Photo Essay - Victory Day Kiev, 2018
Well, a mini-essay at least!
Yesterday, May 9, 2018, was the celebration of Victory Day in Kiev, along with many other places in the former USSR and elsewhere. Instead of explaining the whole concept of Victory Day, let’s go to this Wikipedia article.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_Day_(9_May)
Kiev lately has had a difficult relationship with Victory Day. While May 9th is still the official holiday, some, mostly notably government officials, celebrate on May 8th. Whereas in the past, it used to be a quiet, laid-back, somber memorial and remembrance of those who died in World War 2, it has now, sadly, become a clash of cultures and values.
It can be difficult these days to tell the players without a scorecard. Here are some participants seen yesterday that you rarely, if ever, saw before 2014.
Veterans of ATO (Anti-Terrorist Organization), holding the flags. ATO is the local name for the war with the separatist parts of the country. My first impression might have been to classify them with the “nationalist” camp. But they have been in this park 24 hours a day guarding the eternal flame to keep the nationalists/fascists from pouring cement into it. It seems that young men sent off to war often buy into the government’s reasons for the war, but when they return their views have changed.
The bomb sniffing dog.
The “Police of Dialog”. Apparently they are not officially part of the police, even though the front of their shirts say “Police of Kyiv”, yes, in English. And “Kyiv” is how the Ukrainian government thinks English speaking people should spell Kiev.
Are these regular police or Veterans of ATO? (In black, on the left). Yesterday I was thinking regular police, now I’m thinking Veterans of ATO.
Other images:
The Zhukov ladies, so nicknamed for the image of Marshall Zhukov they hold.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgy_Zhukov
Last year, nationalists grabbed this poster from these women and tossed it into the eternal flame because part of the display was the banned "St. George ribbon." This poster was immediately rescued by onlookers before any damage was done.
Statue of Ivan Kozhedub
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Kozhedub
The “Alley of Heroes,” where this statue stands, was created during the days of Victor Yanukovich. Since that time, there have been no new statues added.
