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My Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide dated 1913
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has brought me east to the borderlands where Europe meets Asia.
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My journey will take me from the grasslands of the Steppes
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to the shores of the Black Sea
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and run along the ridge of the mighty Caucasus Mountains.
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To a volcanic land of fire.
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I'll explore countries which at the time of my guidebook were under the
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rule of a tsar but which a century ago fell to a revolutionary empire
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the likes of which have never been seen.
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I'll encounter Cossacks and Communists.
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Monasteries and mosques.
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Tea and black gold.
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On my journey through these enchanting lands
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I'll try to understand the tensions and conflicts of today.
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I'm travelling to a region whose people felt a strong sense of
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nationhood over centuries when their country appeared on no map.
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I'm in Ukraine which first existed as an independent state
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only in 1991.
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In my Bradshaw's, its cities
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are listed under Austria-Hungary and Russia.
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And, before that, parts of it belonged to Poland
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and the Ottoman Empire too.
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Ukraine means borderland and standing at the edges of Europe,
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it has long been torn physically and emotionally between East and West.
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The struggle to control its territory and to win its allegiance
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continues in the present day.
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My journey starts in the north of the country
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in the capital city Kiev.
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The cradle of Slavic civilisation.
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I travel West to Lviv where the flame of Ukrainian nationalism burns
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brightly and onward by overnight train to Odessa on the Black Sea.
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A thriving port and seaside resort.
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On my way I cross swords with Cossacks.
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You need to hold it firmly
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but tenderly, like a woman.
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Oh!
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Put on a pinny to learn the secrets of Ukrainian cuisine.
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I'm just dying to lick my finger
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because this looks absolutely delicious.
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Encounter the body and soul of a mummified monk.
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That is extraordinary.
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I'm seeing the hands of the Saint there.
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And get down and dirty in the spa.
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I'm now lying in very warm mud
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and the lady with the rubber gloves has begun a fairly intimate massage.
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My first stop will be the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.
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Bradshaw's tells me it's commercial, strongly fortified, picturesque,
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sometimes termed the Jerusalem of Russia.
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Jerusalem.
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Perhaps meaning the core of its religion.
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The source of its spiritual life.
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Kiev Central Station dates from 1927.
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With ornate chandeliers hanging from lofty ceilings,
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it's a landmark of the architectural style known as Ukrainian Baroque.
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In the city itself, I find a mix of building styles from different eras.
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And overlooking everything, the gigantic Soviet Motherland Monument.
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I'm heading straight to the heart of ancient Kiev
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on a route that takes me almost vertically straight up.
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Dobroye utro.
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Odin bilet, pozhaluysta.
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Spasibo.
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Alongside the native Ukrainian, Russian is widely spoken here
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and luckily I can remember just enough from my school days
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to scrape by.
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I've taken the funicular to see for myself why, centuries before there
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was a city of Moscow, there was a city of Kiev.
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Set on high, commanding ground above the River Dnieper,
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which runs for more than 2,000km
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from the heart of this, the vast Eurasian landmass,
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to the Black Sea.
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Until the turn of the 20th century,
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the top of the hill could be reached only by climbing a wooden staircase.
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But by the time of my guidebook,
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tourists were able to ascend with ease.
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Bradshaw's has brought me to the Saint Vladimir monument
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on an elevated, open space by the river, a favourite promenade.
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On the whole, history is not made by individuals.
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It's about economic forces, social change, new ways of thinking,
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transformative technologies,
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but every now and again one person makes a decision
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which by itself shapes the future.
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Volodymyr was such a one
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and his decision determined the development of Ukraine,
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and indeed Russia, for more than 1,000 years.
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I'm heading for Kiev's oldest church
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which dates back to 1017.
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My guidebook describes it as generally surrounded
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by pilgrims and beggars.
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Today, you're more likely to find Kiev's faithful
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mixing with tourists.
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I'm meeting an historian
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to find out why this cathedral is so important.
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- Hello.
- Nice to see you and welcome to Kiev.
- Thank you very much.
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And the glorious St Sophia Cathedral looking wonderful in this weather.
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Yes, sure.
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When is there first an important city of Kiev?
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The settlement in the territory of Kiev existed from
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at least to the early 6th century.
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But at the beginning of the 9th century, the Vikings came here,
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they recognised the significance of the trade route from the northern
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Europe to Byzantium and they turned Kiev into their stronghold.
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And these Vikings, are they the people that we know as Rus?
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Yes, they were called Rus.
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This name was used as a label to name them
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and it was also used as the place name for this territory,
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the Middle Dnieper area.
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Kievan Rus', as it became known
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was the first great Eastern Slavic state and included large swathes of
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present-day Russia.
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And its greatest leader's critical decision was one of faith.
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Tell me about Volodymyr, who has a statue here.
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Volodymyr is one of the greatest rulers of the Kievan Rus'.
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His name is usually connected with the adoption of Christianity.
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And is it true that Volodymyr shopped around
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looking for the right religion?
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Yes, there is a curious story in Kiev's primary chronicle
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about Volodymyr, who sent embassies to the neighbouring countries
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to ask to them to make presentations of their religions.
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For example, he refused to take Islam
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because this religion prohibits drinking the wine.
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He said the drinking of wine is the joy of Russes.
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According to myth, having also rejected Judaism and Catholicism,
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Prince Volodymyr the Great decided on the Orthodox version of
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Christianity because of the overwhelming beauty of its liturgy.
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Actually, his decision was political.
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Volodymyr chose Orthodox Christianity to align himself with
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the powerful Byzantine Empire and to boost the prestige of his realm.
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I suppose this created a doctrinal gulf
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between the Catholic countries of the West
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and the Orthodox countries of the East.
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Yes, it could be compared with the Iron Curtain, for example.
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Built to unite the religious and political authority
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of Kievan Rus', Saint Sophia's, with its wealth of Byzantine decor
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remains a powerful national symbol.
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The interior is really breathtaking, isn't it?
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Yes, sure.
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And I would like to point your attention on this beautiful
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mosaic which is called Mother of God Oranta.
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It was made by Greek artists,
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but today it is considered as one of the important symbols of Ukraine
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just because Kiev is the heart of Ukraine
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and Saint Sophia is the heart of Kiev.
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Is this also a heritage that is more widely claimed,
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for instance, by Russians?
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Yes, I think that's Saint Sophia Cathedral and Kiev are very
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important places for all of Eastern Europe,
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not just Ukraine and Russia.
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It is an important part of Russian historical myth
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and many people in Russia still believe
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that the best thing they can do is to reunite the Kievan Rus'.
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The results of this ideology are clearly visible in Crimea,
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or in Donbass now.
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Bitter fighting continues in those Eastern regions of Ukraine
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after they were annexed by Moscow in 2014,
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a move welcomed by their large Russian-speaking minorities,
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but contrary to international law.
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It's extraordinary to encounter symbols that are 1,000 years old
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and to find that they are politically sensitive today.
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My guidebook tells me that churches
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and religious establishments are numerous in Kiev
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and there's another that,
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like St Sophia, attracts throngs of pilgrims.
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To reach it, I will first go a long way underground.
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This is the second very long escalator I've been on.
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The stations are incredibly deep.
