CJH

you have submited \"mental response\" # 1 / right on.
and what is going on there? please, do not hold back, tell us. i am trying to figure this out on my own for more than 5 years now and nothing. is this because i might be some sort of retard?

Its unfortunate this comment space is wasted on people who have little understanding or appreciation for Ukraine and its citizenry. I would say the good majority of comments, regardless of whether you have visited Ukraine or not, demonstrate any actual knowledge of what is going on here. Many of your answers can be answered by simple research. Stop embarrassing yourselves.

is ukraine free yet? if not, then why and when?

can one smart ukrainian answer this very simple question? i am not asking because i don\'t know ;) i am sking to see how many \"mental responses\" this question will generate.

slava

One of the things which I find very attractive about ukraine is the way a lot of people live in the villiages. They have their little plot of land/garden and they grow potatoes, tomatoes, keep chickens, geese and maybe even a cow. I used to know a young women in this position, and I hve to say, everytime I went to see her, it was like going on holiday, with everything you need to eat, all around me. We broke up, but that is what I miss, in the warm sunshine, just casually working away in the garden.

I just want an honest answer? after 20 years of the collapse of the soviet union, were the people in Ukraine in general living better now or during the soviet times??!!

Commom peodophiles and sex maniacs are coming to ukraine to fulfill their needs?
whats happening to the country who the fuck accepts that

Ukrainian men and politicians have lost their morality they don\'t have any honour or respect to their country

BIG SHAME ON YOU BIG SHAME

I can assure you that everyone I know in or from the Ukraine will tell you and agree life was much more easy and fun living under the Soviet times. The prices have trippled on food, gas and everything else in life. The sad part is the people of the Ukraine are truly wonderful people cought between the past good life under the USSR and the strugle of today.
All the leaders of the Ukraine only worry about power for themself nothing more. We see Ukraine people starving trying to live on $90 US dollars a month. It\'s sad that being so called free, people can\'t live a life filled with pride and only worring where the next meal will come from. Yes it is that bad in the Ukraine and everyday that passes the Great people of the Ukraine suffer and fall farther into dispair..... God help the people of this great nation !!
I love the Ukraine and it\'s people and they deserve

Thank you Dan for your reply
I half ukrainian/Jordanian living in the UK and its just kills me when i see people like Ukrainians and compare them to Jordanians and British and ask myself why they are living better neither the UK nor jordan has the resources nor the man power of Ukraine but still they\'re living better its really sad.

I don\'t know what people you talk to. I went back to (western) Ukraine two years ago and saw things for myself. My grandparents, who live in a village, tell me that they have never lived this well. My uncles and cousins also have a decent standard of living, even by Western standards. There is an optimism among many young people and decent prospects for the future.
A big benefit is that they don\'t have to deal with the Soviet realities of kissing the party\'s ass and trying to steal from the state.

Maybe eastern Ukraine, which relied more on Soviet industries, is suffering a little, but I\'m sure that no sane person would want to go back to the communist paradise.

What about Mass corruptions, Shadow economy, Women trafficking and slavery????

Thank you, Vladimir!

I am sad to read the posts of people, like a guest from Jordan and Dan... I am not sure weather its a general ignorance of these two gentlemen or some kind of complex they are trying to hide through the means of feeling sorry for Ukrainians...

There are certainly a number of people going through a hard time, there are those who didn\'t manage to deal with the change of system to their best. Its natural. Even those people have a choice to build a decent life if they are willing to work hard for that.

I should also notice that opportunities for young people in this country are plenty. Work is available. Professional positions are paid almost or just as high as they are in the western countries. The opportunities for entrepreneurial endeavors are greater than in most of the settled countries.

Unsolved issues, which Ukraine still has many, are natural for a country in transition. But most young Ukrainians are hopeful about country\'s future. And that\'s great!

I am an American married to a Ukraine woman from the city Kherson Ukraine. I myself have been to Keiv, Kherson and many other cities on the eastern side of the country. My inlaws are both retired and together they receive $90 U.S. Dollars to live on each month. They both work part time jobs just to live and eat. My wife is 36 and is now a US citizen and she has told me that life was so much better under the USSR. I do agree that it may be bacause alot of the factories are no longer open in the east but rest assure times are very hard on the people there. My wife has shared with me things that she herself has lived through under the USSR and to be very honest it does sound like a wonderful life. It seemed to me that the stories she has shared with me that the USSR goverment cared more about the people and did more for them. As it stands now I only see people that work for the goverment of the Ukraine seem to have it made and live a good life.

