Not so many years ago in Ukraine, like in any post-Soviet country, one could get almost everything without entering a store. The appearance of indoor shopping centers with affordable prices and an excellent range of goods has not eliminated these open-air markets.
In fact, the street-market culture continues to prosper amid the capital’s steel-and-glass skyscrapers. Some of Kyiv’s markets are so eccentric as to become an integral part of the capital sightseeing tour. The Kurenevka flea market (3,4) definitely belongs to this category. Kilometers of antique furniture, clothes, books and utensils are stretched along tram lines from Frunze Square to the pet market. Prices aren’t bad either, and it is open on Saturdays and Sundays. The market offers everything from a photo album of Soviet Moscow for Hr 10 to a second-hand gramophone. Sometimes the market can be more useful than other excursions and guide stories, as national peculiarities of several eras are presented here. Shulyavka’s second-hand outdoor clothes market (1,2) is another exotic spot of the capital. Mostly served by representatives from Africa, the Middle and Far East, it has been set on fire already twice in the last three months and UNA-UNSO (Ukrainian National Assembly– Ukrainian National Self Defense) was accused of the crime according to gazeta.ua. However, it still remains a vital stop for many Kyivans, who have been simultaneously hit by double-digit inflation and a hryvnia that has lost 20 percent of its value since mid-September. Here at Shulyavka, the second-hand market thrives thanks to clothes and footwear of a decent quality and price.
