Tracing Patterns — Desk-bound Blues (& Yellows) in Kyiv as The Offensive Approaches
At present, editorial duty has me in Kyiv for another week or so. Then, it’s likely I’ll head to the field and prepare, like so many others, for what everybody expects as the weather warms, and the gear is in place. The offensive to push ruZZia out.
In the meantime, I’m watching Kyiv in war-time. This is a big city — as big as Sydney — and to draw too many conclusions about such a diverse place isn’t wise. Today’s contrasts were, though, interesting.
It’s bucketing now, but it was lovely and sunny most of the day. Today is ‘Verbna Nedilya’ here or Palm Sunday. Palms aren’t exactly ubiquitous in Ukraine (!) so historically and to the present, Ukrainians use the budding branches of willow trees (known as ‘verba’ or ‘loza’) as a cold weather climate substitute.
Today, thousands of people walked the streets of their capital — where cobblestones and high-rises co-exist — with bunches of the fuzzy-wuzzies. Many stood outside churches for their ‘verby’ to be blessed.
The tradition is that you tap another person with your ‘verby’ and say “I’m not hitting you, the willow is, and it’s Easter in a week”. Don’t ask me. I’m just observing.
Some of the willow-bearing Ukrainians attended the historic 11th century Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery too. It’s currently transitioning from its Moscow-backed ‘tenants’ to the independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church. That continued today with the Kyiv-affiliated faith’s Metropolitan leading Liturgy in one of the many on-site churches.
Thankfully, there was no conflict today at the site, as there largely hasn’t been throughout the social change sweeping Ukraine right now from the Moscow-affiliated church, rightly accused of treason, to the Kyiv one. Hundreds of parishes are peacefully switching over. Ukrainians have no history of internecine, religious-based violence.
It’s also important to note that this is largely a secular place nowadays so taking a bunch of willows home is perhaps more cultural for many here now. A Ukrainian version of Aussie’s hot-cross buns and Easter bilbies. (Hi Suzanne!)
At the same time, especially because the weather’s been pretty dreary, Kyivans sought out the sun. Crowds of fashionable young people in groovy sunnies stood outside bars and drank prosecco.
Others places today, there’s a war. A very real and brutal war where civilians and soldiers die every day. Not only at Bakhmut and Avdiivka, but Kherson, Sumy, Zaporizhiya and other regions, which all had shooting or bombing in the last few days.
I calculate that, beyond Bakhmut, for the last two weeks, there’s been about 50 shooting incidents a day and about 20 airborne-indicent per day.
The Kyivans I know never forget that. Nor, have they forgotten a hard winter with missiles hitting their city, causing death, and knocking out power supplies at times. But, whether it’s with their faith, their family traditions, their habits, their partying, their stand-up comedy (huge at the moment) or their riding on the amazing inner-city velodrome, I make out they do the things that feel normal.
It’s not denial — it’s emotional endurance.
Dogs, for instance, are hugely pampered at present. They go wherever they want to. They wear expensive jackets. Their owners carry fancy, portable water bowls bought from one of the dozens of ‘vogue dogue’ boutiques around the city. The doggos probably make lots of people feel better as key cast members of the play called the ‘double life’.
As do the extraordinary range of stylish cafes across the city. Melbourne, you ain’t got any game compared to this place. I particularly enjoy the naming strategies. It’s considered very on-point to give English-language names to cafes, restaurants and other businesses. Some that I’ve spotted are of below.
As one example of the double life, the cool kids in my office (who are trendier than anyone I know back home) also collect money for supplies for the front — and drive stuff there themselves. They write obituaries for peers and friends who have been killed in combat when they should be making travel plans and finding love.
What’s coming will be very bloody for Ukraine and Ukrainians. Maybe, this is a collective calm before a terrible storm. Maybe, though, what comes at the end of the storm is also the end of the double life.
I went into church too and that was one of many things I prayed for. For guardian angels for this place and its people. Like the kind the kids at the Borodyanka school, where I visited recently for an article, make as gifts for their visitors.
