Losing a job is always tough. But having no source of income during the COVID-19 quarantine is proving almost unbearable for many Ukrainians.
Since the government imposed a de-facto lockdown on March 12 — shutting down public transportation, restaurants, cinemas, beauty salons, shopping malls and entertainment centers across the country — thousands of Ukrainians have lost their jobs.
Many have been able to adjust to the new reality of working from home, but others have not had such an opportunity. One study by Factum Group Ukraine found that some 20% of Ukrainians have been forced to take unpaid sick leave during the quarantine period.
Unemployment is increasing. As of April 13, 388,000 Ukrainians are officially registered as unemployed, which is 22% higher than during the same period in 2019.
Within one week at the beginning of April, 36,200 new people were without work. An average of 7,000 citizens registered as unemployed each day, according to the State Employment Service. And the number continues to grow rapidly.
But the nature of Ukraine’s labor market, where about half of all workers are employed unofficially in the shadow economy, means counting the unemployed is more difficult than in many countries. The real figure is thought to be significantly higher, and the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry estimates that up to 2.2 million are now out of work.
Many of these people do not have any savings, live in poverty and, in some cases, may not have jobs to return to after quarantine. One study has found that a third of retail stores may not reopen after quarantine ends.
These unemployed Ukrainians are often unable to find new jobs because of the quarantine restrictions. Still, they must find money to pay rent, cover utilities and repay loans.
The Kyiv Post asked people who have lost their jobs amid the coronavirus quarantine how they cope with the loss of income and handle the stress.
From Donetsk to Kyiv
Vitalii Didevych, 34, electrician
Until recently, Vitalii Didevych thought 2014 would be the toughest year of his life — he had to flee his hometown in Donetsk Oblast because of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Didevych moved to Kyiv, found a decent job and rented an apartment in the capital.
Now, he has managed to escape from war, but not from poverty.
Since November, Didevych had been working as an electrician at a Kyiv beer factory. On March 17, he was fired.
Didevych had an employment contract with the factory. But after the quarantine was established in March, his employer decided not to prolong the contract for the next month. Didevych was told the crisis had delivered a serious blow to the factory’s income.
“At first, I didn’t realize what had happened,” he told the Kyiv Post. “But I was in shock later.”
Didevych had no savings. He went to a grocery store and purchased the cheapest varenyky (Ukrainian dumplings) available and some sour cream. In the ensuing week, Didevych ate only 12 dumplings a day, topped with some sour cream. He can’t afford more.
“I’m trying to save as much money as possible. Coin to coin,” he says.
But food is not the only expense Didevych has — the rent costs him several thousand hryvnia monthly. He says he asked the landlord for a discount during quarantine, but it was largely in vain. The landlord only gave him a Hr 1,000 ($37) discount for one month.
“I can understand it,” Didevych says. “This apartment is my landlord’s only source of income,” he adds.
Didevych says life has never been as tough as it is now for him. He owns an apartment in Donetsk Oblast some 540 kilometers southeast of Kyiv, but he can’t return because of Russia’s occupation of the area.
“I could be jailed for supporting Ukraine if I go there,” Didevych says.
Didevych is now looking for a new job, but it is nearly impossible during the quarantine. And he is trying not to lose hope. Now, his only wish is for the quarantine to end soon and bring normalcy back to his life.
“My motocross instructor once told me that the more times you fall, the harder you get hit, the better you will drive the motorcycle in the future,” Didevych says. “For that reason, I believe that troubles only make us stronger.”
Vira Kovalenko holds a mesh bag as she poses for a photograph at Kyiv’s HVLV bar on April 22, 2020. (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)
No art during crisis
Vira Kovalenko, 26, decorator
Quarantine took Kyiv resident Vira Kovalenko by surprise.
She had found a new job at a local decor studio in the city one month before the restrictions were imposed. But at the beginning of March, the studio shut down and Kovalenko’s former employer stopped answering her calls.
“I felt horrible,” she says.
The studio didn’t pay Kovalenko her full salary. Additionally, Kovalenko says she wasn’t officially employed there and had no legal contract.
After losing her job, Kovalenko fell into a depression. She didn’t know that the worst was yet to come.
When she shared her problem with some close friends, they offered her a job at the HVLV bar (pronounced “Khvylovy”) in Kyiv. She immediately agreed.
“I was extremely happy and grateful,” Kovalenko says.
What she didn’t expect was the quarantine measures. In an attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus, the Ukrainian government shut down restaurants, bars, cinemas, beauty salons, gyms, night clubs and more.
Kovalenko only worked at HVLV for two days. Although the bar paid her for the two shifts, she didn’t have any savings with which to weather the quarantine.
Kovalenko rents an apartment in Kyiv together with her boyfriend Anton, who also lost his job due to the restrictions. Before the quarantine, Anton worked as a drum tutor at one of Kyiv’s music schools. But since Ukraine closed all schools on March 12, he had to take unpaid leave.
