Stephen Gospage

First Trip To Kyiv, June 1996

by Stephen Gospage

Thursday 7th April 2022 9:42 am

An early morning flight from Vienna,

The plane stuffed with consultants in their suits;

Rugby scrums for visas on arrival.

Hotel post-Soviet, with quirky charm:

‘Three hundred dollars. You pay in cash. Now!’

On each floor women at desks dole out keys

And watch cartoons on cinema-sized screens.

No one can close the window in my room.

The metro staircase seems to reach Earth’s core.

No shooting or bombing of the market,

Where people sell their dreams. The churches are

Glorious. In spite of what is to come,

One feels there is a future for this place,

A destiny. Back at base, the phone rings:

‘Hi. You like beautiful Russian lady?’

That is one call you would not get today.

🌷(10)

◄ Professionals

Staged Event ►

Comments

Stephen Gospage

Fri 8th Apr 2022 18:10

And thanks to John C, Holden and K.Lynn for liking this.

Stephen Gospage

Fri 8th Apr 2022 18:09

I'm sure you were one of the useful ones, John! To be fair, many of them did a lot of good work, but it's easy for firms and governments to overdose on consultants, as France is now finding out.

John Coopey

Fri 8th Apr 2022 08:01

I confess to being one of those consultants too, Stephen. In my case, though, in Hungary. I was part of an unsuccessful bid for work in the coalfields of the Donbas. The purpose was to show post-communist economies how to make money. We certainly did that. “Just watch me!”

Stephen Gospage

Thu 7th Apr 2022 21:44

Thanks to everyone for the comments. A few things: firstly, 'consultants' were everywhere, as in all the other FSU countries I visited in the 1990s, and the post-Soviet world often turned out to be more of a 'Land of Opportunity' for them than those they were advising; secondly, Kyiv was unique in having no international hotels, so that they had to rely on lightly refurbished Soviet-era blocks, which had a certain strange charm, and thirdly, the metro really did seem to descend into the bowels of the Earth.

Glad you enjoyed the details, Greg. Yes, it feels like a slice of history and in my subsequent visits I certainly felt that things were changing for the better. Until recently, of course.

MC and Russell - I went to Russia after visiting Ukraine and to experience this wonderful country and its culture makes the current situation doubly sad for me, and for many others, I am sure.

Leon and John -thanks for your comments. Yes, there is an undercurrent of sadness running through this. To be clear, I learned to admire the Ukranian people back, particularly their fortitude, as life was not easy. I remember on a later visit gving a lecture in a room where the temperature was barely above freezing, and some offices were like fridges.

Telboy - well, I still get my monthly cheque from CNN!

Cheers to you all, and thanks to Stephen A, Julie and Rudyard for the likes.

John Botterill

Thu 7th Apr 2022 18:05

Poignant and vivid, Stephen. Super poem. though laden with sadness, of course.

Russell Jacklin

Thu 7th Apr 2022 17:39

I was in Moscow in the early 90s and remember the brute of a lady on my floor with my keys, who wanted to know if I was going out to eat, or in the hotel, or staying in my room with a tray, the correct answer was to stay in my room with a tray, I didn't get the message and kept going out, much to her annoyance.
I had a TV but as I had no idea what was happening I never watched it. I got good at solitaire

M.C. Newberry

Thu 7th Apr 2022 15:34

This took me straight back to my own visit to Leningrad (as was)
in the 70s - complete with a formidable woman at a desk on the
landing doling out room keys. - but no wide screen TV etc. I do
remember how the brickwork in the shower was unfinished in the Hotel Metropole overlooking the River Neva and the "Aurora"
(fired the shot that signalled the start of the Revolution back in 1917).. An extraordinary view that stays with me, along with
visits to the Hermitage and the amazing rebuild of the Tsar's
summer palace - constructed from what little remained from
Nazi bombardments that besieged the city in WW2. .
Ah.....how the wheel turns as we witness the destruction in Ukraine. at the hands of the Russians of today.

Telboy

Thu 7th Apr 2022 11:34

Stephen, this is all made up, fake news, dreamt by Western Imperialists to discredit post-Soviet culture!!!

Greg Freeman

Thu 7th Apr 2022 10:21

No, indeed. Just the kind of poem I like, Steve, full of interesting detail. You have preserved something here. Thanks for sharing.

<Deleted User> (33000)

Thu 7th Apr 2022 09:55

Quite a story! and if it wasn't for the events going on there today I would have said quite an enjoyable on too.
omg when will it end?

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