Kiev Hi-Fi, or The Trouble With Comrade Vladimir

[See this picture at a larger size in the People section of the gallery]

I loved staying in Kiev (or Kyiv if you prefer), although I didn't get a huge amount of time to look around. Some parts seemed quite familiar to anyone used to modern Western cities, but there were enough surprises round every corner to remind you of the Soviet past, or just that you were in a place that works differently to western Europe. Golden Orthodox church domes on the skyline, monolithic Stalinist blocks, chestnut and apple trees everywhere, bad coffee but good beer!


[See this picture at a larger size in The Zone section of the gallery]

I can't blame the beer for the slight camera shake in this picture, but I will mention that it was dark in here (Pripyat central hospital), I wasn't able to bring a tripod, and that at this point I hadn't slept for 3 days... I hope it works as a small print, at least, as this one does a good job of capturing the sepulchral feel of Pripyat. I imagine there aren't too many other hospitals left with Lenin portraits still hanging in the waiting rooms...

Back in the USSR

[See this picture at a larger size in the Zone section of the gallery]

Well, I can - for once - promise regular-ish updates for a while as I delve through the rolls from my recent trip to Ukraine. Most are (like this one) from the abandoned city of Pripyat, evacuated after the Chernobyl disaster and left as a late-Soviet era timecapsule. Oddest place I've ever been, I can assure you, and that's up against some stiff competition.

More soon!

Listening this week: Erewhon by David Thomas & Two Pale Boys.