[✔]RUSSIA VISA; [✔]BELARUS VISA; [✔]AIRLINE TICKETS. It seems that our work in Kiev is finished and we are booked solid until the end of the month. Now it’s time to explore a little. We booked into the Stan Gret Hotel which is more convenient to Larysa’s office and the Belarus Embassy but it is at the bottom of one of Kiev’s many hills. The sweltering walk to St. Sophia Cathedral convinced us that taxis make the most sense even though it usually costs twice as much to return as it did to go somewhere. But walking gives you a chance to check out the tree-lined streets, the shops and the stylish Ukrainian ladies.
Building Murals in Kiev
I am a member of the “one picture is worth 1000 words” school, especially when it comes to cathedrals and such. So here are a few thousand words worth of St. Sophia Cathedral, one of Kiev’s iconic sights.
St Sophia Cathedral and Bell Tower
Likewise the Pechersk-Lavra Ensemble, the 17th Century monastery complex overlooking the Dnieper River. We never did find the caves amid the dozens of monuments, shrines and chapels, but we weren’t trying all that hard. We had intended to visit the Chernobyl Museum that day but our driver, although he got to the neighborhood, couldn’t quite locate the museum in an old firehouse. A case of “right church, wrong pew.” Today’s driver did better.
Pechersk-Lavra Ensemble Dormition Church
Reactor #4 at the Chernobyl plant blew its top on April 26, 1986, spreading radiation over the Ukraine, Belarus and much of northern Europe, 100 times as much it turns out as the atomic bombs dropped in Japan at the end of WW II. In typical Soviet fashion, the danger was downplayed, not even receiving a mention in Pravda until three days later. Kiev’s May Day Parade went as scheduled, exposing thousands to potentially lethal doses of radiation. Scapegoats were identified and convicted even though the fault was poor design and shoddy construction. The brunt of the cleanup fell to the military, mostly conscripts, who were not aware of the danger nor were they properly protected.
Within a week, the residents of 76 nearby settlements were evacuated. Those settlements and 300 more in nearby Belarus ceased to exist. Cancer rates soared in spite of government assurances that there was nothing to worry about and today 3.5 million people are classified as Chernobyl casualties. If you can’t visit the actual site (or don’t want to shell out the money) a few hours at the museum is worth while. If you can find it.
