The Other Crimea
Out of Yalta and Away From the Ex-Pats
Lots of ex-pats hear ‘Vacationing in Crimea’ and generally think ‘Yalta’. If they only understood how wrong they are.
I know a lot of Ukrainians, and Ukrainians know a lot about Crimea, which is why I’ve been blessed by being coaxed into the sweeter, better, more provincial Crimea beyond the gilded-class perversions of latter-day Yalta. Crimea’s a sleepy southland, what Southern California must have been like a before we all destroyed it, and not an hour passes when I’m down on the Black Seat ...

Bringing Little League Baseball to Ukrainian Orphans
It is a well-known fact that Ukrainian orphanages are drastically under funded, and the kids that live there are lucky if they have a decent pair of shoes. While there are many charities trying to help the unfortunate children who live there with clothes, hygiene materials and even food, one man is trying to bring a little quality to their lives, American style. 

The Auto Equivalent of a Bangkok Ladyboy
With consumer needs becoming ever more diverse, some car manufacturers stick to their guns with a specific model for every requirement. Others, however, trying and incorporate everything into one vehicle, and that’s what Nissan have done with the Infiniti FX35, which is stuck straddling the fence to severely it’s in danger of castrating itself.

On 29 September a big crowd made their way out to picturesque Partisan restaurant in the stunning Kyiv countryside to celebrate the birthday of the ‘Pees Boy Club’ group of restaurants, which has grown from just two venues to now boast eight in the Ukrainian capital and Riga. As well as crowning ‘Miss Partisan’ guests also tucked into birthday cake and a range of quality international beers while music from Lepricorns, Underwood and Boom Box kept the beat going, with extra laughs courtesy of the KVN Minsk team (seriously!).

OASIS The most fragile girl on the Ukrainian pop stage Ani Lorak had two reasons to gather friends on 27 September. First, she had her birthday, and also the charming singer added to her numerous awards when she received a gold disc for her latest album ‘Rozkaji’ (‘Tell Me’). Needless to say Ani was literally heaped with flowers from her numerous celebrity friends, including Petya Cherny, Velery Harchishyn, and many others including pregnant Liliya Podkopayeva. Poor Ani hardly had time to drink her own health or relax, spending the evening singing, giving autographs and interviews, and facing the media alongside her Turkish fiancee Murat in what was the couple’s first public appearance.

 Maria Aksyonova

MAIDAN NEZALEZHNOSTI Downtown Kyiv came to a standstill 30 September as huge crowds gathered for a free live concert by Turkish superstar Tarkan invited by life:) mobile services operator. The sexy singer has hordes of Ukrainian fans and thousands gathered for a glimpse of their idol as he went through old hits and new via a series of dazzling costume changes. Maidan has rarely seen such scenes since the heady days of the Orange Revolution, but this time it was more Turkish delight than land of liberty as Tarkan turned on the charm.

 Nataliya Marianchyk

DECADENCE HOUSE. Ukrainian Opera legend Volodymyr Grishko gathered Kyivites for a cultural and classical night on 26 September in Decadence House. The spot was filled with the fancies of classical music and they enjoyed the premiere of his video accompanying the song ‘Lonely Love’. Grishko also performed a beautiful duet of maestros with his student, the winner of the TV project ‘Shans’ Victor Melnik, who amazed the audience with their vocal power while performing songs from the new opera programme.

Mila Ilkova

ARENA ENTERTAINMENT There was even more flesh and jewellry on show than usual over at Arena last Thursday when the exclusive nightlife venue hosted an R n’ B Glitz Party with South London clubbing icon DJ Sassy P headlining. Sassy is a former model turned turntable troubleshooter whose clients have included Eminem, Destiny’s Child and Lennox Lewis in recent years. Litle will have prepared her for the kyiv crowd, however, who quite literally bumped and ground the night away in time-honoured fashion.

Boleslav Malinovski

YALTA Ukraine’s legendary national bourgeoisie gathered in Yalta 23-25 September for the high octane thrills of the ‘Yalta Nemiroff Rally’. Teams from Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Lithuania, Latvia and Sweden participated in this high speed event. The event was the brainchild of Evgeniy Chervonenko, who claimed that the Crimean rally route is the best in the former USSR, with its winding cliffside tracks and stunning scenery.

Anastasiya Skorina

HOUSE OF RECEPTIONS The EBA’s regular Eurodrink went Austrian last week with 300 members enjoying a special festive atmosphere. Guests enjoyed a number of truly Austrian features including authentic Austrian music played live by professional Austrian musicians; Viennese waltz; generous buffet dinner cooked by an Austrian chef who had arrived from Austria especially for the occasion; Austrian beer and soft drinks. The highlight was special guest Mrs. Svitlana Dobronravova, Ukraine’s National Opera singer, who performed opera arias from the Viennese opera.

Natalia Marianchyk

PIONEER On 22 September Pioneer skating rink transformed itself into hospitable Armenia for the evening to celebrate the country’s national day. In contrast to last year’s very homely and cozy reception this year’s celebration was all ceremonial and solemn with all the necessary attributes including red carpet, young pretty Armenian girls in national costumes at the entrance, the ambassador’s speech from the stage and national Armenian dances. The ambassador of Armenia to Ukraine Armen Hachatryan was glad to receive Kyiv diplomats, members of the Armenian community of Kyiv and friends and treat them with the pride to his national treasure - Ararat cognac!

Maria Aksyonova

ARENA ENTERTAINMENT For the second time in two years local celebrities and VIPs gathered last week to bid for artistically decorated ceramic piggies, with all the proceeds going to charity. This ‘Pig Parade’ is the brainchild of Margarita Sichkar and features large porkies decorated by leading local artists and personalities. Many went for enormous sums as the bidding heated up on what was a fun night in a very good cause, with thousands raised for children’s playgrounds and orphanages across Ukraine.

Boleslav Malinovski

SCHOOL NO 197 On 28 September young school leaders from Kyiv and Melitopol organized a sports festival for younger children and children with cerebral palsy at Kyiv school no 197 as part of the on-going ‘Dreams + Teams’ charity project launched by the British Council and Youth Sports Trust. The project aims at developing leadership skills in young people through sports and international educational links and sees local tutors involved in training older school children to then act as leaders with their younger colleagues. This international project has just reached Ukraine and is to embrace four schools including Kyiv Specialised School No 15 for children with cerebral palsy and Melitopol correctional facility for young offenders.

Yulia Volfovska

Dancer Olena Shoptenko Ukraine’s Young Hoofer Hope
There’s hardly a TV addict out there who hasn’t heard of Olena Shoptenko, a 20-year-old dancer who made it big on ‘Dancing With the Stars’. With that show behind her, Olena remains as charming, eye-catching and intelligent beyond her ears as ever.