Getting Started
This
first blog post is seriously overdue. A lot has happened already so
I’ll do my best to recap in a way that is not too boring! Also, a
disclaimer up front — I hate taking pictures in public. For some reason
it makes me feel horribly uncomfortable. So what follows are some
pictures of questionable quality. I apologize!
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| On the way to a beautiful park about an hour outside of Kryvii Rih, taken from the car window. Somehow I forgot the name of the park! But this is the Ukrainian flag and too good not to include. |
Where Am I and What Am I Doing?
Thanks to the generosity of the board of the Ukrainian room who awarded
me the Eugene Manasterski Memorial Award and GSPIA’s PDF funding, I’m
back in Kyiv, Ukraine spending the summer interning with a great
organization, VoxUkraine.
VoxUkraine is essentially a think tank that analyzes domestic policy
here in Ukraine. One of the founders is a professor at Pitt, Tymofiy Mylovanov. Most of my time is taken up with editing, researching, writing, and meeting interesting people.
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| This is not VoxUkraine. This is St. Andrew’s Church. But it sounds so much cooler when you say it like this: Andriyivska Tserkva. One of my favorite places in Kyiv -More about this later |
Shameless Plug of the Day
So
while I do a lot of other stuff, my big focus is on corruption. It is
hard to explain what a huge problem this is in Ukraine — it has plagued
the country for years. My job is to learn as much as I can from talking
to people, reading Ukrainian newspapers, and following key activists on
social media. Then I translate this into a brief that analyzes the news
for an English speaking audience.
The
audience is mostly western journalists, government representatives, and
NGO’s who need to know what’s going on without doing all the work
themselves. I love the work and I’m learning a ton. It takes an enormous
amount of effort to drill down into the details of boring stuff like
the structure of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, but what I’m
finding is no one else is doing it. It’s nice to do something that
really seems to bring some value. So before my hand gets sore from
patting myself on the back, here’s the link to the briefs. Hopefully you
enjoy them!
Where I Work Part Two!
So
much of the work that is done in Ukraine is done by civil society
organizations. It’s really very impressive. Perhaps the most influential
is Reanimation Package of Reforms. Don’t hold the name against
it — just say RPR and call it a day. RPR has its roots in the Maidan
Revolution. As former President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country and
protestors finally declared victory, a core group of activists including
journalists, non-profit leaders, lawyers and other experts were
determined to continue carrying the torch of reform. Together they
formed what became RPR — a group of over 200 experts comprising 26
working groups. Each group focuses on an area of reform ranging from
elections to anti-corruption. RPR has been prominent in shaping the
country’s reform agenda through writing and lobbying for effective
legislation.
My role here is
small. I do some editing and am working on a newsletter to recap their
achievements. Honestly, I’m just happy they let me hang around
occasionally. I meet great people and keep a pulse on what is really
going on. Their office is like a hive of activity. Last week at a press
breakfast I got to meet Daria Kalenyuk — which means nothing in the U.S.
but she is one of the most influential people here as far as battling corruption.
Cool Places: First Installation
It’s getting late, but I did promise to talk a little about Andriyivskiy descent in this post. It has a rich history, (Bulgakov lived there!) which I’m going to leave to my good friend, Mr. Wikipedia to explain. Andriyivskiy is the place to go for cool stuff. Years ago Marina got me perhaps the coolest camera ever there — a Moskva 5
— which I am still a little afraid to use. You can find tons of old
stuff there from cameras, to army helmets, gas masks etc. Pretty much
everything you need! But, it’s not all military paraphernalia!
Art!
It is really hard to get a good picture to show just how much artwork
there is here. There are at least a hundred vendors. And while you’re
not going to find the next Munch
(pretentious… moi?), it’s still a lot of fun to check out their work.
What you see on the left goes on for a good 100 yards, on both sides of
the street. And as you move down the hill, towards the church, the road
splits and wraps to the right. And goes on and on with more and more
vendors. I’ve never made it to the end. I always get nervous it will
lead to a dead end and I’ll have to walk back up the huge hill I’ve been
descending. Can it get any lazier?
Signing off for Now
This was a lot more enjoyable to write than I thought it would be.
Hopefully it was interesting to read — if you’ve made it this far! I’m
going to try to make up for the last several weeks with more posts about
places I’ve gone, conferences I’ve been to, what is going on at work.
Strunk and White rail against affecting a breezy manner in one’s
writing, and I feel like I may have let them down in this post, ol’chap.
If so, feel free to let me know and I’ll channel some Herman Finer.
Photos That Didn't Fit
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| You can buy traditional shirts, plates, and crazy hats |
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| Walking further down the hill |
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| Then turning around |
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