From the mini series "Tor talks about things he has no clue about." This time: Ukraine
Tuesday, 10. March 2009, 19:58:54
One of the countries in serious trouble under the global financial crisis is Ukraine. Unemployment is up, GDP is (massively) down and the general mood is not particularly jolly. My colleague Katrin Jaakson and I spent a couple of days in Kiev to interview candidates for our Communications Manager position.
Pic: Katrin and Sergii (Mongoose) at the monastery Kiev Pechersk Lavra
Here's my (social science-free) take on Ukraine:
Pic: Katrin and Tor at the Museum of the Great Patriotic War
Pic: Katrin and Sergii (Mongoose) at the monastery Kiev Pechersk Lavra
Here's my (social science-free) take on Ukraine:
- Ukraine is a potential political and economic powerhouse. It is operating and growing in the shadows of Russia. While it will never achieve Russia's political prowess, Ukraine can become a significant force with its strategic geographic location, large population (46+ million), vast resources and ties to Russia. I say "potential" because Ukraine needs to make moves to become a true market economy and fix its flawed political system (it seems too easy to influence their Constitution - e.g. on whether the Prime Minister or President is the one in real charge...).
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- Clearly, efficiency is needed. At the hotel we stayed at (a relatively modest, 3 star hotel with solid roots in the Soviet times), way too many people had nothing to do. Six people serving lunch to 5-10 guests is not efficient...
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- Kiev is a truly proud and beautiful city. If Kiev represents the soul of Ukraine, I want to come back again and again to learn more. People in Kiev take their past seriously - as made evident by the well-managed parks, historical buildings, churches and war memorials. Speaking of war memorials, I have never seen something as astonishing as their WW2 memorial. The insane sacrifices made by the Ukrainian people (16 million killed in fighting the Germans, I heard) truly deserve such a monumental park. But more important, perhaps, is our respect. It is this respect for the past and eye on the future that makes Kiev so interesting. The old Soviet regime is visible everywhere you go, but you also see globalism making an impact. Close to our hotel, there were no less than four sushi restaurants (and pretty much no other dining places). The citizens of Kiev seem to LOVE sushi. I was happy to observe that not any of those restaurants employed any people even remotely related to Asian descent. The underlying message: we're good enough to make our own sushi here in Ukraine. And I grant them two thumbs up in response.
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- We're humble and proud to have people such as Mongoose (also famed for operafan.net and with the real name of Sergii Prosianyk) stand in the frontlines of a large community of Opera users (millions of Ukrainians use Opera on their PCs and mobile phones). We're honored by their dedication and support in what we are trying to achieve - to make the Internet more useful to anyone in the world. Mongoose is an embodiment of the Opera personality: he's open, honest, passionate, knowledgable, creative and has an international mindset. Thank you for the Dynamo Kiev scarf, Mongoose! Hope you enjoyed the akevitt and the chocolate. Drink responsibly...
Pic: Katrin and Tor at the Museum of the Great Patriotic War
WIDGETIZE