KIEV'S CHURCHES

                              Just a few plus a Couple Sweet memories 
       Kiev has many churches and we by no means got to them all but we did visit a few impressive ones

      St. Vladimir’s church took 30 years to complete, 1862-96. The seven dome, three aisle church only slightly resembles old Ukraine. A team of accomplished artists did the inside decorations and painting in eleven years. On each side of the big door were bronze figures of Princess Olga and Prince Vladimir on a blue enamel background. The white marble walls, marble floor, and richly painted walls accented with bronze ornamentation, all gave a feeling of spaciousness inside the church.

    

       Old Town’s historic buildings include St. Sophia’s, a UNESCO site since 1990 and the oldest church in the city. The 11^th century, 13 domed church is considered one of the most remarkable structures from the Kievan-Rus period. Built 1017-31 by Prince Yaroslav, the church houses some of the country’s greatest mosaics, frescoes, and ancient icons.  Modeled on St. Sophia in Istanbul, the church is actually a small complex of two churches, bell-tower, school and monks’ cells. Renovation in the 19^th century was done in Renaissance and Ukrainian baroque styles.

      On the extensive tour of the complex we learned there are 177 hues of color used inside. The old frescos were magnificent. Stalin closed the church in 1934. Gold covered domes were very popular with Slavs and the city is full of them---there are domes everywhere! The iconostasis is gilded over carved linden wood, a popular technique and is about one third the size of the original one.

      The four-story bell-tower stretches 230 feet into the air and features several architectural styles. The first story is typical Ukrainian of the early 17th-18^th century. The next two stories are embellished with molded decorations of Ukrainian baroque style and the fourth story is pseudo-Byzantine.

       We had a clear view of St. Michael’s domes in a straight line from the large church plaza. Almost a straight shot, it was an easy walk. A large statue sat in the left side of the large front church plaza. We did not spend a lot of time here but did marvel at the hues of slate blue, tan, brown and black that decorated the inside.  

    The magnificent 11^th century Cave Monastery is a collection of gold-domed churches and underground labyrinths lined with faithful monks who were mummified by the dry soil. Monks who lived in natural caves with the goal of spreading Christianity founded it in 1051. Spread over two rolling hills southeast of the center of Kiev, and located along the Dnipro River the Monastery of the Caves (Perchersk Lavra) is an active, functioning monastery compound containing restored churches and towers, as well as a printing works and miles of maze-like underground tunnels where ancient crypts hold ecclesiastical treasures.  For centuries Orthodox Christians from throughout Europe traveled on pilgrimages to the famous monastery. Many compared Kiev to Rome as a religious destination.           

      The 11^th century (1051) monastery consists of 86 buildings and eleven churches. At its zenith 1200 monks lived and studied here. Now there are 100 monks. Holy Assumption Church  has been damaged and rebuilt several times since 1073, but in 1941 Nazi planes reduced it to a pile of rubble. In 2000 the present cathedral was rebuilt in the same spot as the original one. There is a concert hall in the church.

      The bell tower was built in 1744 by a German after he won a competition. The 96 meters, four story tower  is the tallest monumental structure in Ukraine and is the center of the monastery. A library is housed in the first two stories. Three of the original 13 bells remain on the third story, and the clock is on the last story. There are 239 steps leading up to the top.

     Monks have a three-year probationary period. Monks do not marry, but priests do. The monastery was closed in 1922, became a museum, and reopened in 1988.

KIEV MEMORIES

     We had many vodka drinks on this trip. We learned that vodka is often mixed with a fruit liqueur. Many of them were very good.

    I happen to like borscht and I ate a lot of it on this trip, however, the very best was in a Kiev cafeteria. It was hearty and superb. The worst was in the Kiev hotel.

      That year the Russian Orthodox Easter corresponded to May 1. Big festivities were planned for the breaking of the fast. Walking into the restaurant on the sunny Sunday morning we accepted a glass of wine and was greeted with Christos voskrese (Christ is risen). We were unable to respond in Ukrainian. We were then directed to a nearby table holding decorated hard-boiled eggs and paska. Paska is a special decorated bread which is always torn and never cut. The breakfast buffet held special Easter fare. A local gal translated much of the food for us. What a nice surprise!

    Later in the morning at the Lavra Monastery there were long lines of people with their baskets of food waiting for it to be blessed by the priest.

     We  learned about salo—a pig fat product that is served many ways. It is white in color and reminded me of Crisco. Apparently it is popular in this part of the world although it did not appeal to me in any form.

KIEV, UKRAINE

                           A Visit During Happier Times 

      With all the recent problems in Ukraine I do not want to get into politics. My goal is to share the wonderful time we had in this lovely city before venturing on to Russia—before Putin regained power. My many Russian readers may or may not agree with me, but all I can do is relate my personal experiences. Three years prior to my visit I had breakfast one morning in Winnipeg, Canada with a Ukrainian business man. He was friendly and talkative and I enjoyed his company. I remember that he impressed upon me that when referencing Ukraine it was exactly that---not THE Ukraine or The Canada. I have passed that on many times, even a couple of times to reporters who were not in the know.

