ODESSA, Ukraine — BEHIND a barred metal gate, the dilapidated two-story building’s dreary hallways led to worn but neat playrooms decorated with dour socialist realist art and a few “SpongeBob SquarePants” appliqués. Divided by age, groups of girls and boys up to 7 played in the heat, wearing only underpants.
Reform Watch
New York Times: Maria Gaidar, a scion of a famous Russian family, switches loyalty to Ukraine
Deputy Head of the southwestern Ukrainian region of Odessa and former Russian politician Maria Gaidar gestures as she talks on the phone in her office in Odessa on Aug. 20. Gaidar caused a cross-border stir when she recently accepted a senior regional post in Ukraine, leaving heavy baggage behind in her homeland. The 32-year-old Muscovite -- the daughter of Yeltsin-era liberal Russian prime minister Yegor Gaidar -- was appointed in July as deputy head of the key Ukrainian coastal region of Odessa under arch-Kremlin foe ex-Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili.