Vladimir,
I assure you that there is no general ignorance on my part at all. I have only expressed facts and what I have seen with my own eyes. I do understand that it is natural for a country in transition to strugle with all kind of issues. I do agree I also see a great future for the Ukraine and the people there. But even through transition the peope need to be helped in many ways that I don\'t see the goverment doing at all. It\'s the people who make a great nation and I know and see a strong Ukraine because of the people and one day a big player on the world stage.
Dan

I have to wonder what dream-world Kat is living in! \"Professional positions are paid almost or just as high as they are in the western countries.\" Really???? You need to step out of your fairytale and tell all my friends and in-laws in Kharkov where they can \'even more than their counter parts in western countries\'!!! I would never knock UA, my in-laws are the best, but I also know the reality of UA - its a total mess, and the corrupt, self-serving government has everything to do with it. Going back to communism is certainly not the answer, but what we have today, is definitely NOT better!

I\'m an American and have been in Ukr. for 8 yrs. Being from a Midwestern city, which had relatively little crime anyway, the crime in Ukraine doesn\'t even compare. There is some, of course, and it has risen after the fall of totalitarianism, but still: people, women and young girls, walk in unlit urban streets at night seemingly without fear or problem, despite the fact male drinking is a problem. Drunks here just don\'t act the same as in the States.

There is still the wealthy elite, as during \"Communism,\" which it wasn\'t (as in socialism), but now they\'re called \"oligarchs\" who, as in the past, dominate the political system for self-economic gain both locally and in Kyiv. That is the biggest problem most people here gripe about here. This more anything keeps the standard of living down, way below U.S. livings for most people - especially in the villages, where I frequently go to visit friends.

You should not be so flat. Or you do not know that Ukrainians are \"divided\"? Many people like the USSR time becouse they had lived there and lived well! And many people do not like the USSR. Well, I did not live at those times but i have my parents, education and the head on my shoulders! I am impartial in my judgements about that times. YES, there were a lot of good thinks! YES, i do not want to go back, and this is because i want to built but not to destroy.
People, i do not want to mention that in time of the USSR 1 killo of sassage costed 30 kopeks. I want to mention about propaganda. Propaganda of patriotism, helping others, honesty, sincerity, kindness etc.
So how can we be a happy nation if almost everyone deeply believes that he will not get success whithout stealing and cheating others? It is not pleasant to say so but this do take place.
And the most awful thing is that i have no idea how to change the situation and i do not believe that this is possible.

How do you account for the number of billionaires in Ulraine? How do you account for the vastly increased numebr of new automobiles? How do you account for all of the modern, new high rise apartments? How do you account for ther huge increase in average wages? True, there is a worldwide financial crisis now. But, the Ukrainian people I know who lived under the USSR oppression are glad it is gone. Anyone who believes that life was better under the USSR is fucking nuts!

The comments here a varied, some people seem to take offense that their word is not taken for gold.
The answer is: the different regions have had different fates.
Many of the billionaires in UA got rich by cheating and stealing, many will admit that.
The new technical stores, the new grocery markets, these are being built with \"mafia\" money.
Same for many apartment buildings.
The criminals got the money and then went legit.
This has happened everywhere in the world, including the USA.
I have lived in Canada most of my life, with some time in the USA and most of the last 3 years here in UA.
The average wage here is still approximately $300USD/mt. With the drop of the UAH, it is lower now. Property values have climbed, mostly from outsiders money, not from any internal boon.
A lot of money came in to UA and has driven prices up, the average Ukrainian can not even afford decent food at the moment - at least not what is considered decent in the west.
I see disrepair, despair, bitterness..

con\'t
and frustration.
I also see some who have managed to build something, these are worried about how things are now and what they will have in future.
The young people I know are looking for a way out of here.
There is a complete lack of trust in government and a distrust of Russia, NATO, USA, Europe...
All the \"benefits\" of working with outsiders has had tremendous backlash for the average person here.
The majority who remember living under soviet rule have very good memories of working infrastructure, steady jobs, homes, education, health care, clean cities and villages. Happy neighbours working together for the benefit of all.
There is more freedom, but it is more anarchy than anything.
Children are trained to lie, cheat and steal (the local police will confirm this if you speak with them)
The people still hold some of their old values and are strong, but there is a breaking point.
The \"orange\" opened up too fast with no protection for the people and the result has been...

