published in Eastern Economist #417, January 28, 2002
Most of us are used to bitching about the Week from Hell. But when’s the last time you felt you had a Week from Heaven? I’d say that’s what it must feel like in Kyiv just about now. Not to mention bookies the world over, when some real long shots came in to win.
Things went swimmingly in Paris on Monday, where the hot news was not Paris Club negotiations but Olympic champion Yana Klochkova. The Divine Ms K clocked in a world record that shaved a whole second off the previous best and took the world championship.
The clocked ticked equally well for Ukraine on Tuesday, where the world championship in chess heated up in Moscow. Two young Ukrainians took the field by storm and faced each other off on Wednesday. Ukraine couldn’t lose, but it could win with a bang. And so it did: 18-year-old who took the title broke a record for the youngest Grand Master ever to win the crown.
Wednesday brought a surprise in basketball. The national team beat favored Lithuania for the first time, to move into second place in the A Group. Who knows, Ukraine might even qualify for the 2003 European championships.
Then, news came from London on Thursday about a different kind of move up. Moody’s Investors Service announced that they were upgrading Ukraine’s foreign currency ceiling from Caa1 to B2 for bonds and to B3 for bank deposits. All outstanding bonds, both foreign currency and hryvnia denominated, get bumped up to B2. Ukraine’s better-looking economy and stability are behind it, thanks in part to economic improvements in Russia and to Russian investment in Ukraine. But, hey, FDI is FDI, and non-Russian investment has been looking up, too. Those of you hanging out in New York, Paris and Istanbul should keep your eyes out for food and clothing marked “Made in Ukraine.” Walmart’s already placed their orders.
Dynamo Kyiv made everybody’s day on Friday. The team has been very up and down since losing some of its key players to richer European teams. This season, they just managed to squeak in to the semi-final round by edging Ashkhabad’s Nisa 3:2. Faced with a new opponent from Riga, Dynamo was nervous at first. But they got their heads out of the sand in time to make three goals and win the match against Sconto. Now they only have to do the same to Moscow Spartak in the finals.
Saturday offered the most fun news of the week. Vopli Vidoplasova celebrated their 15th anniversary in a sellout concert at Palats Sportu. Better known by the shortened VV (Veh-Veh), leader Oleh Skrypka named his band “the shrieks of Vidoplasov” after a character in Dostoyevsky. Since old Fyodor was incredibly depressing, most of his books are about lives of desperate internal shrieking. With his froggy voice and hallmark low, rumbling yodel, the name suits Skrypka.
VV’s not for the delicate of hearing.
The size of the whistling and jumping crowd was impressive, especially since I’ve mostly been going to sedate classical concerts in recent years. The stands were about 80% full and the floor was jammed nigh wall-to-wall. The average age was probably about 19 and three-quarters, but I saw both toddlers and pensioners in the crowd.
There were two VIP sections right up by the stage, jammed with bodies from barrier to barrier. Standing room only, no seats, I thought smugly as I settled into my tenth row spot. So much for VIP treatment. I figure these “pens” held roughly about 900 people each, and that was only the front 40% of the floor area. My Canadian friend commented how dangerous this would be if there were ever a panic. I shook my head: “Ukrainians don’t tend to panic.”
Halfway through the concert, though, we were all standing up trying to dance between the narrow plastic arms of our flipped-up seats. That’s when I decided that the mass of jiggling fans on the floor had the better deal.
As the band set up, the overhead screen played a series of black and white clips from VV’s early years. The clip from a 1989 concert in Poland my friend had been to had very sophisticated computer effects, considering how early it was for modern bands in Ukraine. In fact, all the entire video matched the beat of the songs that played in the background as the film cut from one scene to another, even though it was a mix of shows, backstage, goofing around with friends and so on.
Starting with VV’s soviet-era songs, the first portion of the concert ended with (how appropriate) a presentation by an official from the Kyiv mayor’s office. It was the only political pitch in the whole evening and the crowd hissed a little when he began. Although it did seem like a script from a different planet, the band took it in stride. After the watches and flowers had been parcelled out, Skrypka commented:
“We have to treat these folks with tact,
so let’s put on a brief entr’acte.”
Skrypka himself plays several guitars, trumpet and harmonica in addition to his signature bayan or button accordion. Throughout two-hour-plus show, he was a veritable Jumping Jack Flash, switching tops and instruments in a heartbeat.
Above him, the video screen showed a mix of straight close-ups, effects and clips cleverly chosen to match the songs. In one instance, a coy Indian maiden in sari does a teasing dance with a suitor in a 1970’s men's suit to the perfectly matched beat of VV’s rock song. Laser tracings and fireworks completed the show’s effects.
At least 8,000 sore throats went home when it was all over at 21:45 – including mine.
Like I said, a Week from Heaven. •
–from the notebooks of Pan O.
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