Kovalenko says their landlord agreed to give them a discount on rent for one month, but she has no idea how they will be able to pay if the quarantine is prolonged.
With no savings, Kovalenko and her boyfriend are looking for every opportunity to make money: She sews mesh bags for HVLV’s delivery service and her boyfriend teaches occasional online lessons. Kovalenko says they stocked up on some canned goods before the quarantine, so they still have some food to eat.
“We deny ourselves almost everything now,” she says.
Should the quarantine be prolonged, they will be unable to afford an apartment, Kovalenko says. In that case, they will walk by foot to the village outside of Kyiv where her boyfriend’s father lives.
“We can grow some vegetables there,” Kovalenko says. “I don’t know what else to do.”
Transport ban
Viktor Mosenko, 33, construction worker
Viktor Mosenko has worked at a construction site in Kyiv for about a year. He comes from a small village in Vinnytsia Oblast, some 300 kilometers to the southwest of Kyiv, where his wife and their two little children currently live.
Before quarantine, he hadn’t spent much time with his family, only traveling home on holidays or rare weekends. Now, however, Mosenko is at home all the time.
But it hardly makes him happy.
In March, Mosenko’s mother-in-law fell ill. His family had to raise money for her to have surgery and gave all of their savings to pay for the treatment.
Mosenko came back home for a couple of days to support his wife and children. He planned to return to Kyiv soon. Then the Ukrainian government banned all bus and railway transport between cities starting from March 18.
At that point, Mosenko didn’t have enough money for a taxi or shared car. He couldn’t return to his workplace in the capital and lost the job.
“I was devastated and didn’t know what to do,” Mosenko says.
According to him, there are absolutely no jobs available in the village where he lives. Moreover, most people he knows there were also left with no income. So there is nobody who can help him.
Sometimes, Mosenko does some repair work for his neighbors and receives about Hr 150 (about $5).
“But it doesn’t happen often,” he says.
Mosenko’s wife doesn’t work either. She takes care of their young children, who are seven and five years old. Mosenko says the idea of the quarantine being extended scares him to death.
So far, he has no plan for the future and spends his nights thinking about where to earn at least a bit of money.
“I can’t sleep because of stress,” Mosenko says. “I don’t know how to feed my family now.”
Vitalii Didevych poses for a photograph in Kyiv on April 23, 2020. (Volodymyr Petrov)
Motherhood
Anastasiia Usach, 27, bartender
Less than six months ago, Anastasia Usach found her dream job: She started working as a bartender at Kyiv’s luxurious restaurant Queen. She spent almost all her time at work, making savory cocktails and enjoying her life to the fullest.
For Usach, her job was much more than just a way to make a living.
But the quarantine took that away from her.
After the government shuttered table service in restaurants, many establishments sent their employees on unpaid leave. Usach was among them.
Although she is sure to get her job back when the quarantine is over, she doesn’t know what to do if it lasts longer than two months. Usach is divorced and is raising a five-year-old son on her own. Although her ex-husband helps her a lot, she says she still can rely only on herself.
When the quarantine started, Usach decided to spend the time productively. She has already read nearly 20 books and enrolled in several online courses.
“But when I think that the quarantine could last longer, I feel horrified,” Usach says.
Previously, she had been saving up money to purchase her own apartment. Now, Usach has been forced to dip into those savings. In September, her son will start school for the first time and Usach doesn’t know if she has the money to buy him everything he needs for his studies.
Should quarantine be prolonged, Usach says she will have to find some way to make money to pay the rent and take care of her child.
However, Usach also says she will not give up because of her son.
“I never want my child to see me crying or being in despair,” Usach says. “I don’t let him see my doubts. He is sure that everything will be fine.”
No business here
Yulia Kukla, 38, nurse-turned-saleswoman
Yulia Kukla worked as a nurse for nearly 17 years. Then, six months ago, she decided to quit that job to open her own small clothing shop.
“Nurses are underpaid in Ukraine,” Kukla says. “I made a decision to quit.”
Although she doesn’t regret her decision, Kukla can’t make a living now. Her store closed because of the quarantine measures. According to Kukla, she was not at all prepared for this.
Kukla’s husband is unemployed as well. Their small shop at Kyiv’s Otradnyi market provided their only income. Kukla says they have spent all their savings to purchase spring clothes to sell at their shop.
They also purchased an apartment on credit and must make payments regularly. Additionally, they must pay their daughter’s university tuition.
“I simply don’t know where to get money,” Kukla says.
To reduce the stress, Kukla, her husband and her daughter all moved to her parents’ house, located in a village outside Kyiv. They plan to come back home in one week to start looking for some side jobs to survive the quarantine.
“It’s impossible to live without money,” Kukla says. “We have no income, but we need to find some.”
Despite the troubles, Kukla tries to stay optimistic: She is sure everything will be fine soon.
“We are such a strong nation. I believe we can handle this,” she says.
