My encounter with Ukrainian police cadets and Lenin statues

I’m sitting here, two different live streams open. Watching the twitter feed and clicking on live blogs. I’m thinking about Ukraine and recalling my experiences with people there. My mind recalls especially one specific encounter. 

I met police cadets from Crimea on my second travel to Ukraine. My first trip was to Western Ukraine. To Lviv, which declared itself independent yesterday, and the oblast. My travel group and I talked to people from villages, in Ukrainian and Polish. It became clear to me that there is a divide between countryside and city. Muddy street alleys and a few kilometres away little cafés with wifi. Between educated and non-educated.

My second trip one year later was to Odessa and Crimea. I knew beforehand that I would be able to use my Russian there. But I was quite eager to use some Ukrainian expressions. In the end, the German-Russian-Ukrainian language book that I bought was useless. I never heard a word of Ukrainian, except in one strictly Ukrainian-style restaurant in Odessa. Another gap to Western Ukraine became clear when I spotted more and more recently rebuilt Lenin statues: a gap between pro-Russian and pro-Ukraine.

If Odessa still felt “European” from a West-European point of view, the feeling on Crimea changed. My boyfriend and I were the rare birds in Yalta. Dressed very Western. My Russian with a German accent was hard to understand for them. But I didn’t expect English menus anyway. Crimea is different. At no time were we tricked at or guided to a tourist trap. People were in general very friendly. But being looked at as a Western tourist constantly on the streets was stressing us.

Although my boyfriend and I both come from different countries and completely different family backgrounds, we were the “Westeners”. We met Kolya in a Odesian club, who was dreaming about going to Canada. When he asked us if we have ever been to America and answered with yes, his mood changed suddenly and he started to say that he’s a kickboxer and English people are racists. Before we could answer, the bartender asked the security to remove Kolya from the club.

On a night train from Simferopol (the capital of Crimea) back to Odessa, we met three police cadets. They were in their early 20s, on their way to a final exam in Odessa. They explained they will be trained policemen, probably beating up protesters in the future. They were joking about it. But the future is now. Are they shooting now on Euromaidan? Are they on the protesters' side? And if so, on which protesters' side?

Lenin statue in Yalta facing the Black Sea

Again we were asked the question of whether we have ever been to America. One of them put Adele “Rolling in the Deep” on loudspeaker of his mobile phone - a song that for me is still connected to this train ride. We were drinking vodka, eating sausages and cheese and buying beers from the conductor, who makes extra money with this trade on the officially alcohol-free train. The young men talked about Ukraine. How bad the situation is. How unclear. I don’t know if they felt more Ukrainian or more Russian as Crimeans. I was avoiding the question and in that moment, it didn’t matter. They were not happy with Ukraine. They wanted to travel. Of course they can theoretically. But on the other hand, I got the impression that they can’t. I felt bad. I felt privileged to be from a Western country.

Back in Odessa, passing adverts for wedding agencies in English, it’s obvious that Ukraine is the victim of Russia, EU and USA. “I tell you what I expect from you”, says the British man behind us to a young Ukrainian women. “I don’t want to be forced to buy flowers or buy you stuff when you’re living with me, I want your love unconditionally”. The Ukrainian women says she will be happy to take care of him after work. The man continues talking about his expectations and needs while drinking champagne. No questions what she wants.

On the airport in Odessa, an Austrian guy is accompanied by a young Ukrainian woman. They promise to skype in the future. He gives her 50 euros. They say good-bye.

Today, EU foreign ministers are meeting the opposition leaders and Yanukovych. I’m asking myself how they will discuss their relationship.

However this violent and bloody conflict will end, Ukraine and the people are victims. The only question is, who will win this strange resurrection of the cold war: EU/USA or Russia?