I Stand (2016) Czechs in Kiev EUROVISION COUNTRY: Czech Republic KYIV DESTINATIONS: Staromak Czech Restaurant; Volodymyrska Street, Trypolie Staromak http://staromacek.com.ua is a Czech beer hall and restaurant with a rooftop terrace on 37-41 Artema St. It emphasises the links between Ukraine and the Czech Republic. The country's former partner - Slovakia - borders Ukraine. Therefore Czechoslovakia and Ukraine were neighbours. During the First World War there were about 35,000 Czech and Slovak soldiers in Ukraine, defending the Russian empire. The Czechs saw the Russian empire as a place of freedom. Czechoslovakia at that time was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. One of these was Jaroslav Hašek, a propagandist journalist writing for an anti-Austrian newspaper, wrote some of the first lines of his novel The Good Solider Schweijk, which takes a humorous look at the futility of war. He lived on 36 Volodymyrska St, which is currently unde...