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And very splendid.
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This particular station, Zoloti Vorota,
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is often heralded as one of the most beautiful Metro stops anywhere.
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And from the most stunning station I'm heading
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to one of the deepest in the world.
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Arsenalna is 105 metres below ground.
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The 70-acre complex of churches and cathedrals,
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collectively known as the Pechersk Lavra,
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is probably the holiest place in all of the Eastern Slavic states.
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Bradshaw's has brought me
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to the Pechersk monastery caves of St Anthony,
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"Where in niches repose 82 saints,
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"some of the mummified being elaborately dressed."
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What a fascinating place.
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Brother Innocent is one of nearly 160 monks
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who look after the caves and churches.
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- Brother Innocent?
- Hello, Michael.
- Excuse me.
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How very nice to see you. This is an extraordinary place.
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- And you have, in the niches here, the bodies of saints.
- Yes.
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What is it like for you, Brother Innocent,
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to be in this very special place, to spend so much of your life here?
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Monks came to these caves in search of quiet and solitude.
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And here they remained after death.
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In the cool, dry environment, the bodies, now numbering over 100,
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were preserved naturally with no need for embalming.
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Brother Innocent, this is a very special moment.
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Thank you so much.
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Sometimes our holy relics, they smell very nice.
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And I'm seeing the hands of the saint there.
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That is extraordinary.
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The relics of Saint Unitist.
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And he lived in the 15th century.
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And I can catch the smell now coming from the cask.
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But as you say, it's not a bad smell, it's a good smell.
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Yes, yes.
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And each of the relics, they have their special smell.
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Oh, that's extraordinary. Thank you so much.
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You're welcome.
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We've come to the cluster of churches known
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as the Upper Lavra, where the faithful gather
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several times a day.
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Today's Ukrainian Orthodox service
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for the eve of Pentecost has drawn many worshippers.
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Under communism, 80% of church buildings in Ukraine
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were destroyed and their priests persecuted.
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The Pechersk Lavra was closed down until 1988.
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The elaborate rituals and the beautiful singing of the monks
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makes this very special.
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The face of the congregation is deeply impressive.
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Religion was repressed in this country for decades
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and it seems somehow to have burst out with renewed fervour.
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In a different part of Kiev, I find another group of devotees.
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As the sun begins to set on the city, I'd drop in on what I might
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call a sect whose focus is not the soul.
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They are rather more... body worshipers.
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Well, this must be one of the strangest things I've ever seen.
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This open-air gym, known as the Kachalka, opened in the 1970s
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and all the machines make use of scrap metal.
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There are marine parts, there are automotive parts,
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there are radiators.
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Very popular with the men and women of Kiev who come,
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in a very special way, to pump iron.
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You can work out here for no charge all year round.
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A chance to build some muscles of steel.
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Hello, ladies.
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- Hello.
- Hello.
- You look pretty serious about your body building.
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Are you kind of professionals, or something?
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Yes, professional, but not body-building. Strong woman.
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- Strong woman?
- Yes.
- Is that what it's called, strong woman?
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How well do you do?
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Number two and number three in the world.
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- Respect, respect.
- Thank you.
- Thank you very much.
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Don't let me stop you.
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Well, as you would expect, I feel duty bound to have a go.
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I'm going to try and lift this piece of machinery.
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Dear me.
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Perhaps heavy lifting is something best left to the strong women.
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I'm keen to find out about another chapter in this region's history
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in a park just west of the city centre.
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Welcome to the Cossack settlement.
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Thank you very much.
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- So, you're Ludmila?
- Yes.
- I'm Michael.
- Michael, nice to meet you.
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Hi. Well, these look very fierce Cossacks, wow.
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- Yes.
- And beautiful horses.
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I've come to Mamajeva Sloboda to see how these warrior horsemen lived.
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- I will help.
- OK.
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00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:39,240
There we are.
253
00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:48,120
A martial community, recreated in this living history museum
254
00:18:48,120 --> 00:18:50,040
of 100 wooden buildings,
255
00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:53,520
is populated by fierce-looking Cossacks...
256
00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:00,560
..whom I'm joining.
257
00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:05,440
- Hello.
- Hello.
258
00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:07,400
So...
259
00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:10,240
Oh, thank you. What is it you do, now, with this sword?
260
00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:12,720
LUDMILA TRANSLATES
261
00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:15,480
You need to wave your hand.
262
00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:17,320
Like that.
263
00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:19,320
And then like that, OK.
264
00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:24,920
- OK, let's try that.
- You know, you need to hold it firmly
265
00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:27,880
but tenderly like a woman.
266
00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:36,720
I'm not sure I'm getting the hang of this, Ludmila.
267
00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:39,400
Like a good start, at least.
268
00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:41,920
What I don't have that all is the wrist action.
269
00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:45,960
I don't know how they turn the sword around and bring it through.
270
00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:51,520
Whoa!
271
00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:56,480
Wisely, they've taken away my sword and given me...a twig.
272
00:19:56,480 --> 00:19:58,280
- In my mouth?
- Yes.
273
00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:00,040
Put it in your mouth.
274
00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:10,320
I don't think my dentist is going to like that.
275
00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:15,280
So, Ludmila, who were the Cossacks, originally?
276
00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:18,320
They were defenders of Ukrainian land.
277
00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:23,160
In the 12th century, Mongolian Tatars destroyed everything here.
278
00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:26,480
And Turkish, like Ottoman Empire,
279
00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:29,800
Crimean Tatars, Polish invaders,
280
00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:33,640
they lived here and Cossacks didn't want to be slaves.
281
00:20:33,640 --> 00:20:37,440
They took a weapon and they started protecting our lands
282
00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:39,400
from any invader.
283
00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:42,840
So they were a military group, they were warriors?
284
00:20:42,840 --> 00:20:45,360
Yeah, for sure.
285
00:20:45,360 --> 00:20:49,360
Refusing to submit to the rule of Russia, or of their western
286
00:20:49,360 --> 00:20:53,720
neighbour Poland, the Cossacks established free communities on the
287
00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:55,320
rich plains of the Steppe,
288
00:20:55,320 --> 00:20:58,520
where they survived independently, hunting and fishing.
289
00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:04,520
Only after the appearance of Cossacks at the end
290
00:21:04,520 --> 00:21:09,320
of the 16th century, we could feel ourselves people.
291
00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:12,800
We could feel free, we could feel ourselves Ukrainians.
292
00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:17,200
It seems that Ukrainians look to the Cossacks to establish their national
293
00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:19,480
- identity, their heritage.
- Yeah, for sure.
294
00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:23,960
Like, everyone has this Cossack blood. I am a Cossack.
295
00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:28,880
I have it in my veins for sure and actually I believe that it's
296
00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:33,960
important to know about our national heroes, to know about our history
297
00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:37,720
and to tell it to our future generations, to our kids,
298
00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:41,880
to our grandchildren, just not to let them forget who we are.
299
00:21:54,360 --> 00:21:59,000
From the 17th century, the lands of the Cossacks were absorbed into the
300
00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:03,720
expanding Russian Empire and their church was subordinated to Moscow.
301
00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:07,080
Russians designated Ukraine "Little Russia".