con\'t
more negative than positive.
Yes, there are positives, many of them, but to the average person, the negative outweighs all the positives.
There is no trust in anyone, not police, politicians, lawyers and even neighbours now.
They see the government making deals selling them out alternately to the west or to Russia.
They want equality, they don\'t want the government selling them out as beggars on their knees needing help. Given a chance they can and will rebuild and they can and will make a positive difference to the world, but they can not achieve this at this time. They have been abused not only by their government, but by those who promised to help.
They need a change, a complete change or they will fall back to a soviet style system.
They need rid of the oligachies, those supported by west and Russia, all of them.
They need respect. They deserve respect, they have always survived no matter who threw what at them. They will survive this time too.

Just a quick feedback with regards to professional salaries, I went to Kiev last summer.
A Lawyer can get up to USD 1500
Programmers - between 1000 to 2000 max.

People that depend on pensions can get only UDS $90.
Income is disparate all across the country, it varies from city to city and employer.

Thanks.

I am also married to a Ukrainian woman. Her parents speak glowingly about the soviet times. preschool that had clean white sheets for a nap. meals at preschool. Etc.
What they and some readers fail to understand is that system worked well for them for 30 years but that type of system couldn\'t last.
The US is next. Obamma has socialist tendencies and as my little son said to me when I explained socialism. \"Dad, why would anyone work\"

americans can tell times when everyone had a house and cheap mortgages and life was great, but unfortunately it was borrowed money and someone had to pay.Just like USSR, it was going bankrup

Well, PhD university professors are paid 200-300 USD monthly. Is everybody in the country a Kyiv lawyer?:))) Public school teachers are paid about 150 and recent graduates in small towns pay to a principal of the school a few hundred to get a position. What are you, guys, talking about?..

Just want to add. Being a citizen from a small town of the west part of Ukraine and working and living in Kyiv i want to illuminate some facts.
1) a lawyer can get 1500 USD per month, but this is a very nice salary (i am a lawyer:));
2) looking at all these Porshes, BMW\'s, Lexuses etc you may think that Ukraine is a rich country, but go out from Kyiv for 20 kilometres and you will see huge mansions (Kyiv\'s guys built) and small houses of local ordinary people;
3) if you have 2000 USD per month you still cannot buy a one-room apartment for more than 130 000 USD;
4) the fact that several Ukrainian oligarchs are among ten richest men in Europe does not mean that everone here is a money-bag.
5) the fact that we have not a war, famine, racial discrimination etc does not mean that we should be grateful to our authority for 17-year collapse

All professionals that are under the government\'s payroll (PhDs, teachers, police, and others) are obviously underpaid and (mostly poor). This is predictable considering that tax collection and fiscal policies are fully corrupted, …no surprises here.
If you are under the government’s payroll and “waiting inertly” for your $100-200 paycheck to fall from the heavens, you are “slow on the capitalism uptake”. Except the corrupt - nobody can accumulate wealth from a government’s check and this applies to any country.

No sane person can deny that opportunities abound in Ukraine and personal wealth depends on your own personal (private) initiative.

Have you seen the enormous lack of products and services in the country? – All starts from you (not from the government, impossible for them, worse if a corrupt one), an economy is considered mature if it can account for at least 5 billion unique transactions related to products and services (no product or service is equal, therefore the diversity or “choice”), Ukraine is way far from that point, so be creative, resourceful, take the initiative and someday you will tell yourself: …why I didn’t started this before?, an fantasy? I don’t think so - how you explain the fact that the middle class is growing in the country?

People have to understand that the economic nucleus is “private property on means of production” (from a modest repair shop to a big corp.).

Personally, I believe the country is in a process of transition.
For those that remember the “old good” times, don’t forget bad transition periods happened before under the soviet era (despair, crime, chaos on the first soviet years, Stalin’s forced famine on Ukraine, etc, etc, etc).

I’m optimistic about the future of the country, human beings are not bat at all and Ukraine is no exception.