Editor’s Note: As the 26th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence as a nation approaches on Aug. 24, the Kyiv Post is asking Ukrainians who live abroad to comment on their lives and their reflections on their homeland. To participate, Ukrainians living abroad should send a photo and answers to the following questions to Kyiv Post chief editor Brian Bonner at [email protected]
Kyiv Post: Where are you from in Ukraine?
Sasha Borovik: Lviv/Lwow/Lemberg
KP: When did you leave; why did you leave?
SB: I left twice – initially in 1991 and then, upon a short return, in 2016.
KP: How did you end up where you live?
SB: I live in Münich after first moving to Prague, living in Boston, Palo Alto, Paris, Seattle and London, where I went for academic studies and professional work.
KP: Do you ever regret that you are not in Ukraine – why or why not?
SB: I never regretted — neither in 1991 nor in 2015. I felt that I wanted to be free and I could not do it then or now in Ukraine.
KP: What do you miss most about Ukraine?
SB: Today I miss the post revolutionary hope and enthusiasm of the Ukrainian people.
KP: What do you miss least about Ukraine?
SB: I can live without Ukrainians’ constant self-doubting and suspicious mindset. The poor infrastructure always reminds me of the lack of basic organization in the society.
KP: Does where you live have more opportunities for you than in Ukraine?
SB: What I do in the West would be impossible in Ukraine.
KP: What relatives/friends are left back in Ukraine?
SB: I have my family living in Odesa.
KP: Do they visit you or do you visit them? Often?
SB: No. I don’t visit them. It is easier when they visit me – it is also more joyful to have family reunions in the West.
KP: With Ukraine coming up to its 26th anniversary of national independence, how do you feel about your homeland? Is it making progress as a nation? Or not so much?
I was first proud and then disappointed after the Declaration of Independence and each of the two revolutions. Today I feel alarmed about the future and bitter about the lost 20+ years. I feel that what Ukraine is doing is unsustainable. The war is the result of an aggression, but it is also a price to pay for the irresponsible social, economic and cultural policies, which continue today.
KP: What would it take for you to return?
SB: I doubt that I would ever return. I tried once in 2015 and it was an interesting but negative experience. Ukraine would need to send a very strong signal that it wants its expats back and that it wants to build a free society. I do not see that happening in the next five years.
KP: What do you wish for your country?
SB: I wish it to break from its Soviet and post-Soviet past. I want it to become a European democracy with a market economy free of oligarchs and mafia.
KP: Do you think that wish will come true?
SB: It is possible but seems unlikely at the moment. I do not see political forces that can bring about this change. I see toothless and disorganized opposition and I see many people who want to leave the country. There would have to be a generation change. The blockchain generation would need to do what the internet generation does not seem to be able to finish on its own.
