Stardate: Friday, Sept 14, 2007

Kate and Patrick Reynolds’ Ukraine Journal
August 2007 to May 2008

Friday, September 14, 2007
Big Sky
Tonight, with the clearing of the rain, the dusk sky is pink with slate blue and gray clouds. It seems to be larger than normal tonight, but perhaps that is the reality of life on a Russian steppe? The linear, dirty cream and tan apartment buildings appear to be nestled into the valley of Old Kharkiv. White and yellow lights are starting to appear in the distance and construction cranes and traffic have fallen silent. You can really see a long way from our 10th floor observatory balcony. Up closer you can see that the chilling wind has not settled down even without opening the windows; the sycamore and chestnut trees are confetti under their pressure.

Shevchenko Park
Realizing that in this journal I had done a disservice to the grand park in the center of Kharkiv, I wanted to write a better description of it. We have revisited Shevchenko Park several times since our initial encounter (noted earlier) with Antonina and Vasilisa. The park is bounded by Central Square, the largest in Europe, to the north (I think), which was built by the Bolsheviks when they randomly decided to make Kharkiv the capital of Ukraine (moving it from Kiev). The Central Square is notably large—larger than you would think. When you are in the Square, you are literally this tiny, intentionally unimportant, entity. At the easterly end, there is the obnoxious former-Communist building. The hammer and sickle were removed on it, but on several of the other nature-overrun buildings (former military academies-now part of the University of Kharkiv) they still remain. It is probably due to the fact that it is unimportant and costly to remove them. These are a pragmatic people. The whole square is paved with 2 x 2 inch square gray cobbles and the intention was for the Bolsheviks to employ this square for military parades. In the western end of the square is a circular park with a street running around it. In the circular park is a statue of Lenin, which is either completely disrespected, hated, or loved around here, depending on your age and political persuasion.

Okay, back to the park, how did I get off track? Shevchenko Park spans approximately 8 x 6 city street blocks and the length of Central Square. Typical of European parks, it has many statues, sculpted planting arrangements, amusements, fountains, cafés, as well as nooks and crannies in which to hide and make out. God, why didn’t they have any of this in Cincinnati when I was 15? ;-) I really hate American park policy, “Be out by dusk. Do not drink. Don’t liter. Don’t walk on the grass. Don’t have fun. And whatever you do….Don’t make out!” Of course, then, there are some young folks who hang and make out, but that’s not as many as you’d think.

There are lots of people of all ages: Groups of young folks looking for entertainment, a beer and possibly a flirtation, youngish families with energetic kids who need some exercise, middle aged people looking to relax and relieve some stress or boredom, and older folks picking up beer bottles and cans or playing with grand children. The young women wear tight black, fashionable clothes that reveal tons of flesh. My opinion is that the clothes are garish because they are gaudy with faux gold, sequins, and 3 inch metallic heels. They also show lean thighs in black go-go boots, midriffs with bare bony hips, pierced belly buttons, nipple rings, tattoos centered above their butt cracks, lots of plumber’s butt floss, cheap jewelry and poorly-dyed, fake blond hair. However, in most cases, their incredible nature beauty prevails. They are toned, taunt, with long, slim legs, and high cheek bones. Patrick thinks that mainly they are high maintenance, but within their culture, you only live once, so live it up! All that being said, mostly they are incredibly beautiful. We have seen a high proportion of “model types” tall, thin, and young. Maybe not stupid though. Some of the young women do dress in what I consider a tasteful manner. They wear gorgeous wide-legged trousers made of high quality materials with jackets, shirts or blouses that are both modern and attractive.

The young men, what to say? They wear the latest European fashions, sometimes to their detriment. They mostly dress in the standard à la mode jeans with black shirts or jackets and black leather shoes. A lot of “weird” colored shoes-white, cream, red, beige colored shoes. Patrick does not appreciate their trendy footwear and the latest pointy-toed fashions. All the men wear suits that are black or navy pin stripe, but some one has got to tell them that tan and cream horizontal stripes and black and grey vertical stripes, when worn together, do not match. Many men Pat’s age wear shaved heads like Pat. Most of the men are not bulky or pudgy; they are usually thin and wiry. The height range is vast— half are 6’1 or taller and half are 5’8 or smaller. They mainly have straight hair and although there is a range of hair styles, a lot wear short hair. Some wear a modified mullet with short hair in front that tapers to a tail in back; Where am I? When am I? Is this 1986? They are in shape though and I have admired their pecks, abs, gluts, etc. Just from afar, of course. The young families could be in any place. They look just like Pat, Maddy and I. The only exceptions are that the kids take off their shoes to play on park jungle gyms, and they are super quiet! I have not seen one single temper tantrum here, except Maddy. The mothers and fathers are slimmer than those back home. The fathers are like Dads anywhere, but thinner. There are usually babushkas with the young mothers and kids, too. There are vast, complex jungle gyms in the park.

