Unbeknown to Major Sven Olson, his journey to Ukraine began about 27 years ago when he enlisted in the U.S. National Guard. That fateful decision would eventually land him a position as a representative of the California National Guard at the U.S. embassy in Ukraine.
Sven Olson
Age: 49
Citizenship: American
Position: Bilateral Affairs Officer of the U.S. embassy
Years in country: 3
Tips for succeeding in Ukraine: “Don’t give up and be patient. It’s easy to become impatient and frustrated with the processes in the country, but it’s worth it.”
A lightning bolt of love struck when the native Montanan first visited two years prior to his appointment in 2010. He would come back and visit the friends he had made here, eventually getting married to a local woman.
“It was a dream come true,” Olson said of gladly accepting the position of Bilateral Affairs Officer.
And this reality has provided a bundle of experiences.
“In one lifetime, to be in the Cold War for so many years (with former Soviet countries), and now to be friends and to work together on a daily basis is not even shocking, but surreal,” reflected Olson.
Olsen’s arrival closely coincided with the inauguration of President Viktor Yanukovych, who was quick to start shifting the policies of the previous administration. Geopolitically, Ukraine adopted a non-aligned status as its defense doctrine. However, in Olson’s personal opinion, this hasn’t changed America’s commitment to helping Ukraine modernize and transform its armed forces.
“Money has decreased for both countries, but I have remained very busy. Just my office alone hosts about a hundred events each year, exchanging service members,” he added.
In his capacity, Olson facilitates cooperation between the U.S. military and Ukrainian armed forces.
“We do that by taking Ukrainians to the U.S. or Europe and host them on U.S. military bases and vice versa,” he said. “We teach seminars, workshops and assist Ukraine in achieving its goals for improving the armed forces.”
Olson’s other responsibility is managing the Department of the Defense Humanitarian Assistance Program.
“The program allows me to rebuild schools, orphanages, clinics with new interiors, exteriors, equipment, furniture, appliances and so forth,” he said.
Although Olson feels at home in Kyiv, he believes there’s room for improvement. He names the bureaucratic phenomenon of stamping documents as an example.
“Nothing is official until it’s stamped, which is shocking because it’s 2013 and there is this thing called the Internet,” he said. “In some respect it feels like Ukraine is missing that part of reality because of stamps.”
But it’s not stamps that upset Olson the most.
“My biggest disappointment would be the emotionless metro-phase that people get into when they go from point A to point B on public transportation,” he said.
And he is doing his best to mitigate that. “From the very beginning I felt that it was my job to change that, to make people laugh. And since then I had entire metro cars singing, dancing, laughing, playing and blowing bubbles.”
In his spare time Olson takes in-country journeys or ventures into Europe, either with his wife or on work-related trips. He often dines in a few local restaurants. His current favorite is Grill do Brasil. He also became a fan of sushi after arriving in Ukraine.
“I never had sushi before I came here. I finally tried it, and I love sushi now,” he said.
Although short, the time spent in Ukraine seems to have made a great impact on Olson’s life.
“It’s been an amazing three years. I’ve been able to travel all across Ukraine. I have a gazillion friends. I met and fell in love with my wife and we have a stepdaughter, who I’m adopting.”
As much as he enjoys living in Kyiv, Olson’s deployment ends in November. He’ll move back to the U.S., but not for long.
“I will float between the two countries,” he said. “We will always come back to Ukraine. We have property here. My wife’s family is here. We also plan to start businesses here as soon as I am able to, which is after my work.”
