One of the more interesting former Soviet countries I visited was Ukraine. I say "interesting" because I feel that Communism still has a hold there. Capitalism was apparent, there seemed to be a fairly large amount of tourism, economic competition and Western influence (there was a Baskin Robbins, McDonald's, Adidas, and even a Disney store), but there was something "in the air" if I may put it that way. I did not have the same "democratic feeling" in the Ukraine as I had in Georgia or Bulgaria. Ukraine, to me, seemed perfectly content with their position in the post-Soviet era. I saw very little construction, but I think they made that transition years ago and have settled in. Though, it doesn't help that a Communist rally marched down the street while I was eating lunch. Seeing flags with the faces of Josef Stalin and Vladimir Lenin flying in the wind didn't exactly scream "Capitalism". Overall, I did enjoy the Ukraine very much. The food was great (I had Borscht and it was one of the best thing I've ever had). I visited a massive cathedral in Odessa and brought back a hand painted porcelain chalice. The public parks were very nicely maintained, and my group and I decided to pretty much hang around the area between the cathedral and the park (many shops, vendors, restaurants, & live music). While in the public park, I noticed a bronze statue of a man on a park bench. I can't read Ukrainian, but it strongly resembled Nikita Khrushchev. I haven't been able to find anything information online, so who this man truly is, is a mystery to me. But for now, I'll stick with Khrushchev because that's who it looked like. I asked for permission to take a bus tour up to Pripyat/Chernobyl to visit the city (parts of it have been cleared for a guided tour), but of course the Navy said "no, you'll die of radiation and we can't afford to lose bodies".....naturally. But I was about 7 hours away nonetheless. I'd probably go back to Ukraine if given the chance.
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