Impressions of Kiev while in Kiev.

St. Sophia: A light snow was falling on St. Sophia's in Kiev. It was the kind of snow that slowly drifts to the ground, and immediately melts on hitting. There was an old man sweeping the sidewalk, and a temple worker outside on a smoking break, but besides us three the yard was empty. I sat there staring at the cupolas jutting into the skyline in awe at the historical turmoil of this building. Patterned after Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, it was originally one of the most important cathedrals in all of Ukraine. However, communist leaders later turned the church into a museum, and Nazis raided the building destroying much of its former beauty. After communism fell, several denominations laid claim to the cathedral so no one is allowed to worship there anymore.

Babyn Yar: I left the metro stop, not knowing exactly where to go. I had heard of a ravine in Kiev where over 30,000 Jews were murdered in 2 days, and over 100,000 people over the space of a few years during the Nazi occupation of Ukraine, but I had no idea how to find it. It was just getting dark, and just my luck, Babyn Yar is a forest park. I wandered around in this park looking for what might be the ravine for about half an hour with no luck. Finally, I stepped off the beaten path and randomly found a small statue of a menorah with the inscription "голос кровi брата твого волнає до мене з землi" (the voice of the blood of your brother cries out to me from the earth). Beyond the menorah, a ravine opened up, almost out of nowhere. The snow that couldn't stick earlier in the day now was frozen under my feet, and the ground crackled when I shifted my weight. The inscription was appropriate here. Later I found out that the main site for Babyn Yar was farther away, but I liked what I found better.

Different

If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin. - Ivan Turgenev

I'm sure you've all been following the exciting events in Russia. The leading party, United Russia, has been accused of fixing the elections. Scandal, intrigue, violence...ok, not so much violence, but the other two carry it pretty far, right? Truly, this is a great time to be in Moscow. Life isn't simply standing still for very many people here. While this holds true more in Moscow than most places, it's especially true now. Instead of asking about the weather, people talk about politics. Instead of going home, people go to the center of Moscow and demonstrate discontent with the current political regime.

I went to the largest of these demonstrations, and it was pretty interesting (at least for a little while). Most of the time was spent chanting fun little phrases like "Россия без Путина (Russia without Putin)", "Путин вор (Putin's a thief)", "Если мы едины, мы не победимы (If we're united, we're unconquerable)(I thought this one was a terrible one, because the party in question's name is 'United Russia')", and "Громче (louder)(this one was because no one could hear the speakers at all)".

This was a really interesting event because we were all able to see how a nation can make their voice heard despite the fact that people don't listen to the votes. Many of you know that I haven't been the most active voter, but these events have made me further question not only the legitimacy of voting, but also question what citizenship means. What it means to be a part of a whole. I haven't come to any conclusions, but it's fun to start.

And now the interesting part, pictures! Thanks Shine!