302
00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:13,120
I've come to meet historian Yaroslav Hrytsak
303
00:22:13,120 --> 00:22:17,200
to find out why that history has so much resonance today.
304
00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:22,120
Jaroslav, what is the special relationship
305
00:22:22,120 --> 00:22:24,040
between Ukraine and Russia?
306
00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:28,040
In many senses, Russia used to define itself and still defines to
307
00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:30,520
a large extent in religious terms.
308
00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:32,520
And this means the orthodoxy.
309
00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:36,600
And this place is the cradle of the orthodoxy itself.
310
00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:40,360
So Russia sees this place as the start of its own history.
311
00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:43,640
Apart of the symbolic meaning, there is a very pragmatic reasons.
312
00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:46,960
First of all, whoever has control of this region has strategical advantage.
313
00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:49,400
You have to feed the Army and the grain is here.
314
00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:51,320
Natural resources.
315
00:22:51,320 --> 00:22:52,920
By the end of the century,
316
00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:55,560
Eastern Ukraine has the largest industrial centre
317
00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:58,080
of the Russian Empire which produced steel and mine,
318
00:22:58,080 --> 00:22:59,680
also strategically important.
319
00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:01,880
And last but not least, access to the Black Sea.
320
00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:04,720
Everyone knows about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine
321
00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:09,120
in the 21st-century. Is it partly a conflict about who owns the history?
322
00:23:09,120 --> 00:23:11,240
I would not say partly. It's very much so.
323
00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:13,560
It's very much so, because the main issue
324
00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:16,720
is who claims historical legitimacy of this territory.
325
00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:25,640
I've arrived at a monument constructed in 1982
326
00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:30,160
when Kiev was still an integral part of the Soviet Union.
327
00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:33,600
It was built to celebrate Russian-Ukrainian friendship.
328
00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:39,120
With so much shared history, it was inevitable that Ukrainian
329
00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:42,320
independence would provoke a mixed response.
330
00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:44,880
- Excuse me.
- Hello.
- Are you Ukrainian?
331
00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:47,680
- Yes.
- I was just looking at the statue here.
332
00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:50,360
Was it important to you that Ukraine is now independent?
333
00:23:50,360 --> 00:23:51,720
Yes, of course.
334
00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:55,520
It's very important for me because I was born in 1981
335
00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:59,320
and I feel that I'm more Ukrainian, not Russian any more.
336
00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:00,880
You are a child of independence,
337
00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:03,040
you were born in the year of independence?
338
00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:04,640
Yes, I am. Yeah.
339
00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:08,400
I don't like when our countries separate, I don't like it,
340
00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:13,160
because I have friends in the Russian country,
341
00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:17,480
I have a lot of friends and I like Russian people.
342
00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:23,560
On my rail journeys, I encounter history and I sometimes make
343
00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:26,120
the mistake of believing that it's done and dusted,
344
00:24:26,120 --> 00:24:28,760
as though history had come to an end.
345
00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:32,200
But with Russia and Ukraine locked in conflict
346
00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:35,160
over territory and historical memory,
347
00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:38,320
here in Kiev, I feel my journey is about the future.
348
00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:41,200
We don't know how this story ends.
349
00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:07,680
A political map of Europe, 1913, the year of my Bradshaw's Guide
350
00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:12,040
and the first thing that strikes you is the enormity of Russia.
351
00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:14,960
This tells you how important is Ukraine.
352
00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:16,960
This is the bread basket for Russia,
353
00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:22,560
but also the access for so much of Mother Russia to the outer world is
354
00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:25,400
through the Black Sea and through Ukraine.
355
00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:30,160
My journey will take me now from Kiev to Lemberg,
356
00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:33,280
now known as Lviv, in those days across the border
357
00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:35,240
in the Austro-Hungarian Empire
358
00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:38,640
and then I will travel back into what was the Russian sector
359
00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:41,360
at Odessa on the Black Sea.
360
00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:48,320
- Are you travelling to Lviv?
- Yes.
- What's Lviv like?
361
00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:51,000
I have come from Kiev, is it different from Kiev?
362
00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:53,320
Yes, it actually is.
363
00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:56,200
Because Kiev is like a busy Ukrainian city, like,
364
00:25:56,200 --> 00:26:01,920
more making money and live your own life and Lviv it's more like
365
00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:05,720
culture, it's more about soul and people think more about tradition.
366
00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:19,520
The rail journey from Kiev to Lviv is five and a half hours
367
00:26:19,520 --> 00:26:22,160
on a nonstop fast train.
368
00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:31,720
Without changing country, it feels as though I'm moving from
369
00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:34,360
eastern to western Europe.
370
00:26:34,360 --> 00:26:38,640
Bradshaw's tells me that Lemberg, as it was then known,
371
00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:42,640
already had a population of more than 200,000.
372
00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:47,360
Surely, such a sizeable city deserves to be better known.
373
00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:05,360
Arriving in Lviv,
374
00:27:05,360 --> 00:27:08,040
I'm plunged into its old world charm
375
00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:11,480
of classical buildings and cobbled streets.
376
00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:14,680
But, for now, I'll leave architecture aside
377
00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:16,520
as I'm on a secret mission.
378
00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:20,640
I'm headed for a bar which is called Kryivka, which means bunker.
379
00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:27,000
It celebrates the activities of the Ukraine insurgent army which fought
380
00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:29,920
successively against the Nazis, the Soviets,
381
00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:31,800
the Poles and the Czechoslovaks.
382
00:27:31,800 --> 00:27:34,040
And they are still worried about enemies,
383
00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:36,120
so to get in I need a password,
384
00:27:36,120 --> 00:27:39,280
and the password is "glory to Ukraine".
385
00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:20,120
A secret door.
386
00:28:20,120 --> 00:28:21,680
Slava Ukrayini!
387
00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:38,360
Never before have I had to swear not to be a communist or a
388
00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:40,560
Moscowvite in order to get a drink,
389
00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:44,080
but, whatever it takes, I seem to have arrived at the very
390
00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:46,560
heartland of Ukrainian patriotism.
391
00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:04,320
Elegant and cultured, the city of Lviv
392
00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:07,600
exudes a kind of battered charm.
393
00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:11,480
Everything here stands in stark contrast to the capital -
394
00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:13,680
starting with the churches.
395
00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:18,600
Behind me, the enormous dome of the Roman Catholic Dominican Cathedral.
396
00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:23,080
That train ride from Kiev carried me away from Russian Orthodoxy.
397
00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:36,840
Lviv is certainly challenging my preconceptions about the former
398
00:29:36,840 --> 00:29:40,160
Soviet Union, and the buildings described in my Bradshaw's
399
00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:43,080
have Austrian names, like Rathaus.
400
00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:47,920
This feels much more like the city of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
401
00:29:47,920 --> 00:29:50,440
than of Joseph Stalin.
402
00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:54,000
And my early impression is that people here are fervently
403
00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:58,240
Ukrainian, perhaps even more so than they were in Kiev.
404
00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:18,920
Free from the crushing rule of the Russian tsars,
405
00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:23,080
Ukrainian nationalism flourished in Lviv under the more benign rule
406
00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:25,360
of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
407
00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:27,320
CHOIR SINGS UKRANIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM
408
00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:41,320
The very title of the song, Ukraine Has Not Died Yet,
409
00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:45,640
reflects the country's perilous journey towards statehood.
