A typical interior of a Ukrainian rural home.

A typical interior of a Ukrainian rural home.

GeorgeVPBlog

One man's toy costs 1,700 lives?

A sad story, yet true. On the left: Viktor Yanukovych, the president of Ukraine, stepping out of his helicopter, which, with maintenance and all, costs $17,000,000. On the right: a Ukrainian girl with cerebral palsy, whose parents desperately try to find $10,000 for her medications. The caption below says: "One man's toy costs 1,700 lives?"

GeorgeVPBlog

More pics of winter in Ukraine

More pics of winter in Ukraine. One might think that it's freezing inside this rural house, but, actually, it is not. All these houses necessarily have a "pich," a fireplace where the flames go up into the space surrounded by walls made of brick. If you keep the wood (especially large logs) burning in the "pich" for a few hours (say, from late afternoon till 9-10 p.m.), the bricks became so hot that they do not cool down till 6 a.m. or so. And if the "pich" is made right, there is no smell of smoke in the room.

GeorgeVPBlog

A stork on top of the house (photo)

Rural Ukrainian classic: a stork on top of the house, a wicker fence, and red poppies.

Something From "Ascetic Literature of Kyivan Rus' "

Just found an astonishing piece in the book by Archbishop Ihor Isichenko "Ascetic Literature of Kyivan Rus'." From a chronicle written by a 12th century monk from what is now Chernihiv oblast (northern Ukraine) and describing his pilgrimage to the Holy Land: "The river Jordan is so much like the river Snov near Chernihiv: same width as the Snov in its estuary, same depth, same speed of the flow, same curves.... also, the plants that grow on the muddy sides of the Jordan are like those an the banks of the Snov, and the fishes are very similar." (Op. Cit. p. 284-285).

GeorgeVPBlog

A traditional Ukrainian "mother-daughter" picture (photo)

A traditional Ukrainian "mother-daughter" picture. Note that the mother (right) has her head covered, while her daughter wears only a garland, which means that she is still not married and lives in her parents' house. In old Ukrainian villages, there existed a rather cruel custom to put a head covering on an unmarried girl who became pregrant. These poor girls were called "pokrytky" ("the covered"), and it was "normal" to ridicule them and their parents. :(

GeorgeVPBlog

Indeed, "the sleep of reason produces monsters" (Francisco Goya)

Indeed, "the sleep of reason produces monsters" (Francisco Goya). In his propagandistic Russian film, titled "A Strange Affair," "evidence" is presented in favor of the notion that everyhtng in the world is controlled by the 300 wealthiest families, all of whom are members of the Order of Free Masons. They have started both world wars, they dismantled the USSR, and they initiated the Arab Spring. Most interestingly, among these top playes of the "global behind-the-scenes government" are Francis Ford Coppola and Arnold Schwartzenegger.

P.S. Forgot to mention that, according to this film, everyone in the USA in 2005 received a new ID card (I must have missed something really important!), which contains a microchip allowing the "government" to know everyone's location at any moment of time, and also to track anyone's financial transactions. In the future, say the authors of this film, the "government" will be able to take all of a person's money away if the "government" feels that this person is not content with the existing regime. This will lead to mass starvation and death of a larger part of the US population.

GeorgeVPBlog