Back to Ukraine

There is obviously a huge world spotlight on Ukraine right now and rightly so, given the dangers and deprivations that those proud people are suffering. I mention this because I received more reaction to the one article I wrote about Ukraine recently than any other. I am still being snowed under on a daily basis by receiving numerous articles on the war and the situation in the country.  

There are people who are based there and others with knowledge far greater than mine who write about the conflict on an almost daily basis so I will not make any comment on the war, other than in a general sense.

In my previous article, I mentioned with regret the destruction of infrastructure and the fact that it will undo much of the progress that the country has achieved since independence in 1991. I wasn’t a frequent visitor to Ukraine but the last time I visited Kyiv, it was a thriving metropolis, utterly changed from what was effectively a large provincial town when I lived there in the 1990’s. 

Things were very different in those days. Ukraine had been part of the Soviet Union for over seventy years, thirty of which had been under the sheer terror of the Stalinist regime. Things did improve in the 1960’s and 70’s of course but were still miles behind other states. The Soviets had lost forty years of progressive development enjoyed by the west and the fact that communism never worked and was never going to work was holding countries back and pulling people down. Anyone who visited the old Soviet Union will provide testament to this effect. 

Let’s be honest: There was a reasonably good system of education and a theoretically good health system and everyone had a job but the place was a mess. Everything and everywhere was filthy, decrepit and falling apart. There was nothing in the shops. There was never a shortage of food, just a very bad system of distribution which failed abjectly to provide goods and foodstuffs when and where they were needed. Everyone had money but there was nothing to buy and the currency was not convertible. There was no national pride, just apathy.

Beautiful buildings which had been constructed in the 19^th Century were literally falling apart. Nothing worked or rather, nothing worked well. The country’s collective embarrassment was personified by the Zhiguli car, marketed in the west as a Lada, which vied with the Trabant for the most unreliable car ever built. A close Russian friend of mine from those days, who worked in the Russian Embassy used to seethe whenever the Lada was mentioned.

I could go on criticizing the Soviet Union but it is best to consign it to history as a failed, if initially noble experiment. I merely mention it to give background and context to an incident that occurred to us when we first started to do business in Ukraine. The country was rejoicing in its new found independence and green shoots were beginning to take hold. Ukrainians were open to new ideas and willing to learn. We formed a partnership with a Ukrainian agency for the purpose of setting up retail outlets. As part of the training, a few of the key Ukrainian managers came to Ireland for training and familiarization. 

On their first day, we brought them to see a number of local supermarkets to familiarize them with the type of retail concept we planned on introducing. At this time, most people in Ukraine still purchased the majority of their products from outdoor markets. The old State shops had closed and private enterprise had taken over but there were no western style shops or supermarkets. There was still a large element of distrust and security guarded everything zealously. So when we brought them to Irish shops, our guys were quite literally shocked. They wandered through the aisles of the supermarket marveling at the display of goods for sale; the fresh foods; fish, meat, bread, vegetables and then the astounding (to them) array of other goods, not to mention the choice of competing brands of the same product. We would have had an idea that the guys had not seen shops like these before but we didn’t realise the extent of their reaction. In the midst of the tour, one of the Ukrainians, shock and awe on his face, said, ‘but where is the security?’ We told him there wasn’t any as retailers trusted that 99% of their customers were honest and would pay for their purchases. With that, the man broke down and cried; he explained that it was not for himself but that he feared his children would never live in a country which had such abundance. It was easy to understand his sentiments and his fears but happily, he was wrong, because within ten years, Ukraine had similar shops dotted throughout their country, stocked with an endless array of products produced from their own indigenous farms, which boast the richest soil in Europe, if not the world.

How tragic then that this steady and continuous progress over three decades has been smashed backwards in a meaningless and pointless war, which was foisted on Ukraine, simply because they form the main buffer zone between Russia and Western Europe. I have no idea as to how shops or any other facilities operate in Ukraine now. Like everyone else I have seen the TV footage of wrecked infrastructure and devastated buildings. Thirty years of development have been erased in an instant. But on a positive note, buildings can be replaced. Sadly, people cannot but my hope is that the collective spirit built up over thirty years of independence and copper fastened by an unshakeable belief in and struggle for freedom, will see people though. Infrastructure can be destroyed but minds cannot. After all, as my Ukrainian friends have always told me, they never ever want to go back to the old days and to be under the yoke of a larger power. I’m convinced that along with their natural love of independence and freedom, it is this which will ultimately give them the determination and resilience to succeed and once again stand proud as a fully independent nation.