410
00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:49,000
Suppressed by the Soviets, the anthem was officially adopted
411
00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:51,200
only in 1992.
412
00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:00,240
APPLAUSE
413
00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:05,760
Dmitro, that was fantastic. Thank you very much, indeed.
414
00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:08,440
- Do you mind if I speak to the choir for a moment?
- Of course.
415
00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:09,680
Hello, choir!
416
00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:11,000
Hello.
417
00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:12,800
Anyone speak English?
418
00:31:12,800 --> 00:31:14,360
Yes!
419
00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:18,560
Those of you that speak English, how did you feel today, singing your national anthem?
420
00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:20,360
Very nice.
421
00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:22,800
- Do you feel good?
- Yes!
422
00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:24,960
And what was the song about?
423
00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:26,960
- Glory!
- What else?
424
00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:28,520
Peace and prosperity.
425
00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:30,440
Any mention of the Cossacks?
426
00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:32,800
- Yes!
- What do you say about the Cossacks?
427
00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:36,080
We will show everyone that we are Cossacks, very strong men.
428
00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:38,680
Thank you, choir. Wonderful performance.
429
00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:52,560
Such patriotic fervour owes its strength to one man
430
00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:56,480
who single-handedly stoked a new wave of national feeling.
431
00:31:58,960 --> 00:32:03,960
Taras Shevchenko, leading figure in a Ukrainian national revival,
432
00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:08,120
this one in the 19th century, but, unlike the Kievan Rus' or the Cossacks,
433
00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:11,240
his weapons were not the sword and the whip
434
00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:14,080
but rather the pen and the paintbrush.
435
00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:21,800
There are more statues of Shevchenko in Ukraine than any other
436
00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:23,640
secular figure.
437
00:32:29,360 --> 00:32:33,080
I've come to the Ivan Franko National University to talk
438
00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:36,800
to Professor Iryna Starovoyt, an expert on the poet.
439
00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:42,920
Libraries are one of my favourite things
440
00:32:42,920 --> 00:32:46,120
in the world and this one has the musty smell of dust,
441
00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:49,280
and ancient books and human wisdom.
442
00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:55,480
Iryna, tell me about the poet, Shevchenko.
443
00:32:55,480 --> 00:33:00,200
Well, he was born in 1814 as a second-generation serf
444
00:33:00,200 --> 00:33:05,760
in the Russian Empire but he was actually bought out of serfdom
445
00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:09,960
because of his artistic gift and he's managed to become
446
00:33:09,960 --> 00:33:16,160
an academician, painter and a very important poet.
447
00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:20,120
So, what was it that he was writing, what was political?
448
00:33:20,120 --> 00:33:26,400
He was very ironic about Russian imperialist regimes and he was,
449
00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:30,680
we would say in contemporary speech, deconstructing them.
450
00:33:30,680 --> 00:33:34,320
Shevchenko was arrested for criticising the Tsar
451
00:33:34,320 --> 00:33:37,880
and sentenced to a form of penal servitude,
452
00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:41,640
25 years as a private in an army battalion.
453
00:33:41,640 --> 00:33:47,240
And Tsar Nicholas II himself added a devastating rider.
454
00:33:47,240 --> 00:33:51,680
Taras was to be completely prohibited from writing and painting.
455
00:33:51,680 --> 00:33:54,840
That would have been the worst part of the sentence for him.
456
00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:56,480
Absolutely, yes.
457
00:33:56,480 --> 00:34:00,360
Because that was sentencing not only your body but also your soul and
458
00:34:00,360 --> 00:34:01,760
your mind.
459
00:34:01,760 --> 00:34:06,480
Shevchenko put that in his diary later on, saying that even if he
460
00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:09,120
would be a monster, a vampire,
461
00:34:09,120 --> 00:34:13,240
such a sentence would be the cruellest torture ever.
462
00:34:13,240 --> 00:34:14,840
Appalling.
463
00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:29,360
Iryna, what a very beautiful library this is.
464
00:34:29,360 --> 00:34:31,240
Absolutely exquisite.
465
00:34:31,240 --> 00:34:34,120
Indeed, and it contains some exquisite books as well.
466
00:34:34,120 --> 00:34:36,760
One of them is Shevchenko's volume of poetry
467
00:34:36,760 --> 00:34:39,800
printed during his lifetime.
468
00:34:39,800 --> 00:34:44,600
Tell me about the circumstances of the poem that you are going to read?
469
00:34:44,600 --> 00:34:48,200
He, at that time 33 years old, was sitting
470
00:34:48,200 --> 00:34:51,040
in Novopetrovskoe Fortress, thinking
471
00:34:51,040 --> 00:34:55,000
he will never see his beloved fatherland again.
472
00:34:57,320 --> 00:35:00,040
IRYNA READS IN THE FORTRESS
473
00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:05,680
"It does not touch me, not a whit
474
00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:07,920
"If I live in Ukraine, or no
475
00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:10,240
"If men recall me, or forget,
476
00:35:10,240 --> 00:35:13,160
"Lost as I am in foreign snow -
477
00:35:13,160 --> 00:35:15,320
"Touches me not the slightest whit.
478
00:35:15,320 --> 00:35:18,720
"But it does touch me deep if knaves,
479
00:35:18,720 --> 00:35:22,400
"Evil rogues lull our Ukraine asleep
480
00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:27,880
"And only in the flames let her all plundered, wake again.
481
00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:30,560
"That touches me with deepest pain."
482
00:35:33,640 --> 00:35:37,720
I'm curious to see whether Shevchenko's words mean as
483
00:35:37,720 --> 00:35:39,480
much to the younger generation.
484
00:35:39,480 --> 00:35:42,160
Are you great fans of the poet Shevchenko?
485
00:35:42,160 --> 00:35:45,280
He's like a prophet to us, because he was living back
486
00:35:45,280 --> 00:35:48,560
in the 19th century, but all of his words are topical even now
487
00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:50,680
in the 21st century.
488
00:35:50,680 --> 00:35:54,960
Independence of Ukraine was the most important thing in his life,
489
00:35:54,960 --> 00:35:58,960
and his words are filled with this feeling that he loves Ukraine,
490
00:35:58,960 --> 00:36:03,560
that he was proud to be Ukrainian and he could see the bright future of our country.
491
00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:15,680
Perhaps there's only one thing that draws us close to the
492
00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:18,880
Ukrainian soul as Shevchenko's poetry,
493
00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:20,720
that's the national cuisine.
494
00:36:22,240 --> 00:36:26,480
I'm told that the very best Ukrainian food is served not in
495
00:36:26,480 --> 00:36:28,440
restaurants, but in the home.
496
00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:31,360
Ivana, Katerina?
497
00:36:31,360 --> 00:36:34,320
- Hello.
- Hi.
- Are you Ivana?
- Yes, I am.
498
00:36:34,320 --> 00:36:36,360
- I'm Michael.
- This is Katerina.
499
00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:39,320
Thank you so much for inviting me to your home, Katerina.
