and have a chat!

There were also the  decorated subway stations for a subway system that I was told was even deeper than in Moscow (but not in one continuous escalator);  underground shopping  at subway stops;  river views; golden domes; a solitary man playing his bandura (national instrument); the remains of the Golden Gate that was built with the defensive walls by Yroslav the Wise in 1037; markets brimming with delectable fruits;  artists and souvenir shopping on Andreyevskiy Street;  a shopping mall (look for the figure of an exhausted peasant husband overlooking the women shopping); famous institutes and universities; Tolstoy's blue house; and the arched rainbow Monument of Friendship of Peoples.

And of course I had to eat some delicious Chicken Kiev while I was there.  Kyiv is also a city of culture with ballets, concerts, puppetry, and opera.  Unfortunately, when I was there in August, most of them were closed for vacations.

You will also see a woman walking  around downtown in her wedding gown.  That apparently is not uncommon, as couples may visit several places around town to have pictures taken as they celebrate their special day.  (more in the upcoming post on parks)  The rest I will let you discover as I lead you on my stroll through Kyiv.  Come back later for more views of Kyiv.

Click link for slideshow:
Walking Kyiv

Music: Ivan Kozlovsky, Sontze Nizenko, Songs and Dances of the Ukraine (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings)

Additional Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiev