The Ukraine Famine of 1932-33

Also along the Pechersky Hills is a memorial to the Ukrainian "Holodomor  "Encyclopædia Britannica. Quote: "The Great Famine (Holodomor) of 1932–33—a man-made demographic catastrophe unprecedented in peacetime. Of the estimated six to eight million people who died in the Soviet Union, about four to five million were Ukrainians... Its deliberate nature is underscored by the fact that no physical basis for famine existed in Ukraine... Soviet authorities set requisition quotas for Ukraine at an impossibly high level. Brigades of special agents were dispatched to Ukraine to assist in procurement, and homes were routinely searched and foodstuffs confiscated... The rural population was left with insufficient food to feed itself."  One walks down the stairs (invisible in the black area) to a display underground of those who lost their lives. 

This statue tells the story best.  The little starving girl has 5 stalks of wheat in her hand.  Anyone who had even scavenged 5 food items was considered an enemy of the state and could be exterminated.   The Ukrainian population could not openly talk about this event until after they became a free country. 

These storks rising seem a fitting representation of the modern Ukrainian people and nation who are rising with strength and vigor from past oppression.

Kyiv's Motherland Statue

As well known and visible in Ukraine as the Statue of Liberty (46 meters high) in the USA, the Motherland Statue (62 meters high) stands on a hill overlooking the Dneiper River and not far from the Lavre Monastery we visited on another day.  It was a gift from Russia (the Soviet symbol is on the shield) in tribute to Ukrainians who fought against the invading Nazis. It was dedicated by Brezhnev (also a Ukrainian) in 1981.  The plaza surrounding the statue has war machines and memorials depicting courageous civilians and soldiers.  In the base of the statue is the Ukrainian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War with very impressive displays about the Eastern Front of World War II.  The damage inflicted by invading Nazis with the battles for cities and lands throughout the former Soviet Union, and in particular the Ukraine, is very well presented and sobering. The last display is a large long table set on one side for military personnel with displays behind of many soldiers who lost their lives, on the other side for civilians with displays of families' losses.  It is estimated that more than 60 million people lost their lives because of WWII.

Faith Reborn: the Saints in Ukraine

For those of you who didn't get to see this program about the Kyiv saints and the temple, shown on BYU TV and in stake centers between the October 2010 General Conference sessions, here is a link to it that you can use.  It is very interesting and we love it because we know many of those who are interviewed or shown.
http://www.byutv.org/watch/2037-100

Shopping at the Market/Reenok

 Outdoor markets are found everywhere.  People just set themselves up anywhere there is traffic to sell their wares.  We are told that there is no necessity for a license or permission of any kind as long as the selling place s not permanent.

Some markets are semi-permanent with such booths that probably are rented.  We frequent these open booths where produce is sold  We also like to just walk around and see what is for sale, how the wares change as the seasons do. 

The Sad and the Glad Tidings

This is a lovely natural wooded ravine in Kyiv called Babi Yar referring to a babushka who sold the property hundreds of years ago.  In September of 1941 it became the burial ground of over 33,000 Jews

This memorializes these people who the Nazi's decided to kill within 10 days of their occupation of Kiev.  As in other instances, Jews were told to report to the area to be deported and then, before they could even understand what was happening, were stripped, herded to the ravine and shot.  This was the largest single massacre of Jews committed by the Nazis.  You can read more about it on Wikipedia or other sources.  

Many others were executed here too.  This memorializes two Orthodox priests who were killed because they preached against the killings.   The Nazis killed anyone who opposed them or was beneath their Aryan ideal such as communists, Soviet POW's, Ukrainians, and gypsies.  It is estimated that 100,000 -- 150,000 people were murdered here!

But the glad tidings are that from this wooded area in Kiev, near the statue of Vladimir who made Christianity the state religion in 988,  Ukraine was dedicated for the preaching of the restored Gospel about 1000 years later.  Now there are many who can help even those who long ago lost their lives in such a cruel manner to receive all of the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We are so grateful for temple ordinances that can bless the living and the dead. 

Kyiv Monastery of the Caves

This photo of the tourist map of this area gives a good overview of this site.  We entered through the gate on the upper left and wandered on through taking pictures, not knowing exactly what all of this was.  It was evident that it was a monastery and we kept following the signs until we went through the long covered walkway shown winding in the upper right of the map down to the the beginning of the lower caves.  It was good that we followed some believing babushkas through the cave past the sarcophaguses of Orthodox saints which they reverently kissed.  The mummies were all covered with holy clothes and some date back to 1114.  Many of these orthodox buildings are very old; some have been restored.   This area is jointly held by the state and Ukrainian Orthodox Church.  You can get more information on this area on the internet Wikipedia site at "Kiev Perchersk Lavra" which is what we did when we returned home afterwards.  It is a place we will return to when it is warmer; it was overcast and drizzled a bit as we were there but the gold domes shone anyway!  This is only a sample of many of them.  You see them from many points in the city dotting the hillside overlooking the Dnieper River. 

A Nearby Cemetery

We have noticed a cemetery that we walk near as we go to shop at the street market so we decided to go there.  It was a cool Autumn day.  We don't know why there were benches and tables near the graves.  Some were new graves and some were quite old.  But most were cared for with flowers,  either real or fake.  Some had been carefully prepared for Winter.

Many had pictures

Some graves were just simple mounds but most plots were enclosed by metal fences that had been painted black or silver.  The  metal crosses were also kept painted.

Most of the newer graves were marked with this kind of shiny black stone and engraved pictures.  We were impressed with the belief in immortality and Christ that was evident in the sayings and the pictures on the gravestones.  Somehow faith and religion survived in Ukraine in spite of Soviet communism.