«Ukrainian Action - 2010: Healing the Past», №2, 12-22 June 2010

Editor’s letterRoad north...

Having enjoyed the warm sunshine of Crimea, we went north – to Kyiv. We worked here for two days in the State Archive of Ukraine. The reason was that because of our nontraditional history and nowadays situation in Ukraine we have got a substantial amount of questions, answers to which were yet to be found.

Having spent a few days in the capital city, we launched to the Chornobyl zone – one of the most discussable places in Ukraine, which is related to many life stories full of pain.

This week of the project was not at all monotonous; rather it was extremely filled with contrasts. First, invigorating Kyiv, then desolated streets of Prypiat town1 with trees growing through the empty buildings, and afterwards House of Good People in Baranivka village, separated from human rush and living its special life.

In the evening of 29 June we jumped in the train and went from Kyiv to Ivano-Frankivsk. There is a week of exiting adventures, indulging into the everyday life of Carpathian craftsmen… Amazing stories… Bright shots…

To be continued…Enjoy reading Dzvinka

Archives, archives…At the project we are making the

limits of our consciousness wider. Having spent the day reading the work by the representative of OUN-UPA army 2, Mr. Hornovyi, “Our attitude to the Russian nation”, 1958, in the evening I shared my impressions with my friend from my homeland, the Eastern Ukraine. In his comment by phone, which was “this is all rubbish and I will tell you what happened in reality”, I recognized my own recent argument. Only facts gave me the real knowledge, and this is what we should aim at.

Zoya

1 Prypiat - is a dead city in the zone of alienation near Chornobyl. It was founded in 1970 to house the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant workers, and was abandoned in 1986 following the Chernobyl disaster.

2 OUN-UPA - The Ukrainian Insurgent Army, a Ukrainian nationalist guerrilla army that engaged in a series of conflicts during World War II against Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and Poland.

Kyiv. How we met the hedgehog in the fog…

Besides the work in the archives, during 23-24 of June we managed to see the unusual Kyiv Oksana Kravets made an excursion through the little-known places of architectural interest. We would like to share with you a few snapshots from our promenades.

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«Ukrainian Action - 2010: Healing the Past», №2, 12-22 June 2010

Alienated City Chornobyl

Extremely wide and empty road, “the highway to nowhere”. A few km are left before we enter the 30-km Chornobyl Zone. Beautiful forest, blossoming birches, the wheels of the bus are bending the growing grass. Just one step to the dead place of Ukraine, the black spot on the world map…

The military post – for the state security as well as the fight with the poachers who steal the property from the desolated houses.

The impression is like in the “Stalker” movie by Tarkovskyi: desolation and absence of any living creature, animals, people, sounds, illusions. Large hills alongside the road which contain buried houses inside them. It was thought to be helpful, but it turned out to be vain, as the thin layer of ground has no power over the atom energy. Now these are monuments of human families and of human souls.

The amount of the radiation is absolutely intangible, thus only this green desert feels scary, as if it says “I don’t care about all the human crazy ventures”.

The exploded reactor is a huge beautifully closed box which covers thousands of human lives. In front of the barbed wire there stands a monument to Chornobyl – the last point where the visitors are allowed to go. It really looks like a zone of alienation, with prohibition either to touch or to see. A few foreign companies try vainly for years to build here the plants to “improve the situation”, which shows their care to prevent spreading the “dreadful poison” further.

Inside the 10-km zone it is prohibited to eat, to drink, to smoke, to walk barefooted. So what else is left to do not to become bored? The answer comes – to “enjoy” the nature, to get terrified by the size of the atomic station reactors, with which the Soviet Union tried to amuse the capitalists and to get their money. And then – to realize the tragic unappreciative intrusion of human-being – soviet-machine into the nature, to think of it as of kind of revenge by nature for the unclean motives and to grieve for the beautiful Ukrainian Polissya region land.

Mykhailo

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«Ukrainian Action - 2010: Healing the Past», №2, 12-22 June 2010

Where to find good people?Baranivka - a picturesque village in Central Ukraine – has become a home for many good people both from Ukraine and abroad. Here from April this year the volunteers of Foundations for Freedom Valentyn Bondarenko and Serhiy Tretetskyi are building the House of Good People.

Our team spent three wonderful days in Baranivka. Please read below our impressions, emotions and comments.

OlkaFor just two hours of quiet in Baranivka’s nature I rested with my body, spirit and soul for the whole month. It was a different happiness level, higher than all the earthly joys and even than falling

in love.

Christina Бачення Дому The vision of a house of good people has become reality in Baranivka. In the midst of the beautiful Ukrainian countryside young people from all over Ukraine and from as far away as Moldova and Australia are coming together, drawn by, passionate vision of Sergey and Valik. The beauty of the place and the people and the inspiring vision make this a very special place.

ZoyaThe formula of Baranivka’s comfort: hospitality of kind hosts + variety of people + beautiful nature + strong roof over the head + bonfire + guitar + some cooking skills

ShukriThe first step towards a big goal. Separate, quiet, all the conditions for moral and physical rest.

GalechkaWe do not need to be afraid of doing big – it is so close. Together we can do anything!!

PolinaA beautiful place…

Natalia Serhiy and Valik look like wild Robinson and Friday. Distance from the civilization… Simplicity… Roughness, which contain nevertheless more of something real.

Lissa-DzvinkaThree men in a boat (To say nothing with a dog)… I wonder what will come out of this.

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