17th November 2011
Three young Ukrainians approach me at a conference. Having confirmed my identity, they take me to one side to say how much they have enjoyed doing Masters degrees in the UK and how different it was from their previous experience. I blogged recently about the “WorldWideStudies” programme of the Viktor Pinchuk Foundation to give outstanding […]
16th November 2011
Combine hundreds of enthusiastic schoolchildren, top sporting figures signing autographs, music and razzmatazz and you’re guaranteed a lively event. This was the scene at the “Ukrainian House” on 15 November when the All-Ukrainian campaign “On the way to London” was launched in central Kyiv. I won’t say too much about the event because you can […]
10th November 2011
The metal of the factory gleams in the sun. Around it, gathered on walkways around three steel structures and massed in the space in front, stand hundreds of workers, some in hard hats, others in lab coats or shirts and ties. Welcome to the world of Igor Gaidai, one of Ukraine’s top photographers, who recently […]
9th November 2011
Once again, as November begins and temperatures dip towards freezing in Kyiv, Ukrainian friends and contacts are asking why I am wearing a small, red flower on my jacket lapel. I can do no better than refer to the blog I published this time last year, “Why I wear a poppy“. As in previous years […]
4th November 2011
Did you know that one of the largest moveable structures ever assembled is being created in Ukraine over the next four years? That it will cost around Euro 1.54 billion? And that the aim is to reduce the risk of radiation escaping from Chornobyl’s damaged Reactor Number 4? The “New Safe Confinement Project” at Chornobyl […]
3rd November 2011
“So it seems to me,” the Ukrainian business leader says, “that Ukraine is so important to the EU that they’ll overlook Mrs Tymoshenko and recent declines in democratic standards and we’ll sign the Association Agreement in December.” “No,” I say. “That’s won’t happen, for several reasons.” I’m visiting an important Ukrainian enterprise which does a […]
1st November 2011
A guest blog by Miles Martin, UkrTashBud, Mo-Team, British Embassy Kyiv You may notice over the coming weeks (thirty days to be precise) that a number of the gentlemen of the British Embassy in Kyiv will be sporting an increased amount of facial hair. Moustaches in fact. Such a co-ordinated outbreak may at first glance […]
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31st October 2011
Back in November 2009 I wrote an opinion piece in the magazine “Investgazeta” called “The Cafe in Shanghai”. In the article I imagined hard-bitten investors sitting in Shanghai wondering where in the world to invest their money, from China to India to Germany to Bahrain to Brazil to the United Kingdom and elsewhere. I said […]
27th October 2011
No-one saw the Internet coming. Now it’s changing the world; the language we speak; and how we live. I recently hosted a lunch for Ukrainian bloggers, who noted how cyberspace had created unprecedented opportunities for people to, amongst other things, share news and views and influence politics. But the Internet has also brought big challenges, […]
25th October 2011
Do you know how many times London has hosted the Olympic Games? How many people around the world are going to watch the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Games? Or the name of the Ukrainian athlete who has won the largest number of Olympic medals? (Hint on last question: see my blog “London 2012… and […]