After deadly violence flared this week, killing at least 67 people, Kyiv transformed. All of a sudden, life became serious – deadly serious.
City authorities called on all businesses near Independence Square, the epicenter of the standoff between police and protesters, to close until it is safe – whenever that is.
Public transport wasn’t allowed to the city center, and the entire subway system shut down for two days until the late afternoon on Feb. 20, due to what the government called the possibility of terrorist attacks, but what many suspected was a way to keep civilians from reinforcing EuroMaidan.
This week changed the lives of even those who have tried to ignore the anti-government EuroMaidan protests. More, instead, became gripped with dread and panic.
Stocking up on food
The panic brought Kyivans to the grocery stores.
“I saw a young woman who was standing in the middle of Velyka Kyshenia supermarket, holding seven baguettes and shouting to her mom that there was ‘no more bread,’” Oksana Romaniuk told the Kyiv Post. “A neighbor saw me coming from the grocery store and asked hysterically if they had any vodka left there.”
Food wasn’t the only thing hard to find in Kyiv.
“I was buying cigarettes today in a kiosk, and a saleswoman asked if I wanted one carton or two,” Romaniuk said.
Eating out became problematic too.
McDonald’s restaurants were open in limited areas on Feb. 19-20, while many other restaurants simply closed in the wider part of the center, not just around Independence Square, but also around European Square and Lva Tolstoho square, including popular chains.
Coffee van vendor Evhen Lishchyn, who sets up shop near Palats Sportu metro station, said people were frustrated and tired on the morning of Feb. 19, after 26 deaths. “But they enjoyed their cups of coffee as usual,” Lishchyn said. “The other cafes are closed because they are afraid of thugs.”
His plan is to continue selling coffee, no matter what.
No public transport
Getting around Kyiv was complicated for the past several days as public transport wasn’t allowed to the city center and the metro stayed closed on Feb. 18 until late Feb. 20. Police also stopped cars en route to the protest center this week.
The unprecedented situation has drained the joy out of life for many Kyivans.University student Olha Milyanovych remembered seeing people and cars moving in a jumble on Peremohy Avenue in Kyiv on the night of Feb. 18. Many had to hike to their destinations.
“It took me two hours to get from the city center to my apartment in Holosiyivsky district,” Milyanovych said. “The streets were covered with people. Many had to ask for directions. Many believed the metro was mined.”
Native Kyivan Natalya Lytvyn looked desperate as she was walking along Khreshchatyk Street, watching the black smoke of burning tires rising above Independence Square on Feb. 19. She doesn’t remember the Kyiv metro closing before.
“It’s a bad sign,” Lytvyn said, adding that the situation in Kyiv looks “medieval.”
Public transport drivers said the morning of Feb. 19 was an extremely difficult time for passengers.
One of the drivers of trolley bus No. 5, whose final stop is the Lva Tolstoho metro station, told the Kyiv Post that up to 200 people were waiting for transport at each bus stop during morning hours. “With the metro shut down, there’s no other way than to use (above-ground) public transport. It’s a real war there in the center,” said the driver.
Entertainment on hold
Those looking for an escape through entertainment have had fewer choices. Almost every concert was cancelled in Kyiv due to the clashes.
The German Shadow Theater Helianthus was unlucky twice. Their Kyiv show was supposed to take place in December, but was postponed until Feb. 21-22. After violence erupted earlier in the week, the show was canceled for good.
The same happened to the show of the new age composer Kitaro that was scheduled for Feb. 26. The Golden Globe winner’s manager cancelled the show for safety concerns. For the same reasons, Belgian band Vaya Con Dios cancelled the show in Kyiv. The Feb. 20 Dynamo Kyiv –Valencia Europa League match was moved to Cyprus.
The intrigue stays on for the Depeche Mode concert, one of the most anticipated shows of the year in Kyiv. It is scheduled to take place on Feb. 28. A week before the show, the concert organizers said they were monitoring the situation in Kyiv daily.
Kyiv Post staff writer Olena Goncharova can be reached at [email protected] and Kyiv Post lifestyle editor Olga Rudenko can be reached at [email protected]
