KieVVision

Απόψε ας βρεθούμε - Tonight Let's Get Together   (1989)  Cyprus in Ukraine  EUROVISION COUNTRY: Cyprus KYIV DESTINATION: Boryspil Airport Cyprus is the largest investor in Ukraine with $11.7 billion of investment in 2015 - or 30% of all foreign investment in the country. If you arrived on Ukraine International Airlines, then that is mainly owned by Cypriot companies. Cyprus also has invests in the insurance and construction markets in Ukraine. Some 24% of stocks in the Kiev stock market are Cypriot owned. It may seem odd, but the Cyprus link is explainable. With unstable financial markets back home Cyprus, like London, receives a lot of off shore profits from Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet Union countries. Therefore this Cypriot money in some instances will also be Ukrainian off shore money returning to make investments. Cypriot Embassy:  Address:      Dmitrevskaya St, 18/24, 4th Floor  Phone:         486-...

Secret Combination (2008)   Non-Religious museums in the Lavra Monastery Complex  In total there are 4 non-religious museums within the walls of the monastery complex, and they relate to Soviet times, when the buildings were turned into secular exhibition centres. All of these museums have separate (but modest) entry fees and their own cash desks. If you want to take photos ask for " i photographia?" when you buy your entrance ticket. However you will also have to get a ticket to enter the monastery complex first. There are no multiple ticket deals. All of them keep their doors closed and look closed, but just try the handles and enter. The best of these is the Treasury with the world's best collection of Scythian gold. It is also difficult to find, thanks to poor signposting. If you head from the entrance gate and walk straight ahead, you will pass the main cathedral and come to a building in your way. This is the Tresasury. The entrance is on the side. Look for t...

J'ai Cherché (2016)  Ukrainian fashion brands   Fashion is a big industry in Ukraine. It is also growing in popularity thanks to a patriotic drive to buy Ukrainian.  You may be interested because clothes cost a fraction that they do in western Europe (at least half the price). An additional reason is that Ukrainian fashion is quite quirky, and you can buy looks that are stylish but not available in other parts of Europe. The city has a variety of ways to purchase fashion, from couture to high street. Let's start with markets. There are a number of fashion markets in the summer months. They are centred around Podil's Kontraktova Ploscha square, Andriivskiy Spusk and the Platforma arts hub. What's on sites will have updates.  One of these markets has progressed into developing a full sized department store for over 100 small scale designers. The Bci Cboi (All Ours) https://www.instagram.com/bci.cboi/  store is on Kreschatik Street and has three st...

Party for Everybody (2012)  Life's a Beach  In mid-May it could be 30 degrees Celcius. So you would be advised to take your swimming gear and your hangover to Kyiv's numerous beaches. The beaches stretch the entire length of the  city's left bank - the side where the Eurovision venue is sited. There are private beaches, but most beaches are free. To get there take a metro to Poshtova Ploscha, cross the main road outside the exit and walk to the right along the river. After 400 years you will hit the foot bridge. Overhead you will see people travelling on zip wires (an alternative way to the beach. Cafes along the beach serve a variety of drinks and snacks, especially barbecued foods. Another location is immediately at the HydroPark metro station.

Stress (1968)  Scams This scam is not Ukraine-specific and is as old as the hills, but it will be less familiar to people living in Western Europe. The only reason for including it in this blog is that last month I was involved in two separate attempts to be engaged in this on one day. One group operate around the Gulliver shopping centre, on Baseeynaya Street and the other group near between Lva Tolstovo Ploscha metro station and the Arena entertainment centre - both very central locations. First of all watch this video to understand the basic scam.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO8zHHsv-rM There are variations to the scam. In one scenario the money is dropped by a person walking away. The second person picks up the money and asks you if it's yours. Then they will suggest that you split the money. If you agree (!) then a policeman will find the two of you splitting the cash, take the stolen dish and then and demand a kick back off you to keep it quiet. If you...

Give a Little Back to The World (1990)  Wales-Ukraine not England-Russia  EUROVISION COUNTRY: United Kingdom KYIV DESTINATION: I-zone; Holodomor Memorial In 2008 a Welsh journalist called Gareth Jones  http://www.garethjones.org/soviet_articles/soviet_articles.htm , was honoured at Westminster Abbey posthumously for being one of the few people to inform the world of the 1932-1933 famine in Ukraine.  Gareth's mother had once lived in Ukraine, and so he was shocked when he travelled to Kyiv to see people dying in the streets Gareth graduated from university, and then worked as a foreign policy adviser to David Lloyd George before working as a journalist for The Western Mail, and Manchester Guardian and travelled widely across Russia and Ukraine. Although 7-10 million people are estimated to have been starved to death over the two years, the Soviet Union and many Westerners denied enforced starvation was happening. This starvation, called Holodomor, was onl...

Småting (1972)  Tiny worlds in Andorra and Ukraine  EUROVISION COUNTRY: Andorra KYIV DESTINATION: Museum of Microminiature The Museum of Microminiature is one of the world's oddest exhibitions. It contains around 20 microscopes, under each of which lies a tiny piece of art work. The tiny art was made by Ukrainian Nikolai Syadristy during the Soviet Union, and the museum reflects a space age design of the late 1970s. The displays are explained in English next to each object. They tell you what the object is, and what it was made from, and sometimes how many microns log it is. The combinations are odd. A portrait of a popular singer in the 1960s is made out of a cherry stone and fixed on a piece of meteorite. A 3mmx 4mm portrait of spaceman Yury Gagarin is made out of sloe thorn stone. Entrance fee is 50 Hrivna (under €2) and it takes about 10 minutes to complete. The museum is open 09.00-19.00 daily (except Tuesdays). The museum says it's closed during rain showers...