The old folks are rather old fashioned and iconic to images of Russia and Ukraine that we have seen growing up. The old men look haggard and slumped at the shoulders in a defeated sort of way. They usually wear worn trousers and a shabby blazer jacket with an Irish sort of cap. Their walk is a shuffle. The old women wear head scarves every day, all day. It’s not just to go to church, it is their typical attire. They wear cheap looking “housecoat” sort of dresses and comfortable grandma shoes. Their faces are round shaped with wide set eyes. Whether male or female their life travails have lined their faces with deep grooves. Some of them will smile at Maddy and the wrinkles are softened, others just scowl in bitterness at everyone. I really feel for the old folks the most. They are the ones that were the most ripped off by Communism. They lived their whole lives in a system that sold them a line of b.s. about the strength of the "Motherland” and USSR, and the need to give to the collective and suffer with the group. Not that all of them bought into the b.s. In the end, it let them down leaving them with no pensions, social security, health care, homes, etc. Many of these folks walk the streets collecting bottles for recycling to make some cash; other ones sell fruit on the street. It’s just sad. Generationally, of course, the ones most likely to support the procommunist leaning blue and white are older. The Blue and White can’t even find young volunteers to participate; they have to pay them to carry flags for them, so it looks like they have young supports!

All of these types mingle in Schevenko Park at all times of the day and night. We have been there early in the morning and late at night with no modifications in who gathers there at any time. Folks hang around the numerous multi-colored lighted fountains. The fountains have interesting rhythmic patterns and movements. Some look like flowers swaying in the breeze or dancing tulips, others like misty primordial netherworlds while still more are more like waterfalls that shrink and grow tossing their water down cascading steps. Colored lights burn and flash changing the entire fountain color or only certain jets of water in complex and pulsing patterns. The effect is quite mesmerizing. Maddy calls it, “Moose of the Mist” after her favorite Backyardians shows. Tonight (9/15/2007) we took another long walk there after dinner at Antonina’s and Vladimir’s 4th floor flat. We went to the colored pagoda seen in the photos. It changes colors continually. The pool of water in front of it is shaped like a clover. Many bridal parties come to this site for wedding photos on weekends. Maddy calls the brides “Princesses.”

Directly across Sumskaya street to the west are two sets of fountains that surround the Opera House. One set of square fountains have jets that increase and decrease in size as well as change color. They also have steps that allow water to trickle down them. The other set of fountains is about color and movement. They have very subtly changing colors and these jets have more curvilinear shapes to highlight the color differences.

Going north, you cross a small alley and enter the southerly edge of Shevchenko Park. To the left, you see a children’s jungle gym that is reminiscent of a castle. In the middle is a flower display in the shape of the symbol of Kharkiv. The crowning glory here is a bronze sword-wielding angel sculpture with spikes of sun emanating from it. To the right is a tabac. There are little tabacs throughout the park as well as cafés and discos. While walking you hear all kinds of techno music from Ukrainian, Russian, and American sources.

Shevchenko, the Man
Heading north on the eastern edge along Sumskaya, the major commercial street in this city, you encounter an enormous Soviet-realist style bronze sculpture of Shevchenko and all of his famous characters. Ironically, this was built during the communist era, but Shevchenko wrote in
Ukrainian (which the Soviets tried vehemently to abolish-killing anyone, even women and children, they found who was speaking Ukrainian) during the reign of the czars. During his life, Shevchenko was exiled to Siberia by the Czar because of his stance of pro Ukrainian nationalism. Later, they recalled him from exile, but he continued to write in Ukrainian and tell stories of Ukrainian peoples. He is considered the father of the Ukrainian language, because he was the first author to write in Ukrainian and to be recognized as a gifted literary figure. It is a twist of irony that the Communists seized his identity posthumously and perverted it into an early communist struggle with the Czar for the “freedom of the proletariat.”

The statue itself is heavy in the fashion of Soviet realist sculptures, but its appeal is all the amazing smaller figures of his literary characters. These characters are iconic of the differing ages and peoples of Ukraine. There is the mother figure with head scarf and a swaddled baby in her arms, the Cossack in his wide-legged, baggy pants and calf-high black leather boots and his black, curled mustache who is brandishing the scythe, and the other soldiers, lovers, and losers of Shevchenko’s stories.

More Park
Behind the 35 foot high bronze sculpture is a wide avenue with flower beds in the center. This avenue leads to another square fountain that dances like a multicolored flower. On the right is a café, and a mini car ride for kids, on the left a couple of amusement park rides. One ride has seat for 3 people; it rocks them back and forth until it builds momentum to circle around its axis spinning the riders upside down and right-side-up in a tight loop. I could never ride this, I would vomit and get an instant migraine. The clientele, all young men, always look like they are going to puke while riding it. I think they do it only to impress the girls or to prove their stamina.

Going farther to the left, you will dead-end into a café that supposedly has excellent ice cream. If you take a right there, it will lead you to a lovely fountain that cascades in wide, deep steps for about 100 feet of a hill. It reminds me of Ault Park in Cincinnati. Oddly, Cinci is one of Kharkiv’s sister cities. This is about all of the Park that we have explored at this point. I hope to know even more of its secrets before we leave.