500
00:36:39,320 --> 00:36:41,720
Katerina is known as the best cook in the neighbourhood
501
00:36:41,720 --> 00:36:43,360
and Ivana's here to help.
502
00:36:43,360 --> 00:36:46,800
My goodness, there's food everywhere.
503
00:36:46,800 --> 00:36:50,760
Now, I've heard about this thing called Vareniki.
504
00:36:50,760 --> 00:36:53,800
Yes, Vareniki, you're perfectly correct.
505
00:36:53,800 --> 00:36:57,920
That's the most favourite dish of Ukrainian cuisine,
506
00:36:57,920 --> 00:37:02,520
and now you'll have a chance to try and make it because it's not that
507
00:37:02,520 --> 00:37:04,840
hard, but very tasty, though.
508
00:37:04,840 --> 00:37:06,480
Oh, thank you, thank you.
509
00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:08,200
What do you think, Katerina?
510
00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:09,600
Beautiful.
511
00:37:12,360 --> 00:37:16,600
So, we have a dough over here and, out of this one,
512
00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:18,200
Vareniki is usually made.
513
00:37:18,200 --> 00:37:21,480
Vareniki are a type of filled pasta.
514
00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:24,800
- So, now we cut them out.
- Yeah.
515
00:37:27,080 --> 00:37:28,880
What is this filling?
516
00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:32,000
This is a sour cheese filling.
517
00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:33,520
Oh, thank you.
518
00:37:34,760 --> 00:37:39,040
In Ukraine we say that Vareniki have to be small,
519
00:37:39,040 --> 00:37:42,120
otherwise if they are too big to swallow in one bite
520
00:37:42,120 --> 00:37:44,760
then it means that the wife is lazy.
521
00:37:47,960 --> 00:37:50,080
I'm just dying to lick my finger, because this looks
522
00:37:50,080 --> 00:37:52,040
absolutely delicious.
523
00:37:52,040 --> 00:37:56,160
Vareniki are so important in the life of Ukrainians that we even how
524
00:37:56,160 --> 00:37:59,320
whole love stories and the tragedies devoted to Vareniki.
525
00:37:59,320 --> 00:38:05,240
One of the most popular is when the young man loves the girl
526
00:38:05,240 --> 00:38:07,080
and Vareniki that she makes.
527
00:38:07,080 --> 00:38:11,600
Then the enemies come and stole the girl and Vareniki.
528
00:38:11,600 --> 00:38:16,240
He goes to his friends and together they fight back to liberate the girl
529
00:38:16,240 --> 00:38:18,600
and Vareniki, of course.
530
00:38:18,600 --> 00:38:21,920
So, Vareniki are the way to a man's heart.
531
00:38:21,920 --> 00:38:25,320
- Oh, for sure.
- Now, in the...
532
00:38:25,320 --> 00:38:27,440
- In the water.
- In the water.
533
00:38:27,440 --> 00:38:29,840
The water has to be boiling, one and then...
534
00:38:29,840 --> 00:38:31,320
The water is boiling.
535
00:38:31,320 --> 00:38:32,880
In they pop.
536
00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:39,840
They are cooked incredibly quickly.
537
00:38:45,160 --> 00:38:47,200
Ah, they look very good.
538
00:38:47,200 --> 00:38:50,240
- That's how it should be.
- A little sour cream like that.
539
00:38:50,240 --> 00:38:56,120
In Ukrainian cuisine, we have another thing than just bon appetit,
540
00:38:56,120 --> 00:38:58,160
we have a smachno.
541
00:38:58,160 --> 00:39:00,280
Let you to have a tasty food.
542
00:39:00,280 --> 00:39:03,200
- Smachno.
- Smachno.
543
00:39:06,560 --> 00:39:08,520
Mm, that is good.
544
00:39:08,520 --> 00:39:12,520
- It's very cheesy, a little bit sweet and a very lovely dough.
- Michael.
545
00:39:12,520 --> 00:39:14,120
- IVANA TRANSLATES:
- That was a good job.
546
00:39:14,120 --> 00:39:15,160
Oh, thank you.
547
00:39:32,800 --> 00:39:37,600
The romance of the night express carrying me to the Black Sea.
548
00:39:40,600 --> 00:39:43,240
Travelling in Ukraine is very affordable.
549
00:39:43,240 --> 00:39:48,320
For less than £20 you can sleep in comfort through the 12-hour journey.
550
00:39:48,320 --> 00:39:52,480
Ah, I have a private compartment all to myself
551
00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:57,920
with homely touches like a pillow printed to look
552
00:39:57,920 --> 00:40:01,000
like a sort of folk costume,
553
00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:04,120
and curtains made to look like silk.
554
00:40:06,040 --> 00:40:09,440
And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm feeling very tired.
555
00:40:09,440 --> 00:40:11,560
Goodnight.
556
00:40:24,200 --> 00:40:26,360
Good morning.
557
00:40:32,320 --> 00:40:37,280
Ah, a little chai, black tea in the morning.
558
00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:51,920
I shall shortly arrive in Odessa.
559
00:40:51,920 --> 00:40:55,120
Bradshaw's tells me it's the most important commercial place
560
00:40:55,120 --> 00:40:56,760
on the Black Sea.
561
00:40:56,760 --> 00:40:58,840
"Regarded as the fourth town of Russia."
562
00:40:58,840 --> 00:41:02,560
I know this city only from its legends,
563
00:41:02,560 --> 00:41:06,960
having passed into history as the creation of Catherine the Great.
564
00:41:06,960 --> 00:41:12,440
Into literature as the home to an enormous dynamic Jewish population,
565
00:41:12,440 --> 00:41:15,440
and into mythology because of Eisenstein's film,
566
00:41:15,440 --> 00:41:17,760
the Battleship Potemkin.
567
00:41:17,760 --> 00:41:22,680
In coming here today I fulfil a personal lifelong ambition.
568
00:41:29,840 --> 00:41:32,960
This station, with its shiny dome,
569
00:41:32,960 --> 00:41:37,080
immediately makes me feel that I've arrived at a seaside pavilion.
570
00:41:39,280 --> 00:41:43,160
Odessa Station dates from the birth of the railway itself in the
571
00:41:43,160 --> 00:41:45,760
latter half of the 19th century.
572
00:41:45,760 --> 00:41:50,440
In bygone days, stations were often referred to as cathedrals of steam
573
00:41:50,440 --> 00:41:52,920
and this one has a dome, and pillars,
574
00:41:52,920 --> 00:41:55,360
and a balustrade and chandeliers.
575
00:41:55,360 --> 00:41:57,760
What a welcome to a great city.
576
00:42:01,360 --> 00:42:04,080
Empress of Russia, Catherine the Great,
577
00:42:04,080 --> 00:42:07,400
imagined Odessa as a St Petersburg of the south.
578
00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:13,080
It seems that peeling back the Soviet layer,
579
00:42:13,080 --> 00:42:15,920
the city is rediscovering its cosmopolitan side,
580
00:42:15,920 --> 00:42:19,920
with the sunny climate and the sandy beaches that have made it a populous
581
00:42:19,920 --> 00:42:23,840
seaside resort since the 19th century.
