Sure enough, the financial crisis is the latest hot topic on everybody’s lips. The media plays an important role in generating fear, painting the crisis as some horrific creature that may take many forms, and often exaggerating everything. But, of course, there are problems, and it’s hard not to notice them.
The cultural and entertainment sphere is already experiencing difficulties. The famous Kharkiv theater Berezil, along with other regional theaters, were officially informed that, as the income of the local budget has decreased, the theater must cut the salaries of its employees by half. It is true that in this country, to be a regular theater actor, you must be in love with stage, because you can hardly survive on the small salary. Cutting it in half sounds like a death sentence.
Movie studios were also affected. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine stopped financing Odessa film studio, despite the fact that the studio is rather profitable. As a result, it had to freeze several projects it was working on together with Russian TV channels.
The musicians have suffered as well, not getting the extra revenue they usually receive during holiday time. Big companies, that invite singing celebrities to their corporate New Year parties, cut their entertainment budgets, so pop stars like Serdyuchka, Iryna Bilyk and Natalya Mohylevska, as well as bands Aviator and Armiya were left without work. Bilyk confessed she had to cancel one of the Kyiv concerts to save money. Mohylevska, who is now involved in building a studio and producing center, is busy finishing her projects ahead of time, since prices for building materials are rapidly growing. And, of course, big concert agencies don’t sign any new contracts with foreign stars, especially since the latest big enterprise of two Christina Aguilera concerts didn’t justify itself financially.
It was reported that the Queen of England, Elizabeth II, is saving on her clothes after losing $70 million due to the crisis. So, if the Queen can scrimp, Kyivans can also.
After all, there are ways to keep yourself entertained even in hard times and distract yourself from all those gloomy headlines and news reports. You can watch “South Park” online, get addicted to the hit TV series “House M.D.” in Ukrainian on STB channel (starting Dec. 8), learn to cook like a restaurant chef, using Internet recipes, and work out at home instead of at fancy gyms. And, of course, you can read The Guide, which will divide itself between paper and the Kyiv Post website from now on – some articles will appear exclusively online. Stay tuned.
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