16th December 2010
The UK and international press have reacted with intrigue to the suggestion that Chernobyl, site of the 1986 nuclear disaster, could be a new tourist hotspot. In fact as some reports have noted, it has been possible to visit the site, along with the nearby abandoned Soviet-era city of Pripyat, for several years. I visited […]
13th December 2010
It’s not often that we charge people to enter my house. But we make an exception when we host a charity reception in support of the Ukrainian charity EveryChild. Ukraine, like many other countries in Eastern Europe, continues to house large number of children in orphanages. EveryChild, which was set up as the result of […]
12th December 2010
The lofty, historic hall of the Kyiv Mohyla Academy is packed with journalists, TV cameras and microphones. The occasion is the prize-giving for the BBC Ukrainian Service Book of the Year Competition. The prize, worth #1,000, is in my pocket. Several of the five short-listed authors are present, one via Skype from Washington. Five distinguished […]
8th December 2010
A man and a woman, each bedecked with medals, stand at a window framed by blossoms. The title reads “My Parents, 1988”. Beneath is a another photo entitled “The Same Window”. It shows the woman, now elderly, with a young man, perhaps her son or grandson. The father is no longer there. I’m a big […]
2nd December 2010
The walls of the castle rise sheer from the base of a deep, dry moat. Three different batteries of cannon face the west. To the east rise the Carpathians, dusted with snow. Welcome to Mukachevo, scenic setting of the world’s largest ski factory and as dense a melting pot of European cultures as one could […]
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29th November 2010
It’s 9.30 p.m. and the Sancho Panza Restaurant is packed with Scots and Ukrainians in kilts and traditional embroidered linen shirts (actually most of the men in kilts are wearing Ukrainian shirts). A Scottish/Ukrainian band equipped with bagpipes, a harmonica, fiddles and a tsymbaly play Ukrainian and Scottish dance tunes accompanied by roars of enthusiasm […]
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26th November 2010
Science fiction has a fine record of guessing the future; but no-one saw the Internet coming. Honourable mention should be made of the excellent works of William Gibson, credited with inventing the term cyberspace. Gibson’s 1984 novel Neuromancer, which includes references to something called the Matrix, made a big impression on me. So did the […]
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25th November 2010
Sports of all kinds are popular in Ukraine. I’ve blogged before about that fact that at my 1:1 lunches, some of Ukraine’s top decision-makers are ready to have a quick game of table-tennis (a trend which continues – Ed) and about Kyiv’s fishing frenzy. So it’s an honour to have to lunch at the residence […]
16th November 2010
How does the life expectancy of the average Ukrainian compare with the world average – or that of any other country? To find out, check out this brilliant World Bank web-site. All you have to do is to click on “world” or on the country of your choice in the list on the left-hand side […]
15th November 2010
I often host events in Kyiv highlighting and promoting the growing number of young Ukrainians who are obtaining top quality academic degrees through studying in UK universities or through distance programmes, including MBAs which are delivered through UK-Ukrainian partnerships. But we recently hosted a British Council event designed to promote the equally important area of […]
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