582
00:42:23,840 --> 00:42:26,200
Looking like pink and white icing sugar,
583
00:42:26,200 --> 00:42:29,400
and mentioned in my Bradshaw's Guide,
584
00:42:29,400 --> 00:42:32,800
the Hotel Bristol had a name that would have made of the early
585
00:42:32,800 --> 00:42:36,280
20th century British traveller feel reassuringly at home.
586
00:42:42,240 --> 00:42:45,960
In 1905, shortly after the Bristol Hotel opened its doors,
587
00:42:45,960 --> 00:42:50,800
the London newspapers carried the story of a mutiny at Odessa.
588
00:42:50,800 --> 00:42:52,760
The crew of the battleship Potemkin
589
00:42:52,760 --> 00:42:55,760
had murdered the captain and thrown his body overboard.
590
00:42:57,680 --> 00:43:01,400
The ruthless response of the Tsar's forces was reimagined
591
00:43:01,400 --> 00:43:05,160
for cinema on the monumental stone steps at the gateway
592
00:43:05,160 --> 00:43:06,920
to Odessa's port.
593
00:43:09,720 --> 00:43:14,360
In Eisenstein's 1925 film the Battleship Potemkin,
594
00:43:14,360 --> 00:43:19,080
the Russian soldiers were stationed at the top and gunned down men,
595
00:43:19,080 --> 00:43:22,200
women and children on these steps.
596
00:43:22,200 --> 00:43:28,640
It was commissioned by the Soviet authorities to mark the 20th anniversary of the mutiny.
597
00:43:28,640 --> 00:43:33,920
It's absolutely correct that more than 1,000 citizens were massacred,
598
00:43:33,920 --> 00:43:39,000
but the events did not unfold in the spectacular way depicted in the
599
00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:42,720
movie, but set against such cinematic drama
600
00:43:42,720 --> 00:43:45,800
the truth has stood no chance ever since.
601
00:44:12,240 --> 00:44:15,280
Privoz Market started in 1827
602
00:44:15,280 --> 00:44:17,480
as a handful of horse-drawn carts,
603
00:44:17,480 --> 00:44:20,720
and has grown to be the largest food market in Odessa,
604
00:44:20,720 --> 00:44:22,320
and indeed Ukraine,
605
00:44:22,320 --> 00:44:25,800
or, according to some locals, in the entire world.
606
00:44:25,800 --> 00:44:28,160
Dobre?
607
00:44:28,160 --> 00:44:29,760
Erm...
608
00:44:29,760 --> 00:44:31,560
Cherries.
609
00:44:31,560 --> 00:44:33,240
Vyshnya.
610
00:44:40,080 --> 00:44:41,960
Dyakuyu.
611
00:44:41,960 --> 00:44:43,920
- Do pobachennya.
- Do pobachennya.
612
00:44:45,920 --> 00:44:48,680
By comparison with the rest of Ukraine,
613
00:44:48,680 --> 00:44:53,000
here in Odessa I'm seeing a greater variety of faces.
614
00:44:53,000 --> 00:44:54,720
Different ethnic types.
615
00:44:54,720 --> 00:44:57,040
The place is more cosmopolitan,
616
00:44:57,040 --> 00:44:58,840
a kind of human fruit salad.
617
00:45:03,600 --> 00:45:08,040
I want to find out what lies behind the cultural and ethnic mix of the
618
00:45:08,040 --> 00:45:11,120
city from an historian.
619
00:45:11,120 --> 00:45:14,640
Olga, we meet in this absolutely beautiful square
620
00:45:14,640 --> 00:45:16,840
with a view over the Black Sea.
621
00:45:16,840 --> 00:45:20,840
But also, this immense statue of Catherine the Great.
622
00:45:20,840 --> 00:45:22,920
Why is she commemorated in Odessa?
623
00:45:22,920 --> 00:45:25,560
Well, she was instrumental in the city's foundation.
624
00:45:25,560 --> 00:45:29,040
In the 1760s, '70s and then '80s
625
00:45:29,040 --> 00:45:31,520
she carried out a series of military operations.
626
00:45:31,520 --> 00:45:34,600
The Ottomans were pushed back and the Russian Empire gained
627
00:45:34,600 --> 00:45:39,800
territories along the Black Sea including this piece of land.
628
00:45:39,800 --> 00:45:42,520
And the city was founded in 1794.
629
00:45:43,880 --> 00:45:47,120
Catherine started to plan the city with broad, straight avenues
630
00:45:47,120 --> 00:45:48,680
and classical buildings.
631
00:45:50,600 --> 00:45:55,200
But only after her death did it really blossom.
632
00:45:55,200 --> 00:45:58,920
And to whom do we owe the city as it is with its very Western-style?
633
00:45:58,920 --> 00:46:03,280
To a large extent, to a French aristocrat, Richelieu,
634
00:46:03,280 --> 00:46:09,080
who was appointed the city governor in 1803 by the Russian Tsar.
635
00:46:09,080 --> 00:46:11,400
This land initially didn't have many people,
636
00:46:11,400 --> 00:46:14,880
so the Russian Empire needed to attract people here,
637
00:46:14,880 --> 00:46:16,560
so the first brochures,
638
00:46:16,560 --> 00:46:18,960
the first articles about Odessa in European languages,
639
00:46:18,960 --> 00:46:20,760
this was his initiative.
640
00:46:20,760 --> 00:46:22,800
And that attracted the European merchants here.
641
00:46:22,800 --> 00:46:24,000
How brilliant.
642
00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:25,800
My guidebook is from 1913,
643
00:46:25,800 --> 00:46:30,000
and it tells me that by then it's the fourth largest Russian city.
644
00:46:30,000 --> 00:46:31,680
Who was living here?
645
00:46:31,680 --> 00:46:35,600
The population was very multinational since its foundation.
646
00:46:35,600 --> 00:46:39,200
A French aristocrat visited Odessa during Richelieu times
647
00:46:39,200 --> 00:46:43,920
and he left a note which said that through the beautiful squares
648
00:46:43,920 --> 00:46:48,640
strolled the Greek, the Turk, the Jew, the Moldavian, and the Russian.
649
00:46:48,640 --> 00:46:51,320
The Englishman, and the French, and the German.
650
00:46:51,320 --> 00:46:54,240
Many of them wearing the costumes proper to each
651
00:46:54,240 --> 00:46:56,360
and speaking different tongues.
652
00:46:56,360 --> 00:46:58,560
And the Jews were a big part of this?
653
00:46:58,560 --> 00:47:02,000
Yeah, the Jews started coming here from the city's inception.
654
00:47:02,000 --> 00:47:08,720
By late 1800s they made about 30% of local population.
655
00:47:08,720 --> 00:47:13,480
The rich Jewish culture of Odessa was recorded by its many writers and artists.
656
00:47:13,480 --> 00:47:17,960
Most famously in the short stories of Isaac Babel.
657
00:47:17,960 --> 00:47:21,800
Today, Jews make up just under 5% of the population,
658
00:47:21,800 --> 00:47:25,120
but the fact that they're here at all is a small miracle.
659
00:47:27,920 --> 00:47:30,960
I've come to the city's great synagogue
660
00:47:30,960 --> 00:47:33,920
which is at the heart of the community.
