Ukraine:

Well, as I mentioned in my last post: "We were told that we are now a priority for the office. As a credit to the Peace Corps, many of my fellow group members have now been given new assignments." Less than an hour after that was posted I was called by Amanda at the Placement Office. I was told, and I am paraphrasing here: "We have a spot available in Ukraine. There is a possibility that you can go to Azerbaijan, but that would not be a definite." After weighing some options in my head (given that I only had about two minutes to make my final decision), I elected to take the placement in Ukraine. I am very excited about it as well. Much praise should be given to the Peace Corps for following through on a commitment they made. I was placed about 49 hours after finding out Turkmenistan did not want us.

Luckily, for me, I was too lazy to set up this blog in the time leading up to Turkmenistan. I will save you some of the asinine history of that country, and give a little about the Ukraine. Still staying in the former Soviet Union, the current CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States), the history still has more than it's share of tragedy. My brief historical snap-shot will be largely (and by largely I mean completely) borrowed from Culture Smart! Ukraine: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture by Anna Schevchenko. This is also done completely without permission of the author, whammy!

The word ukraina means "borderland". Borderland, of course, implies that Ukraine is/was a frontier, of sorts. Ukrainians, at least ethnic Ukranians, are a Slavic people, and the region, which is now the country, was considered the frontier of the Kyivan Rus empire. . . and still, today it remains a sort of borderland. A country that separates the "Western world" from it's insolent step-brother, Russia.

Ukraine is the geographic center of Europe. It is was the "breadbasket of the Soviet Union," and is now the "breadbasket of Europe." It is home to a particular type of soil, called chornozem, which makes the country remarkably fertile. Such fertility is presumably why Ukraine (and, for the record it is proper to write, and say Ukraine, not "The Ukraine") was so victimized by foreign nations. It has been under Russian control most recently, and prior to Russian control various parts of the country were under the control of Lithuania, and Poland, as well as portions which were, even at that time controlled by Russia.

Ukranian independence was gained by the Cossacks, fierce, and brave warriors famous for their horsemanship, endurance, and drinking ability, not to mention their extraordinary tolerance for pain. It was under the Cossacks that Russia began annexing more and more of Ukraine, naming it Malorossiya, or "Little Russia. This was in the mid-17th century. The country was veritably under Russian hands until the collapse of the Soviet Union. And, while there are numerous tragedies, and important aspects that occurred while under Soviet control, in the interest of some sort of brevity, my focus will go to post-Soviet Ukraine.

Ukrainian nationalism, and desire for independence began in tragedy. Ukraine is home to Chornobyl, the greatest nuclear disaster in history. (I would prefer this not lead into an argument regarding Truman's use of the atomic bomb.) What this tragedy did for the Ukranians was expose the Soviets. The people saw the "blatant lies, and secretive behavior" of Soviet officials, and knew that this was bigger than said official were admitting to. While Independence was still five years away, it took until December of 1991, when the people of Ukraine voted overwhelmingly in favor of becoming their own country.

This brings us into the modern era, the post-Cold War world. The iron curtain, however, lifts slowly. And, even twenty years later the country is still working to establish itself as an independent democracy, with free, and fair elections. Ukrainians proved this to the world, during the "Orange Revolution" of 2004.

During the presidential election of 2004, thousands of protesters took the streets. The election, they claimed, had been rigged. This rigged election led to the defeat of the pro-Western candidate: Viktor Yushenko. The colorful revolution lasted ten days, after which the Supreme Court of Ukraine declared the results invalid, and order a new election. During this "re-do" Yushenko was elected, defeating a Russian-supported candidate, named Yanukovich, narrowly. This proved the country's commitment to the democratic principles we Westerners hold so dearly.

It is to this fledgling country I will be going. I am excited to go to Ukraine to teach English. In my egotism, I feel it an important service for Ukraine's international commercial development. This adventure is scheduled to commence around Tuesday, or Wednesday of next week.