It was a strange time to visit Kiev, the chaos of
the Ukrainian peoples uprising has temporarily settled to a purposeful
but peaceful occupation of Maidan square and the imminent May elections
are the topic of most casual conversation
concerning the countries immediate future. The conflict in the east is
too far away to be seen but is felt and stories of displaced Ukrainians
from Crimea are beginning to filter into city life.
It was this strange quiet at the centre of a
looming storm that I walked the city, struck by how normal everyday
things were going on, business as usual. A music video being shot
outside St Sophia Cathedral, Tommy Hilfiger jeans being
browsed by the ruling rich class in the city centre's American style
malls. Oligarch money many say; A train ride though a vast flat
hinterland only made clearer the sense of polarisation of this country’s
wealth. A clear example of how organised crime can
abuse a capitalist system as easily as a communist one. Visible signs of conflict seemed even further away here; a peaceful, if difficult, agricultural life seemed uninterrupted.
When walking the city I was surprised to see how
many of the public gatherings and protests were being dominated by a
fascist right wing groups. Always front and centre, singing the
loudest, highlighting their presence. These groups,
predominantly made up of teenage males are an unusual and worrying
element, only because they give Putin a political hot potato to throw
west. Importantly they are a tiny minority in this vast and complex
country, and really only represent an outlet for a
few understandably, if seriously misguided, angry young men.
Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine still goes
unchallenged in any effective way by the west; blacklisting a handful of
Russian businessmen was a singularly limp response that even the Tory
controlled BBC still has trouble reporting with
a straight, shameless face. While visiting the city I was determined to
photograph what I saw, not a version of what I saw to promote one side
as right or wrong. I have to say having talked to many people living
here I was even made even more aware of how
pro-Russian most of the international reporting has been from CNN, Sky
News and the BBC One Ukrainian man I met said “I cannot even watch the
television because it is all lies".
Much of our media continues to avoid the simple
fact that Putin and Russia are handpicking the parts of Ukraine that
they want, invading it, seizing key buildings and claiming a right to
the land in order to protect "Russian speaking
Ukrainians". Most of the people I met in Kiev speak Russian and not one
of them expressed and interest in being Russian, living in Russia or
indeed wanting Putin's 'protection'. The situation was described
brilliantly by a political cartoon I saw depicting
a Russian Bear hooking salmon out of a river and telling the fish that
it was saving it from drowning.
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