661
00:47:42,400 --> 00:47:46,160
Given that the Jewish population of Odessa was wiped out
662
00:47:46,160 --> 00:47:47,920
during the Second World War,
663
00:47:47,920 --> 00:47:50,120
it's a pleasant surprise to find the faith
664
00:47:50,120 --> 00:47:51,960
so fervently practised here today.
665
00:47:53,880 --> 00:47:56,920
London-born Refael Kruskal is the senior rabbi here.
666
00:47:56,920 --> 00:47:58,360
It's very, very good to see you.
667
00:47:58,360 --> 00:48:00,280
Nice to see you.
668
00:48:00,280 --> 00:48:02,480
Today, are you a sizeable Jewish community in Odessa?
669
00:48:02,480 --> 00:48:04,880
We are one of the largest Jewish communities, I would say,
670
00:48:04,880 --> 00:48:08,000
in the former Soviet Union and the most vibrant, for sure.
671
00:48:08,000 --> 00:48:12,480
Even bigger than cities like Moscow and Kiev
672
00:48:12,480 --> 00:48:16,320
because of the fact that Odessa was always a Jewish city.
673
00:48:19,040 --> 00:48:21,840
Jews came to Odessa because they found a welcome here.
674
00:48:23,600 --> 00:48:27,480
During the 18th century, Catherine the Great reserved an area
675
00:48:27,480 --> 00:48:31,040
of 1 million square kilometres, known as the Pale of Settlement,
676
00:48:31,040 --> 00:48:35,320
in which Jews were required to reside.
677
00:48:35,320 --> 00:48:37,920
But the liberal minded tolerant Duc De Richelieu
678
00:48:37,920 --> 00:48:43,480
arriving to govern Odessa saw what the Jews could offer.
679
00:48:43,480 --> 00:48:45,200
The Mayor of Odessa Richelieu
680
00:48:45,200 --> 00:48:48,200
decided he wanted to let as many Jews in as possible.
681
00:48:48,200 --> 00:48:52,280
He wanted to go out and tell them how important their involvement
682
00:48:52,280 --> 00:48:56,040
for building Odessa was and they built up the banking industry,
683
00:48:56,040 --> 00:48:57,360
the export and import,
684
00:48:57,360 --> 00:49:01,080
and they became very, very important in Odessa.
685
00:49:02,240 --> 00:49:05,840
But anti-Semitism was never far from the surface in this part of Eastern Europe.
686
00:49:05,840 --> 00:49:12,160
Violent attacks on Jews, known as pogroms, occurred sporadically in Odessa.
687
00:49:12,160 --> 00:49:15,440
And at the time of my guidebook were seared into the memory.
688
00:49:17,160 --> 00:49:20,600
1905 is the worst of the pogroms.
689
00:49:20,600 --> 00:49:24,640
Does that really mark the high water point of the Jewish population?
690
00:49:24,640 --> 00:49:28,360
There were about 300 people killed during the pogroms of 1905,
691
00:49:28,360 --> 00:49:33,280
and lots of people you'll meet around the world from Odessan descent
692
00:49:33,280 --> 00:49:36,400
will tell you that their grandparents left after 1905.
693
00:49:37,640 --> 00:49:40,200
Among those who fled Odessa after the pogrom
694
00:49:40,200 --> 00:49:43,200
were the grandparents of both singer Bob Dylan
695
00:49:43,200 --> 00:49:46,120
and film director Steven Spielberg.
696
00:49:47,960 --> 00:49:50,840
For those remained, life returned to normal,
697
00:49:50,840 --> 00:49:53,640
but in the decades ahead worse was to come.
698
00:49:54,640 --> 00:49:58,560
The Jewish population was eliminated in 1941.
699
00:49:58,560 --> 00:50:02,240
How is it that there could be any kind of a revival after that?
700
00:50:03,720 --> 00:50:05,520
People felt comfortable to come back,
701
00:50:05,520 --> 00:50:09,080
they didn't blame, as such, the Ukrainians,
702
00:50:09,080 --> 00:50:12,200
and the local people knew their culture, so they welcomed them back.
703
00:50:12,200 --> 00:50:16,080
Rabbi, are you optimistic about the future of the Jewish community of Odessa?
704
00:50:16,080 --> 00:50:18,560
There's lots and lots of Jews who want to stay here,
705
00:50:18,560 --> 00:50:20,880
they feel very connected to their roots in Ukraine.
706
00:50:20,880 --> 00:50:23,160
Though Ukraine is going through a difficult period,
707
00:50:23,160 --> 00:50:26,960
I think that the Jews of Odessa and the Jews of Ukraine will survive it
708
00:50:26,960 --> 00:50:32,000
with the Ukrainians and get to a much better period
709
00:50:32,000 --> 00:50:34,800
where they'll be, well, where they will be able to flourish.
710
00:50:53,480 --> 00:50:57,320
This little train is taking me to Kuyalnik Lyman,
711
00:50:57,320 --> 00:51:00,400
which Bradshaw's tells me is a bathing resort
712
00:51:00,400 --> 00:51:02,160
five miles east of Odessa
713
00:51:02,160 --> 00:51:04,880
with a town hydropathic establishment.
714
00:51:04,880 --> 00:51:10,120
I'm informed that Lyman means wet sand or mud bath.
715
00:51:12,400 --> 00:51:16,760
For over 200 years, people have been travelling to the Kuyalnik Estuary
716
00:51:16,760 --> 00:51:20,480
to seek relief for all sorts of ailments.
717
00:51:20,480 --> 00:51:22,200
And at the time of my guidebook,
718
00:51:22,200 --> 00:51:24,320
it would have been at the height of its popularity.
719
00:51:26,280 --> 00:51:29,960
After being separated from the Black Sea during the Middle Ages,
720
00:51:29,960 --> 00:51:33,280
the estuary was converted into a huge salt lake
721
00:51:33,280 --> 00:51:35,520
by the scorching southern sun.
722
00:51:35,520 --> 00:51:40,160
Its mineral rich mud is reputed to have medicinal properties.
723
00:51:40,160 --> 00:51:42,800
- Zdravstvuyte.
- Zdravstvuyte.
724
00:51:42,800 --> 00:51:45,960
Kuyalnik Lyman... Good?
725
00:51:49,720 --> 00:51:51,400
You look very, very healthy on it.
726
00:51:54,360 --> 00:51:55,960
Why don't I have the mud as well?
727
00:52:00,480 --> 00:52:03,040
The clinic which opened on the banks of this estuary
728
00:52:03,040 --> 00:52:06,440
became the largest and most modern in the whole of the Russian Empire,
729
00:52:06,440 --> 00:52:08,800
growing even more under communism.
730
00:52:10,600 --> 00:52:14,600
Much of the vast complex has now fallen derelict.
731
00:52:14,600 --> 00:52:17,040
Faded glory.
732
00:52:17,040 --> 00:52:18,400
Past grandeur.
733
00:52:22,840 --> 00:52:27,520
I'm really attracted to this place with its picturesque shabbiness.
734
00:52:27,520 --> 00:52:29,840
It may seem crass to say so,
735
00:52:29,840 --> 00:52:32,840
but the tourist almost misses the Soviet Union
736
00:52:32,840 --> 00:52:35,920
now that everywhere you go is so much the same.