      Ukraine, slightly smaller than Texas, is Europe’s second largest country, and the largest country of what once was the Soviet Bloc. Ukraine was the most populous and developed republic of the USSR. Its longest international border is with Russia on the east. Balarus borders the north. To the west lie Poland and Slovakia. The Black and Azor Seas border the south, and on the southeast are borders with Hungary, Romania and Moldavia.  Besides Ukrainian, other languages spoken include Russian, Romanian, Polish, and Hungarian.

      Russia dominated Ukrainian history for centuries, but the Ukrainian culture stretches even farther back in history. The country was the center of the first Slavic state, a powerful nation called Kievan Rus, which dominated Europe in the 10^th and 11^th centuries. Invasions by Tartars and Poles weakened the country throughout history until 1654 when Ukraine joined the Muscovy.    

     Ukraine covers less than three percent of what was the USSR landmass, but its rich black soil produced over a third of the Soviet food supply while its mines produced 50 percent of Russia’s iron ore and 25 percent of its coal. 

      Brief independence for Ukraine followed the czar’s abdication in 1917. The Bolsheviks began a brutal civil war in Ukraine that ended with the Soviets taking most of the country and forcing it into the Soviet Union. Eight million people died when the brutal Soviet rule orchestrated artificial famines in 1921-22 and again in 1932-33. 

      Stalin made a vicious attack on Ukrainian culture by exterminating a large part of the intelligentsia. It wasn’t long afterward when horrific fighting between the Germans and Russians took place on Ukrainian soil during WW II, killing an additional eight million people. Large numbers of Russians were encouraged to move to industrial regions of Ukraine and soon became a sizable minority of 11 million. During communist rule the Soviet Union imposed the Russian culture and language onto all Ukrainians. But in spite of this the Ukrainian culture, which stretches far back in history, managed to survive. Even with repression, suffering, political turmoil, and ecological disasters Ukraine’s spirit and national identity have never died.

       The 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster and the slow Soviet response embittered Ukrainians. A small nationalist movement, founded in Kiev in 1990, contributed to the country’s independence in 1991.

      The ancient city (5^th century) of Kiev is known to Russians as the ‘Mother of Cities’, due to its long and prominent history. A river city as well as the country’s largest city, Kiev also is the capitol city.

      Kiev had established trade routes with Western Europe and Arabia when Moscow was still a village in the woods. In 988, during the golden age, Kiev’s Prince Vladimir gave Orthodox Christianity its Slavic foothold with a mass baptism in the River Dnieper.

       Modern Kiev combines three 9^th century towns: Podol, the lower town closest to River Dnieper, Pecherch, and Staro Kiev, site of the modern center. Since independence Ukraine has experienced many traumatic growing pains as a new democracy.

     Transportation includes trams, trolleys, buses and the metro and transfers are allowed from line to line.  However, Kiev is not a pedestrian friendly city. Crossing the street can be hazardous to one’s health and is the best incentive for using the underground passageways/tunnels to get from one side to the opposite side of the street.

      Old Kiev with its narrow streets and small shops is the heart of the city. Merchants and craftsmen worked and lived, often for a lifetime, in the same small area. Kiev is known both as the Garden City and as a Green City. A large part of the city is park area.  As we got around the city, I realized that the city of three million people seemed like a small large city.

      After the Danube and Volga Rivers, the Dnieper River is Europe’s third longest river. Flowing through the city of Kiev, it also flows through Russia, and  Belarus to the Black Sea.

     Our local city guide pointed out art nouveau buildings, Stalin-era buildings that generally had a large star on top, many of the city’s 80 churches and numerous 11^th century well-preserved buildings. Kiev is both the modern gateway to Ukraine and a historic town that blends commercial streets with modern byways with its old town. The city is the place of presidential administration, parliament and government departments. Actually Kiev is twice as old as Moscow. Spellings of buildings and streets can be very confusing as there is almost always at least two spellings for any one place or street.

     At the 170-year-old Red University all the walls and buildings are painted a terra cotta red. Across the street is a large bronze statue of the famous Ukrainian poet, Shevchenko. He stands just inside the entrance of a park bearing his name ---an island of greenery in the middle of bustling down city.

     The old city gate, built 1017-24 by Prince Yaroslavl meant to underscore his country’s power. Under Yaroslavl’s rule the city increased ten-fold. Nomadic tribes never could penetrate the main gate to the city. During the 16^th and 17^th centuries the gate deteriorated and in the 18^th century it was covered with earth. In 1832 archeologists discovered the ruins and a portion of the gate was restored and protected behind an iron fence.

      Kiev’s main business district, Khreshchatik, was blocked off for the holiday, so we strolled down the center of the wide street lined with large old trees and grand monumental buildings interspersed with small shops. It was a beautiful warm day.

      Independence Square, where the Orange Revolution took place when the presidential elections were so hotly contested, was lovely. We had a wonder couple days in Kiev, ate some wonderful borsch and enjoyed delightful weather and the friendly people. I was heartbroken when I heard on the news that the square was again the site of protest and that much of the paving stones had been dug up. I feel  lucky to have been a visitor during happier more peaceful times.