Check Out Some Pre-War, Pre-Covid Photos from the Streets of Kiev Ukraine!

Kiev has turned out to be a very special place for me. I came for a couple weeks and ended up staying for a few months. I got comfortable here. I learned about the culture and the people and the longer I stayed the more I enjoyed it.

This is also one of the few places in the world that I've traveled to where I it's not immediately obvious that I am a foreigner. I have great grandparents who immigrated to America who were originally from this city and Odesa Ukraine as well. So my genetics are shared with these people; I look like them. They often start talking to me in Russian, only to be surprised that I respond in English.

Moreover Ukraine to me is a very solid second world country. The streets are not always pristine, neither are some of the buildings, you can see some poverty if you look close enough. There are many people with their own "third world" style stands selling whatever they can randomly throughout the city. I personally like this, the entrepreneurial spirit is strong here. In economies like this, if there is no job then you have to make your own job. This brings character to a city and culture as far as I'm concerned.

These guys were causing a scene at Independence Square in the city center.

This guy was friendly and smiled for the camera.

The newly installed president owns this company; Petr Poroshenko. Notice the Roshen in Poroshenko.

I tried to talk them off the ledge but they didn't speak English! Well actually they were bungee jumping on Saturday night over the Dnieper River.

Old people crossing the road is like my new favorite thing to photograph.

BBQ Ukrainian Style!

They used to be my favorite!

The deepest subway system in the world!

How we clean the streets in Ukraine!

Protesting the sick practice of organ harvesting against the practicers of Falun Gong by the Chinese Government, a hidden genocide.