737
00:52:35,920 --> 00:52:38,960
Glass towers and fast food outlets.
738
00:52:41,480 --> 00:52:45,360
Historian Vladimir has been delving into the archives.
739
00:52:45,360 --> 00:52:48,800
What an amazingly historic and charming place.
740
00:52:48,800 --> 00:52:52,080
When did this hydropathic establishment first open?
741
00:52:52,080 --> 00:52:53,520
It was 1843.
742
00:52:53,520 --> 00:52:56,560
Erast Andriyevsky, you can see his statue here,
743
00:52:56,560 --> 00:52:59,480
he was a doctor in the Russian army.
744
00:52:59,480 --> 00:53:03,480
So he founded the first special resort.
745
00:53:03,480 --> 00:53:05,600
What is special about the mud?
746
00:53:05,600 --> 00:53:10,000
This mud is unique for all skin problems
747
00:53:10,000 --> 00:53:13,640
and with some venereal diseases, it was this kind of stories.
748
00:53:13,640 --> 00:53:15,640
It was obviously extremely popular.
749
00:53:15,640 --> 00:53:19,040
Was it, like other spas, also a place for the rich and for the famous?
750
00:53:19,040 --> 00:53:22,280
It was very popular and in the Russian Empire it was unique.
751
00:53:22,280 --> 00:53:24,520
And Nicholas II,
752
00:53:24,520 --> 00:53:29,240
he visited here and inside this complex a special residence
753
00:53:29,240 --> 00:53:34,000
was constructed for the tsar and for the family.
754
00:53:35,080 --> 00:53:36,440
The Tsar was not alone.
755
00:53:36,440 --> 00:53:40,080
So popular was this clinic with the upper echelons of society
756
00:53:40,080 --> 00:53:43,080
that a special train service was laid on from Moscow.
757
00:53:44,360 --> 00:53:46,680
The spa is still open for business.
758
00:53:46,680 --> 00:53:49,800
And what's good enough for the emperor and autocrat
759
00:53:49,800 --> 00:53:53,200
of all the Russias is good enough for me.
760
00:53:53,200 --> 00:53:57,720
The place feels like a cross between a monastery and a hospital.
761
00:53:57,720 --> 00:54:01,360
None of the luxury or pampering that you might expect at a spa.
762
00:54:06,320 --> 00:54:08,920
Oh. OK. Shorts off.
763
00:54:08,920 --> 00:54:11,840
And the attendants are strict disciplinarians.
764
00:54:22,520 --> 00:54:24,640
THEY SPEAK UKRANIAN
765
00:54:26,240 --> 00:54:28,680
I'm telling her that it's very, very good
766
00:54:28,680 --> 00:54:32,000
and actually there is a fearful smell of rotten eggs and...
767
00:54:33,560 --> 00:54:36,520
..underneath me there's all this really...
768
00:54:36,520 --> 00:54:38,560
sticky, muddy stuff.
769
00:54:38,560 --> 00:54:40,600
Look at that.
770
00:54:40,600 --> 00:54:47,240
But it feels soft and, oh, it's meant to do you lots of good.
771
00:54:48,520 --> 00:54:51,640
Good for the skin, good for the bones, good for the joints.
772
00:54:51,640 --> 00:54:53,120
I'm really pleased I'm here.
773
00:55:06,600 --> 00:55:09,480
A lady wearing rubber boots and rubber gloves.
774
00:55:09,480 --> 00:55:11,360
This does not look like good news.
775
00:55:20,480 --> 00:55:23,360
I'm now lying in very warm mud
776
00:55:23,360 --> 00:55:25,880
and the lady with the rubber gloves
777
00:55:25,880 --> 00:55:28,600
has begun a fairly intimate massage,
778
00:55:28,600 --> 00:55:30,400
using warm mud.
779
00:55:37,160 --> 00:55:41,080
And, as they say in the movie business, it's a wrap!
780
00:55:51,720 --> 00:55:55,000
I really can't leave town without visiting the opera house.
781
00:55:57,120 --> 00:56:01,000
The Duc De Richelieu believed that placing the arts at the heart of the city
782
00:56:01,000 --> 00:56:04,000
would attract the right kind of people to Odessa.
783
00:56:06,240 --> 00:56:10,040
"The theatre, west side of Pushkin Street," says Bradshaw's,
784
00:56:10,040 --> 00:56:12,400
"is one of the finest in Russia."
785
00:56:12,400 --> 00:56:14,640
Surely an understatement.
786
00:56:14,640 --> 00:56:19,120
Is not this one of the loveliest opera houses in the world?
787
00:56:32,480 --> 00:56:35,680
The interior is one of the most stunning I've ever seen.
788
00:56:35,680 --> 00:56:40,200
And on the stage they're preparing to rehearse Sleeping Beauty.
789
00:56:40,200 --> 00:56:41,920
What a privilege.
790
00:56:45,240 --> 00:56:48,280
MUSIC: The Sleeping Beauty by Tchaikovsky
791
00:57:02,360 --> 00:57:07,240
The theatre's resident opera and ballet companies are world-class.
792
00:57:09,520 --> 00:57:12,640
A fairy tale ending to my tour of Ukraine.
793
00:57:30,080 --> 00:57:33,720
The Sleeping Beauty, music by Pyotr Tchaikovsky,
794
00:57:33,720 --> 00:57:36,240
a Russian composer.
795
00:57:36,240 --> 00:57:39,600
When I was in Kiev I felt that I was at the origin of Ukraine,
796
00:57:39,600 --> 00:57:42,920
but also arguably of Russia, too.
797
00:57:42,920 --> 00:57:46,360
And certainly at the heart of Russian orthodoxy.
798
00:57:46,360 --> 00:57:51,400
Lviv feels like the product of Austrian and Polish Catholicism,
799
00:57:51,400 --> 00:57:54,960
whilst Odessa was the conception of a Frenchman
800
00:57:54,960 --> 00:57:59,480
and its history is that of the Jews, as much as anyone.
801
00:57:59,480 --> 00:58:02,160
Despite this diverse heritage,
802
00:58:02,160 --> 00:58:06,680
people everywhere feel enthusiastically Ukrainian.
803
00:58:06,680 --> 00:58:09,520
Defiant that their nation should be free
804
00:58:09,520 --> 00:58:12,880
to choose to span east and west.
805
00:58:16,080 --> 00:58:21,480
Next, my borderland adventure takes me to Georgia and Azerbaijan,
806
00:58:21,480 --> 00:58:24,720
home to medieval monasteries and magnificent mountains.
807
00:58:24,720 --> 00:58:31,640
Peeking through the clouds now, 5047 metres up, we skim the top.
808
00:58:31,640 --> 00:58:34,280
There I'll taste the Georgian soul.
809
00:58:34,280 --> 00:58:37,320
You're drinking, now, my family's heart
810
00:58:37,320 --> 00:58:40,640
and my family's energy inside of the glass.
811
00:58:40,640 --> 00:58:43,400
And discover a source of great riches.
812
00:58:43,400 --> 00:58:47,600
A view of the terminal from up here is absolutely extraordinary.
813
00:58:47,600 --> 00:58:49,600
It is immense.
68540
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