UkrEthnoExp. Part IVAugust 2225, 2009 VinnytsiaMapThe most god-awful and pointless city on earth. ![]() A Vinnytsia trash can. ![]() Vinnytsia payphones. ![]() Another payphone and Vinnytsia road fences, which are painted red and white. ![]() The city is exceptionally drab and boring. ![]() The asphalt has been laid like a frozen wave. ![]() Ukrainian road signs always specify what makes a particular stretch of road accident-prone. For example, first you see an “Accident-Prone Area” sign, and then, in a hundred meters, another one that says, “Cause of Accidents: Driving into Oncoming Lane,” or, “Cause of Accidents: Speeding.” Or else it just jumps straight into a game of Battleship: ![]() Accident-Prone Area. Caution! 7 Dead, 4 Injured OdessaMapIt’s still just as cozy and wonderful here. ![]() There are a million interesting details hidden all around. ![]() H. K. Shevrembrandt, architect Odessa was always notable for its creative approach to advertising. ![]() Brrr And its creative approach to text layout. ![]()
Roman- Parking meters have appeared in the city (you can also find some in Dnipropetrovsk). ![]() The most noticeable new detail is the new blue garbage dumpsters. ![]() They’re made of plastic and do a cool disappearing trick when a fire breaks out. ![]() The glaring red frames around traffic signs are another Odessa detail. It’s like they’re trying to say, “Look here, there’s a sign!” ![]() It was Independence Day in Ukraine. Someone was yelling, “Glory to Russia!” by the monument to Catherine the Great. The police remained calm. “Happy holiday,” I both started and ended my conversation with the car mechanic. “That’s their holiday, ours is on September 2nd, Odessa Day,” he replied. ![]() IzmailMapThere’s no real reason to come here. ![]() The only items of interest are the fortress and the fancy street signs on the main street. ![]() Russia once kicked the Turks out of the fortress here. The fortress itself is incredibly beautiful and well preserved, I highly recommend visiting it if you end up in Ukraine. The diorama attendant languishes in boredom to the sounds of a taped recording about the glory of Russian arms, which she’s been listening to since 1972. ![]() VylkoveMapA tiny provincial town. ![]() Like many others, I had been charmed by its description as “the Venice of Ukraine.” I drove up and down the entire town in search of confirmation. ![]() Finally, somewhere on the outskirts, I did find a place offering rowboat excursions through dirty water. ![]() The canals are so filthy that the boat immediately runs aground. The gondolier, accustomed to such incidents, hops overboard to give it a push. ![]() A tourist who braves the 70 kilometers of absolutely abominable road connecting Vylkove to a normal highway will be rewarded with a dubious promenade through the reeds. And nothing more. ![]() KhersonMapA city about nothing. Local objects of interest include wide flower planters on all the road fences. ![]() And advertising that, like a vine, wraps itself around every accessible pole-like structure, even if there’s already another ad at the top. ![]() The Oleshky Sands—the biggest desert in Europe—are a stone’s throw away from Kherson. Sounds romantic. ![]() There was grass here at one point, but it was all eaten by grazing herds as far back as a century ago. That’s why this place is now a giant sandbox. ![]() All of Southern Ukraine and Crimea are studded with WWII-era utility poles, wooden and with a huge number of lines. ![]() |
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UkrEthnoExp. III. Uzhgorod, Mukacheve, Berehove, Chernivtsi, Kolomyia, Kosmach |
august 2009
UkrEthnoExp. IV. Vinnytsia, Odessa, Izmail, Vylkove, Kherson
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UkrEthnoExp. Part V. Sevastopol, Simferopol, Feodosia, Kerch, Zaporizhia, Donetsk |
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UkrEthnoExp. Part VI. Illegal Coalmine, Lugansk, Krasnodon, Contraband, Shchastya, Starobilsk |
© 19952025 Artemy Lebedev |