[driftless2]

"Kiev"

And what is Kiev like today? How are things in the former soviets? There is a dearth of information about what is happening in the ex-Soviet and east bloc countries as far the lives of the average citizens.

[Jimmy Valentine]

Kiev is a beautiful city. Old Kiev which is on the west bank of the river Dneiper is very cosmopolitan. They have done a very good job of preserving their older buildings while also incorporating new construction in office blocks.

Newer Kiev on the flat plain on the east side of the river is heavy with new construction, mostly unattractive.

Ukraine's biggest issue is the pervasive, pandemic corruption. It affects real estate, banking and politics.The effect is a two tiered economy, one capitalist and one "black" i.e.under the table.There is big big money in Ukraine, but a lot of it is off the radar.

As to the Russians and the possibility of Ukraine splitting up, well I don't think so. The Ukrainians have gotten their religion back. Too, there are still people alive who lived through the "Holodomor", the deliberate famine created by Stalin which killed 10 million Ukrainians. Russians are not particularly liked in Ukraine but tolerated.

I still think that sooner or later Yanukovitch will have to go. The hope for Ukraine is a reformist patriot to clean up the corruption.

Sorry to be so long, but there you are.